TCR GIF Tournament: Sweet 16 (Day 2)

We’ve reached the Sweet 16 of the TCR GIF Tournament.

It’s time to breakdown and decide which GIF reaches the Elite Eight from the Game and Miscellaneous regions.

Dudek Juke vs. Griffey For The Win

For the sake of our sanity as Illini fans and knowing the injury woes Mike Dudek has gone through each of the last three seasons, it’s important to taper expectations for the junior wide receiver in 2018. The above GIF shows us Dudek in his healthy prime.

Indiana has won seven of the ten Indiana/Illinois basketball games since the above Griffey-winner game. It’s good to remember the game-winners especiallywhen Illinois was unranked and the Hoosiers were No. 1 in the country at the time. Do rivalry games get any better than this?

Izzo Rejects a Hug vs. Tito’s Flag Throw

Tom Izzo is still coaching at Michigan State. Miles Bridges was an NBA lottery pick last Thursday and will be taking his talents to Charlotte to play for Michael Jordan’s Hornets. This Izzo-Bridges moment at SFC was funny, lighthearted and something Spartan fans and Illini fans can laugh at together.

Tito Odenigbo is no longer on the Illinois Football roster, but this moment cements his legacy in Illini lore forever. At TCR we do not condone violence, especially against referees, but this lose-your-composure moment in a game where nothing seems to be going right makes Tito, and really all of us, look a little more human.

Block I vs. Kipper’s Celebration

Illini Football is going through a rough stretch, but tradition is tradition — and nothing screams tradition more than a look at the heart of the Block I student section. Card stunts is just something Illini fans have been doing for decades: Chug, chug, chug!

Kipper Nichols brings swagger and athleticism to the Illinois Basketball roster, even when he’s on the bench. Kipper is a Cleveland, Ohio, native and here he’s paying homage to Cavaliers guard and celebration extraordinaire J.R. Smith. *Note, this GIF obviously took place well before Smith’s infamous Game 1 NBA Finals gaffe.

Corso Chooses Illinois vs. Bruce’s Jarling’s

I’ve been watching College Gameday since I was a little kid. This GIF is wonderful because Lee Corso chooses Illinois and puts on the orange helmet; even he seems a bit surprised at the magnitude of what he’s just done. Here’s to hoping College Gameday one day comes to Champaign to set up shop/show in front of the Red Grange statue at Memorial Stadium.

Bruce Weber was a fine man and a good role model for his basketball players. Bruce Weber loves custard and put his money where his mouth is by helping save the beloved Jarling’s Custard Cup just blocks away from Assembly Hall/SFC. As our mouths are filled with ice-cold custardy goodness, let’s all thank “Bruuuuuuuuuuuuce.”