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Top Five University of Illinois Pop Culture References

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The Final Four is here and now more than ever it’s great to be an Illini! It’s always good to be a University of Illinois fan, alumni, student etc. but right now, this is the moment. And by moment, we mean the time to list out the five greatest U of I references in recent pop culture history. And since we’re doing a top five, and it’s Final Four weekend, we’ll list it out in the format of a basketball team.

Final Four FYIs

Spread: Illinois -2.5, Total 139.5  ESPN Matchup Predictor: 59% Illini victory

Brad Underwood Content:  Never Doubted    Natl Title Ambitions    Steady Leadership   Orange Jumpsuit Promise

David Mirkovic Exclusives:  Part 1   Part 2    All-Time Top Enemies of Illini Nation   Top 5 U of I Pop Culture References

Illini Tourney History for Xennials   NBA Mock Draft    Illini Athletics in New Golden Age

christmas vacation

PG, Rusty Griswold, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

As you can see from the tweet embedded above, the only son of Clark W. Griswold sported an Illini sweatshirt. He did so in the legendary/infamous/otherwise memorable “you can’t see the line, can you Russ? RUSS!!!???” scene at Marshall Field’s, State St.

For our 50 most memorable NLCV plot holes go here.

SG, Joel Goodson, Risky Business

The least flattering of the five on our list, as U of I was a “safety school” for this entitled litte rich kid. A very enterprising rich kid though, we’ll give him that. If the diminiutive Goodson had gone to U of I he would have seen some great teams in both revenue sports, and done pretty well at the business school, with all his upper crust connections.

SF, HAL, 2001: A Space Odyssey

I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that. Well, actually we can, even though HAL was “born” in the private sector at HAL Labs, and not at the University’s school of supercomputing. Still, the filmmakers chose Urbana, IL as his birthplace for a specific reason, and that reason is Illinois’ reputation for computer engineering and tech innovation.

See the tweet below


U of I was where the web browser was born, and one can easily argue that PayPal and YouTube would not exist either, if not for some gifted and ambitious Illini.

As for Hal, he was a murderous A.I. and the only non-human on our list.

PF, Lt. Colonel Henry Blake, M*A*S*H*

If you want to know the definition of irony, consider this fact- the theme song to the most succesful sitcom in history is “Suicide is Painless.” And that song is so dark and disturbing, it literally comes with a trigger warning on YouTube. For more upbeat and positive imagery, consider this fun fact. When it was revealed that Blake was a proud U of I alum, the school sent him a sweater indicative of the period being portrayed (Korean War) on screen.

Throw in the fact that the novel which inspired the show was written by an Iowan, with a main character named Hawkeye, and well, built-in rivalry!

C, Cameron Tucker, Modern Family

illini-football

A real deep dive here, as this reference is a very obscure one. Not the show itself, which was wildly popular, as Ed O’Neill finally had a legit career outside of being Al Bundy. Although being Al Bundy is pretty special in and of itself. After all, Bundy was mistakenly referred to as Red Grange, twice, in one episode.

Tucker, the character portrayed by Eric Stonestreet, rocked a Juice Williams Illini football home jersey!

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.