What’s the recipe for a big crowd at Illinois Field?
Start with two nationally ranked teams fighting it out for a conference title. It doesn’t hurt to have free admission or free food. The promise of fireworks at the end of the game is a good idea too.
It seemed to work since tonight Illinois broke their attendance record for a baseball game at Illinois Field. A record 5,214 people attended Friday’s Illinois-Ohio State game.
There was a line at the gate of Illinois Field when we got there at 5:00pm…
…a real long line.
And once you got in, there was another long line for the free food.
Mike Altobelli (Dom’s father) was psyched before the game.
Coach Hartleb was being interviewed by the local news outlets.
For those who couldn’t wait till the end of the game, there was a short fireworks display during the 7th inning stretch.
Bill Wikoff (Brandon’s dad) was all smiles and high fives after the games.
Of course they had the full fireworks after the game when we really had something to celebrate.
You’ll find these photos plus ones from the game at the Photo Gallery. And before I forget, let me credit my son Dylan Nelshoppen for taking the first, second, and fifth photos of this post.
Nice pics Tom. Horrible loss for my Buckeyes last night, sounds like we really blew it in the 9th. Very dishearting to say the least. Our defense has been good all year so that makes it even worse.