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I rarely, if ever, comment on sites or forums but feel like NaperSteve and Stemp provided some valuable feedback and I wanted to echo their thoughts. Not to pile on, but because I root for you, Robert, as the "VAST" majority do.

You like to draw comparisons and parallels to different teams, eras, etc., which is one of the things I enjoy about your writings. I view the last few yrs of IlliniBoard as I see the post 2005 Bruce Weber era. Starting out (you covering Illini full time) with promise and optimism, only to not reach the potential that many in the fandom thought possible. Then things started to change. There was a realization that the potential and fan expectations were not going to be met. Sure there were apologist and sympathizers but there were many who grew leery of the excuses and claims of how the system was broken or unfair.

In the end, it all comes down to the fine line of molley coddling. One day you'll look back and be proud of the fact that you did things your way... and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that... but you'll likely be doing it for a much smaller fan base than what was once possible.