After Northwestern's regular season ended with a 24-14 win over in-state rival Illinois at Soldier Field, head coach Pat Fitzgerald gathered with his seniors at midfield in the nearly empty stadium. They stood in a circle, arm-in-arm, still fully outfitted in their uniforms, cherishing not only this last regular season win, but all the ups and downs of the previous four or five seasons.
Fitzgerald and the seniors joined the rest of the team in the locker room, to celebrate some more. And after fulfilling his media obligations in the bowels of the stadium, he boarded a coach bus en route to Evanston and left.