I'm guessing you could probably still get to your place in this formation if asked to do so :)
It's very sad to note that the stadium is half empty and I am hoping coach Zook can do something about that soon.
Yes, I was in the first row of the first I of I-L-L-I-N-I. Right in the middle of the row - centered between the hash marks, I guess, would be the best way to describe it..... The chief would "emerge" from the marching band "muddle" right between me and the person next to me, as we would build the first I. During the two seasons I was in the band, the closest the football team came to winning a game was...... the ZERO-ZERO tie against Northwestern (and they were really bad back then too :-). It was hotter than Hades on the field that day - 95 degrees translated into 130 degrees for the astroturf field temperature. We were taking salt pills and drinking a LOT of water, and still some band members fainted when we hit the big Block I during the pregame show.
Needless to say, the Marching Illini and the Chief ceremony were THE most exciting things happening on the field those two seasons. I so remember our band director, the great Gary Smith, educating us specifically as to what our role was - to support the traditions of the school and to lend atmosphere to the whole event.