Remember Jack Trudeau? Might as well ask if I remember "Thriller", M*A*S*H, Clubber Lang, ewoks…

For those of us who were born at the tail end of the baby boom, grew up in the 1970's, and came of age in the early 1980's, the Mike White era of Fighting Illini football holds a special place in our heart.

While our fathers' generation got to witness the dominance of Butkus and the glory of a 17-7 win over Washington in the 1963 Rose Bowl game, we suffered through years of misadventure, mediocrity, and downright misery.

It was the three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust era of the Big Ten Conference; only at Illinois is was closer to 1.6 yards and a cloud of dust. But that all changed.

"The 80's Belong to the Illini"

A Michigan guy (ugh) - whose name I won't repeat here - got the heave-ho following a 2-8-1 campaign in 1979. Illinois Athletic Director Neale Stoner was looking to breathe new life into the stagnating football program, and he did just that with the hiring of White, a permanently tanned protégé of west coast offense guru Bill Walsh.

All of sudden, more than just the wind was swirling around Memorial Stadium on Saturdays - quarterbacks Dave Wilson and then Tony Eason led a high-powered air attack that Illinois fans had never seen the likes of. By the time Trudeau settled in behind center as a sophomore starter in 1983 (the year I got my MTV), White had assembled the pieces that would take Illinois on a record-setting run.

Jack Trudeau: "The school and area was ripe for something good to happen; it had been a long, long time. (Stoner and White) came in and they had a very positive attitude. They did "Tailgreat", and all the themed things for the games. They did a lot of things that really got the fans involved and excited. And obviously we were fun to watch. We blitzed, we went after people, and we threw the ball like no one in the Big Ten had up to that point. When you look at what Dave Wilson had done, and Tony, and then that time frame when we put it altogether - the fans got excited by what was going on."

1982 marked White's third season at the helm, and the buzz surrounding Illini football was growing. Illinois capped the season with an appearance in the Liberty Bowl against Alabama, the last game coached by legendary Bear Bryant. It was just the beginning.

Illinois opened the 1983 campaign on the road at Mizzou on a blistering hot day in Columbia. Though the Illini lost the game 28-18, Trudeau said the effort gave a young Illinois team confidence.

Trudeau: "It was a really hot day. I remember like it was yesterday - it was my first game starting. I think everybody felt good that we were competitive on the road with a lot of young players. I felt pretty good about what had happened for me in that game. But I don't think that anybody thought that the next 10 weeks we would win every game. But we felt good about ourselves; we thought we were a good football team. It was a good start to what obviously ended up being one of the great seasons in Illinois history and a lot of fun. But I don't think anyone saw it coming at that point."

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The Illini defeated Stanford then blazed their way through the Big Ten scheduled after the season-opening loss at Missouri, reeling off ten straight wins and defeating all 9 conference foes - a feat that will likely never be equaled. The last casualty of the season? The Ryan Stadium goal posts, which somehow found their way into Lake Michigan after Illinois smoked Northwestern 56-24 to close out the regular season.

One game during that magical run is eternally embedded into the memories of us middle-aged Illini patrons. The most unlikely of plays took down the ghost of Woody Hayes, the first time Illinois had beaten the mighty Buckeyes since 1967 (I was three years old at the time).

Ohio State 13 Illinois 10 - 1:06 on the clock - the pitch to Thomas Rooks. And Illini history was made.

Trudeau: "The one thing I was told when I was recruited and went to Illinois was that Illinois hadn't beaten Ohio State or Michigan in 20 years. That was something that kind of stuck with me. Being a competitor, I didn't think anyone should dominate someone like that. I know when we got in that game against Ohio State we were really confident. We had beaten Iowa earlier 33-0 at home and they were No. 4 in the country. We felt like we were able to compete. The game wasn't a perfect game on our part - we didn't play great on offense and I made a few mistakes. But the one thing that we always talked about, that Mike White always talked about was - if we have a chance that's all we can ask for.

"That whole drive - sometimes you just wonder where things come from when you play the game. I made two throws to (Scott) Golden and he wasn't even in the progression. He was the fifth guy, and I don't think I had ever thrown it to him in practice on that particular play. But that whole drive was like that. I ran for 16 yards or whatever it was. And then to come up to the line of scrimmage being a passing team and everybody in the stadium thinks we are throwing the ball. I had always been the kind of player - and it started with Walt Harris who was my quarterback coach - that believed the quarterback's job wasn't to pad stats, it was to win games.

"When I came to the line of scrimmage, it was obvious to me that the play we had called was not going to work. I loved the fact that playing for Mike White he had enough confidence in me to say 'hey, if you see something, change the play'. I walked up to the line of scrimmage and I checked to a play that was obviously the right call. We made a nice block on the edge - I think Juriga made a nice block - and Thomas made a nice run around the corner. It's something that I take a lot of pride in. It was probably the biggest audible of my career - in college or the NFL - and it was to a run. That was pretty special to beat those guys that way."

Trudeau spent two more seasons at quarterback for Illinois, finishing his career as the all-time leading passer in school history with 8,725 yards and earned All-Big Ten honors in 1984 and 1985. He was selected in the 2nd round of the 1986 NFL Draft and went on to play 10 seasons in the NFL with the Colts, Jets, and Panthers.

After football, Trudeau has dabbled in broadcasting and high school coaching. He resides in Indianapolis and has four children. Through it all, he has remained a loyal Illini fan.

Trudeau: "I definitely get over as often as I can. All the way back when I was playing in the NFL in the early '90's I would try to get out on a bye week. When they play Indiana, I have gone to quite a few games over there.

"Between O'Toole, Lunt, and Bailey they are going to have a really good competition (at quarterback). That's going to be a real big part of what goes on in the spring. Whoever wins this battle has a chance to have a good football team. Offensively, with Coach Cubit and Coach Beckman letting him do his thing, I think they have a chance to be very exciting. If they can get a little bit better on defense - and I think they will with all the guys they are returning - this team has a chance to surprise some people. It kind of reminds me a little bit of where we were. You get a guy behind center who is capable of making some plays, and some guys around him who can support him, who knows what this team can do.

"I got to spend some time with Coach Beckman and Coach Cubit last summer and on the sidelines at Indiana. I try to stay close, and I try to read up on what's going on. I want them to be successful. I would much rather go over there when the place is full than when it's half empty. It's sad for me, and for a lot of us, to go back and not see fans there.

"I also think - and no offense to you guys at Rivals, Scout, and all those - that the fans have an ability to converse with each other, and they seem to want to be negative so quickly now. It's harder now to get that same excitement back. I think our fans are so quick to be negative and it's really unfortunate. Mike White, in his early years, he had success but it wasn't perfect. In that season in 1983, I don't' think anyone thought that with a sophomore quarterback and a bunch of young player that we were going to win the Big Ten and beat everybody. It was a different time, and yet I still think it's possible to do it at Illinois. But it takes a special time, an exciting team, it takes getting the right guys which is not easy. And it takes a little bit of an attitude adjustment by the fans from the standpoint that it takes time to be good and negativity doesn't help anybody.

"I see clips of the audible I made against Ohio State and Thomas Rooks ran it in for the touchdown - I long for Illinois to have that kind of atmosphere again in that stadium. That's what we're hoping is going to happen here soon. You look at those old clips - Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, all of those games - the fans were just overwhelmed with that team, and that whole time. I know all of the guys who played during that time feel the same - the fans carried us and were a big part of what we were doing. It was incredible

"It's still an emotional thing. Every time I see something from that time it brings me back like it was yesterday."

Us too, Jack. Us too.