Peoria’s Inferiority Complex

Add A. Tude, the IHSA’s goofy mascot, thought Peoria was a slam dunk all along.

The big news today is that Champaign-Urbana did not win back the rights to hold the state boys’ basketball tournaments at the Assembly Hall. Peoria can keep puffing out its chest, because the tourneys will remain at Carver Arena for another five years. While the vote by the IHSA board was hardly surprising — given that the Peoria business community, in particular Caterpillar, was throwing money at it by the bushels — what is so funny about the whole thing is how Peoria is so desperate to declare its superiority. Not necessarily over Champaign, but over anyone.

I can’t get over how the Peoria Journal-Star has completely lost its journalistic objectivity in the coverage of this event. Its consistent editorialization of news stories has been laugh-out-loud funny. From Greg Stewart today:

“After a decade of indifference, that community put together a bid package spearheaded by the university’s athletic department.” Nice turn of phrase, but hardly accurate.

From Stewart and Steve Tarter on Sunday: “Ten years ago, the IHSA moved the state finals here for a number of reasons, most importantly a lack of community support in Champaign and price gouging by local merchants.” Perhaps including would have been a more accurate and less inflammatory term.

In every story they have written on the topic, the Journal-Star attributed Champaign-Urbana’s “renewed” interest in the tournament to comments made by Illinois coach Bruce Weber that having the tournament in Champaign would help the Illini’s recruiting. Today’s Chicago Tribune and AP stories mention Weber, but do not credit Champaign-Urbana’s bid solely to the power of Bruce Almighty.