Northwestern/Illinois Football game at Wrigley?

[ZipDog]

tell us how you really feel.

 

Heh-heh-heh....

 

Hey, sully....

 

Heck, I don't know what I think, sometimes, about the Cubs. I love 'em, I know that. But, man, this carp with Ricketts, Hendry, and this new marketing guy just turns me off. And, this Allstate Wrigley "Classic" is just another example of that carp. What a bunch of BS!

 

I'll calm down, now, that I have it off my chest.

[Guest]

Yeah, Wrigley's not quite Jerry Jones' Palace.

[ZipDog]

Yeah, Wrigley's not quite Jerry Jones' Palace.

 

Chicagoland doesn't need (or want) another JerryWorld...as you know. Stop making fun of me...it is not good for the moderator "image."

 

\:D/

[minnesotacubsfan]

I dont think he was making fun of you at all.

 

as far as the game at Wrigley, was it Rickett's idea? Or NW & Illinois athletic departments with Big Ten support?

[J.R.]

I thought the park looked great.

 

We won't have to wait 40 years for the next football game at Wrigley.

[ZipDog]

I thought the park looked great.

 

We won't have to wait 40 years for the next football game at Wrigley.

 

You want to make an annual event of the "one-way" game at Wrigley? Well....have at it.

 

What was this farce, anyway? Crane Kenney or Randy Bush or who was it? Whomever, it was bad.

[Guest]

It is amazing down here. And getting down here at 4:30 was so worth it. Got a first row spot, though I was about 5 people too close to the desk for most shots. Still got some airtime for my signs, though.

 

They did an amazing job with everything here.

 

What did your signs say? I am watching the recording on my DVR right now.

 

Jon had one sign that got a lot of coverage on ESPNU that said "Northwestern Graduates Earn More $ than an SEC Recruit" and another sign that said "Northwestern Football - 95% Graduation Rate, 100% Ownership of Iowa." The Iowa sign got tweeted about on College Game Day's twitter page.

[Guest]

I thought the park looked great.

 

We won't have to wait 40 years for the next football game at Wrigley.

 

I agree. It looked like a lot of fun and I wish I could have been there (which sadly says something about the Cubs because I really didn't feel like going to Wrigley much in 2010).

[hawkeyecub]

 

Jon had one sign that got a lot of coverage on ESPNU that said "Northwestern Graduates Earn More $ than an SEC Recruit" and another sign that said "Northwestern Football - 95% Graduation Rate, 100% Ownership of Iowa." The Iowa sign got tweeted about on College Game Day's twitter page.

 

I'll never respond to one of his posts civilly again.

[J.R.]

You want to make an annual event of the "one-way" game at Wrigley? Well....have at it.

 

What was this farce, anyway? Crane Kenney or Randy Bush or who was it? Whomever, it was bad.

 

Sooner or later they will modify the infield stands and get the room they need. There is too much money to be made to stop with tonight.

 

Why did the game anger you so?

 

If you would bother to read the thread, you'll see that Northwestern personnel approached the Cubs about the game in the days immediately following the Winter Classic. Throwing Randy Bush into this makes you look like a buffoon.

[ZipDog]

You want to make an annual event of the "one-way" game at Wrigley? Well....have at it.

 

What was this farce, anyway? Crane Kenney or Randy Bush or who was it? Whomever, it was bad.

 

Sooner or later they will modify the infield stands and get the room they need. There is too much money to be made to stop with tonight.

 

Why did the game anger you so?

 

If you would bother to read the thread, you'll see that Northwestern personnel approached the Cubs about the game in the days immediately following the Winter Classic. Throwing Randy Bush into this makes you look like a buffoon.

 

O.K....so, I am a "buffoon" to you. So what? Crane Kenney? There is the buffoon.

 

I don't know about J.R. You seem more adedpt at throwing the buffoon lingo than actually understanding it.

[TruffleShuffle]

It is amazing down here. And getting down here at 4:30 was so worth it. Got a first row spot, though I was about 5 people too close to the desk for most shots. Still got some airtime for my signs, though.

 

They did an amazing job with everything here.

 

What did your signs say? I am watching the recording on my DVR right now.

 

Jon had one sign that got a lot of coverage on ESPNU that said "Northwestern Graduates Earn More $ than an SEC Recruit" and another sign that said "Northwestern Football - 95% Graduation Rate, 100% Ownership of Iowa." The Iowa sign got tweeted about on College Game Day's twitter page.

 

haha yeah the SEC recruit one got tweeted a lot. fine work on both accounts jon.

 

hopefully one or both gets chosen for the gameday sign contest and vance can mobilize some ballot-stuffing.

[J.R.]

O.K....so, I am a "buffoon" to you. So what? Crane Kenney? There is the buffoon.

 

I don't know about J.R. You seem more adedpt at throwing the buffoon lingo than actually understanding it.

 

Help me understand why the game angered you.

[Jon]

 

Jon had one sign that got a lot of coverage on ESPNU that said "Northwestern Graduates Earn More $ than an SEC Recruit" and another sign that said "Northwestern Football - 95% Graduation Rate, 100% Ownership of Iowa." The Iowa sign got tweeted about on College Game Day's twitter page.

 

I'll never respond to one of his posts civilly again.

It was legally required since I don't do any trashtalking verbally or online.

 

http://twitpic.com/38p7u3

http://twitpic.com/38p7xq

 

 

The whole thing was great minus the defense not being able to fill gaps for the first time all year (they were in good position against Penn State, but just couldn't tackle to save their lives). Standing for 7 hours and getting to GameDay at 4:30 was well worth it. Everything pre-game went really well. But I will say that while I think this was/is a great idea, it's not something that should be repeated. At least anytime soon for Northwestern. The seats, including great ones for baseball, are awful for football. With the minimal incline on the lower level, the number of people constantly getting up and walking around, the vendors, and the people on both sides who got wasted prior to the game, it made it very hard to see the game from my 1st row seat in 123. 400 seats were probably great and bleacher seats, especially RF, seemed pretty decent, too. And for a baseball game, people doing those things isn't a big deal. But it's quite problematic for a football game. For a game at Wrigley, you have to charge a lot more money for worse seats. My ticket cost $150 when I have a 1st row seat at the 25 yard line in Evanston that costs me less than $40 for a Big Ten game, I believe. It's a sacrifice you make for a game like this for marketing purposes, but especially since the marketing impact for doing this again would be far less, it's not something you want to do again.

[Magnetic Curses]

i hope they don't do it every year, or regularly. this game was kind of legendary, and will go down in illinois lore and will be up there with griffith's 8 touchdowns and grange's 4 touchdowns in one quarter against michigan's impregnable defense.

[minnesotacubsfan]

holy hyperbole

[Magnetic Curses]

holy hyperbole

 

leshoure rushed for 330 yards in a one-way game during the first football contest at wrigley field in 40 years. what the [expletive] else do you need, a legion of mini-ditkas carrying him off the field? for [expletive]'s sake man.

[minnesotacubsfan]

mini-ditkas would be nice. Or a mini-halas's, might be more appropriate.

[Magnetic Curses]

the undead war chiefs of the 12 tribes of the illini nation carry him off the field.

[minnesotacubsfan]

I think you're on to something

[Soul]

I just wish NW would have been healthy to make it a game.

 

I know no one cares but in terms of NW seasons they were having a good one. Now the air is let out of the balloon. For the few of us who care it's pretty disappointing. I would much rather have had the wildcats healthy a winning than the illini qualify for some game that is pretty much a joke (and they might lose anyway, whatever it is)

[SouthSideRyan]

feels good to beat up on fancy pattie.

 

Northwestern probably lost as part of their nefarious plan to keep the Zooker employed in Champaign for another decade.

 

Best sign at gameday yesterday was the NU fan with the "Keep Zook" sign.

[Flames24Rulz]

My opinion, based solely on TV (DVR recording viewed just now):

 

I think the entire "experience" sucked. Bob Davies spent as much time apologizing for Wrigley, Allstate, Chicago, Big Ten, the two schools, and ESPN that I felt like throwing the remote at the TV screen. What a crappy game! And, the football teams weren't much better.

 

And, Wrigley.....

 

Good gawd.......

 

What a dump!

 

It reminds me of old Texas Stadium, which had become a dump, also.

 

Memories of my first Cubs-Cardinals game in 1955 at Wrigley have clouded my mind. Time to go somewhere else....

 

Not sure what the hell you're talking about, but I thought the whole experience was awesome.

 

We purchased SRO tickets and saw that there were a couple of empty rows down the right field foul line at around the 20 yard line. We went there midway through the first quarter and sat there for the whole game. Can't really beat that for $25 tickets.

[SouthSideRyan]

Awesome experience, well worth my $125.

[J.R.]

But I will say that while I think this was/is a great idea, it's not something that should be repeated. At least anytime soon for Northwestern. The seats, including great ones for baseball, are awful for football. With the minimal incline on the lower level, the number of people constantly getting up and walking around, the vendors, and the people on both sides who got wasted prior to the game, it made it very hard to see the game from my 1st row seat in 123. 400 seats were probably great and bleacher seats, especially RF, seemed pretty decent, too. And for a baseball game, people doing those things isn't a big deal. But it's quite problematic for a football game. For a game at Wrigley, you have to charge a lot more money for worse seats. My ticket cost $150 when I have a 1st row seat at the 25 yard line in Evanston that costs me less than $40 for a Big Ten game, I believe. It's a sacrifice you make for a game like this for marketing purposes, but especially since the marketing impact for doing this again would be far less, it's not something you want to do again.

 

The compromised football sightlines at Wrigley didn't keep the Bears from selling tickets, and similar setups in Milwaukee, San Francisco and San Diego thrived. Ryan Field wins on sightlines, but Wrigley wins on accessibility from the city and desirability - Wrigleyville is a far better pre/post hangout than the NU campus. Football fans like the neighborhood just as much as baseball fans.

 

I think the Cubs were inspired to go forward with football despite the rules setback dealt by the Big Ten. NU could happen again, and they might get ND to come once in a while. A Big Ten title game is a pipe dream so long as Soldier Field is a candidate. Long-term, it is conceivable that the family would look to a full-time college football partnership to help finance improvements to the park. Schools with far less revenue potential than DePaul and UIC have started D1 college football programs in recent years.