Sept. 12, 1998. Memorial Stadium. Illinois vs. Middle Tennessee State.
"I was with my future wife, my brother and a few good friends sitting in the Horseshoe," Steve Wise remembers. "Our beloved Illini football team was in the midst of an 18-game losing streak spanning three seasons and ... we won.
"A few hundred — or dozen — of us rushed the field and made a beeline to the goal post. My brother and I, both 6-foot-3 and north of 200 pounds, found ourselves under the crossbar. He gave me a hoist and the next thing I know I’m standing on it, and others are following our lead.
"Try as we might, it wouldn’t budge. It would barely sway. Seems like we tried for an hour — not really — before the extremely understanding and accommodating security crew informed us our attempt was over.
"The rumors that followed were that the posts were reinforced with concrete. I’ll stick with that.
“From that day on, we concluded that you won’t be successful taking down the posts at a school known for engineering.”
