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Why do you watch IU basketball


bstall76

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I know we have done this on previous sites but I thought it would be nice to do on this site.  I watch IU basketball because I was born in Evansville to parents born in Evansville.  Nobody in my family ever attended IU, yet the one constant that I can remember during moves from southern Indiana to the Chicago area to southern Illinois to Cincinnati was the love my dad had for IU basketball.  I remember playing on the nerf hoop in the basement pretending to hit the game winning shot against Purdue or Kentucky.  I remember staying up late to watch IU win the national championship in 1987 when I was in the 4th grade.  I remember watching Damon Bailey, Alan Henderson and my favorite Matt Nover.  I remember meeting Calbert Cheaney at golf camp at IU when we got a tour of Assembly Hall.  I remember when my dad was dying of cancer sitting there watching the early Crean year telling him it would get better to only realize he would never see it.  Now I have a son of my own that has that love of IU basketball that I had.  I want to pass on to him what I had with my dad, it was not about winning and losing, yeah winning made it better, but it was about spending time with my dad.  That is what I want my son to remember.  I do not want him to remember his dad getting mad at the TV and yelling when IU was playing bad, I want him to remember watching the game with me regardless of outcome and the great memories we made together.  

Sorry for the long post, this time of year is always emotional for me my dad passed on November 22nd 2009, and the fact that he never got to meet his grandson bothers me to this day.

Let's hear why everyone else watches IU and what it means to you.

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I watch because my dad used to carry a nine-inch black and white TV around the house with aluminum foil wrapped around the antenna in an effort to get Channel 4.  If it was important enough for dad to go to all of that trouble, then it must be a pretty cool thing.

I watch because Martha the Mop lady's singing reached deep inside me even at a young age.

I watch because I was 10 years old and impressionable when Indiana went undefeated in '76

 

  

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5 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

I watch because my dad used to carry a nine-inch black and white TV around the house with aluminum foil wrapped around the antenna in an effort to get Channel 4.  If it was important enough for dad to go to all of that trouble, then it must be a pretty cool thing.

I watch because Martha the Mop lady's singing reached deep inside me even at a young age.

I watch because I was 10 years old and impressionable when Indiana went undefeated in '76

 

  

I still remember stopping whatever I was doing as soon as I heard Martha start humming ans whistling.

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Started watching as a kid because I loved sports and my entire family loved IU basketball. As a teen, I would watch every game with my grandparents. I continue to watch because I enjoy it, my friends are fans, my in laws are fans. We will talk IU basketball every Thanksgiving. Even after this loss, I think the general tone of conversation at this Thanksgiving will be better than the Last 3 years under Crean. 

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My Parents were both born in Indiana (Indy and Washington). I was born in Chicago but being raised by Hoosiers. To me it was special knowing I was the only IU fan in either direction for many miles. We were a sports family but nothing gave us more energy/excitement/pride/togetherness than that IU uniform at that court. Obviously being the top in the sports for 2-3 decades didn't hurt either. 

Still have that pride. This morning I'm getting texts from Illinois, Washington, California, and Florida asking what in the heck was that? Haha

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I guess it's sort of woven into who I and my family is. My first memory of watching IU was when they won the '76 championship.  I happened to be in New York during the '79 NIT and was here in Bloomington for the '81 & '87 championships. Still live here and work for the university.  My family & I used to watch IU basketball on Channel 4 with Chuck Marlowe, but turn the TV down and listen to Don Fischer and it seemed like every conversation centered around the Hoosiers.  It was just part of our family along with the typical IU vs Purdue family feuds. LOL  My late grandmother, who I never thought was a basketball fan, used to watch IU basketball all time. Some of the first words I taught my niece to say were, "Go IU...Go...Go...Go!" 

Back in the day, It always seemed that no matter where we were, if someone found out we were from Indiana, they had to talk to us about the Hoosiers. IU basketball was the topic of conversation everywhere or so it seemed.

I've been telling the students that work for me what a special place Bloomington becomes when IU basketball is making a run through the tournament. I really want to experience that again some day...maybe multiple times.

 

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I was born in Cali, though I don’t claim that anymore and lived in Southern Illinois until my mom married my stepdad who lived in Vincennes, Indiana. I was 8, he was a huge IU fan, he loved Coach Knight. My first season was the 81 title team.  As a young kid my favorite player was Ted Kitchel. From that point on I have been a rabid IU fan. Coach Knight was fired on my daughters 4th birthday! That was a horrible day for me, I was in tears for my daughters bday party. I was 28 and for me he was IU basketball. I’ve lived in Alabama for the last 24 years and I’m as huge an IU fan now as I was back home! My wife, daughter, and dog hate IU basketball games, only because of me! My wife and daughter usually go to the living room, I watch all games in MY family room! During games I drink heavily, yell, scream, and cuss at the team and refs, my dog Lucy barks at me constantly and I have a blast, win or lose, though I take it too hard when we lose! We could be the worst team in the nation and I would be the same way! I just love my Hoosiers! My last dog, who we had to put down Dec 3 2015, was named Indy Ana! That’s why I’m an IU fan, and drive home recklessly from work to watch every IU game!

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