FJND And Other Football Stuff

I was texting with a friend this evening and he asked me about the oldest piece of Illini garb that I still own. It sent me searching for that picture right there. That's a shirt I wore when I was... 10 years old? I want to say I remember wearing it to school during the 1983 season (I would have been 10 that fall) so I'm going with 10 years old.

It's crazy to me that in 1983 I was wearing an Illini football shirt in my 4th grade classroom and in 2025 I'm wearing an Illini football shirt at this very moment. 42+ years of dressing the exact same way. I love it. That little kid would be blown away by what we grew up to do.

I mean, think about that. Some Saturday morning in 1983 I'm watching cartoons and eating Kix cereal while dripping milk onto my Illini football shirt. And 42 years later I'm still doing the same thing (well, I'm not watching cartoons) (fine, I'm watching cartoons). There have been very few epic Illini Football seasons between 1983 and 2025, but this fall, we're capable of putting up another one.

Maybe I should bring that shirt with me to all of the games as a good luck charm.