Making Sense Of The Indiana-Illinois Rivalry

Saw this little piece today about the IU-Illinois rivalry, and it got me thinking about IU's emergent rivalry with Illinois. Sure, most Hoosiers have long since given two shits about our neighbors to the west, but how exactly has this rivalry morphed into what it has become today? Let's examine just a few of the differentiating factors between IU & UI: 

Facilities

IU plays in Assembly Hall, the National Basketball Cathedral.

UI plays in the State Farm Center, formerly Assembly Hall, the motherfucking spaceship.

Success

IU play underneath five National Championship banners.

UI plays underneath a bunch of jersey, 0 banners.

Coaches

IU plays for a coach know for his enthusiasm.

UI plays for a new coach who, like its last one, is also know for flipping shit and whining (a lot).

Societal Contributions

IU integrated Big Ten basketball in 1947.

UI cried like bitches when they were told they could no longer degrade an entire race of people- 39 years after the passage of the Indian Civil Rights Act. 

In the end, however, we all know what this newfound hatred towards one another is really all about...

Eric Gordon

IU was accepting of a homegrown phenom's decision to reconsider his college choice when the recruiting landscape materially changed around him. UI was unable to accept the teenager's decision, and, well, has pretty much made an ass out of themselves ever since.