Sign up for our daily Illini football newsletter here
Greetings from “Can’t Wait For Saturday,” your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He’ll give you his views each day on the game he loves.
***
A few years back, I went with ace reporter and Philly expert Joe Vozzelli to Maryland to cover an Illinois football game. At the time, I thought that had completed my quest: to cover a game at every Big Ten football venue.
Boy, was I wrong.
The Big Ten pulled a fast one — OK, it was a good move — and expanded the league from 14 to 18.
So, now I’ve got new schools to worry about. Fortunately, I went to Autzen Stadium to see Oregon early in the 1990s. That counts, though I want to go back, see how the place has changed and take another nostalgic tour of “Animal House” landmarks,
UCLA and the Rose Bowl is also checked off in multiple ways. I’ve been to the New Year’s Day game in 2008 and also saw Illinois play UCLA on its home field. That’s another bucket-list item deleted.
But there are two more to go. Washington’s Husky Stadium in Seattle and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to cover Southern California.
The latter will have to be checked off in a later season. The Trojans play here this year.
But Washington might be doable if the higher-ups approve. Illinois is scheduled to play in the Northwest on Oct. 25 and I am offering to go for The News-Gazette. Would be a lot of fun and I promise to get more photos of the Space Needle.
I definitely want to complete the Big Ten cycle in the next few years. And someday, I might retire and have some spare time on my hands. Don’t think I will be working into my 90s like…
Source link : https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/cant-wait-for-saturday-where-do-i-want-to-go-all-sorts-of-places-mostly/article_cb1a68cc-987d-443e-8235-bbf0ff2715bc.html
Author :
Publish date : 2025-07-13 14:51:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
