​Sports hate is fun.Morez Johnson Jr. left us. He left us for… (gulp) Michigan. Given the seasons Michigan and Illinois had, it was always going to be a big game. Adding Morez’s departure into the mix just made it that much more personal. When he came back to State Farm Center as a member of the Michigan Wolverines, it was fun to boo him. It was fun to root against him. Rivalries are fun. They’re what sports are built on. It’s time to concede though. We lost this one.Morez had options coming out of high school and he chose to stay in-state and come to Illinois and it felt nice to be chosen. He played well, we could see the potential, and before it really had the chance to develop, he was gone and we hated him for it.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMorez transferring to Michigan was the college basketball equivalent of your ex showing up on Instagram with your biggest rival. You tell yourself you’re over it. Then they post vacation pictures, buy a house together, and suddenly you’re hate-scrolling at midnight wondering how they got their happy ending with someone else.The answer is opportunity. And more money. But mostly the opportunity. He took full advantage of it, dominating his sophomore season, putting up a double-double in a blowout win in his return to Champaign, winning a national championship, and getting drafted in the lottery by his former college coach. He left us, found “the one,” got married, had a couple of kids, and we’re still doom-scrolling the wedding photos wondering what could’ve been.It was fun to hate for that season. All that hate didn’t get us anywhere though and maybe it’s time to move on.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementI get it. He’s not our guy. He’s Michigan’s guy, but just like Morez, the players mentioned above left us too. They didn’t leave for Michigan, and they didn’t have the same success. But they did leave, and we don’t hate them for it.The fact is, Morez made a personal choice and that choice worked out as well as he could have ever hoped. I don’t fault him for it. He had his reasons and he’s in a position now, that in all honesty, he probably wouldn’t have been in had he stayed in orange and blue. If Morez stays, who’s to say we have the same success that we had last year or that we would be in the position we are currently? It’s hard for me to dislike or root against somebody that made the best choice for them. Sports need villains. That’s part of what makes rivalries great. But not every player who leaves becomes one forever.Morez Johnson made the decision he believed gave him the best chance to reach the NBA. Looking at how it all unfolded, it’s hard to argue he was wrong. He’ll always be a former Illini. He’ll always be a Michigan champion. Both things can be true. Morez isn’t our guy anymore—but he doesn’t have to be our enemy forever.