Had a blast down at Wrigley yesterday. Sure, it sucked to lose a heartbreaker, but the experience was great:
1. Wrigleyville instantly becomes the best pre-game party in the country. I hit the Holy Triumvirate of Wrigley bars — Murphy’s, Cubby Bear, and Yak-zies — and despite being outnumbered 90-10 by Iowa fans, everyone was there to have a good time and soak up a college football game day.
2. Game attendance was more like 80-20 Hawkeyes. We can’t help it that we have a sh!tty fan base. So what if we “give up a home game”? That would have been true at Ryan Field yesterday too. Make Wrigley our second home, and if we’re outnumbered, bring a Cats Against The World attitude.
3. Sight lines at Wrigley are fine if you know where to sit. The 300 level on the first base line, and even the 400 level if you avoid the posts, offer fantastic views. And there are few more beautiful and historic venues than Wrigley itself.
4. NU does a good job of branding it a home game despite the numbers. The field looked great (other than the 4th quarter sinkhole on the goal line). The video boards featured nonstop NU content, including some fun Cubs/Wildcats mashups. And the NU kids in the bleachers got a lot of quality big screen time — they were having fun out there.
5. Wrigley is easy to get to. CTA isn’t perfect to say the least, but hard to complain about door to door service to Addison. You get the usual sights and smells on the Red Line, but train cars packed with college football fans are actually kind of fun.
6. Look, I live a mile from Ryan Field, and there’s no place I’d rather be, but for a once-a-year experience, and for a home away from home the next two years when the Cubs schedule permits it, Wrigley is the answer.
1. Wrigleyville instantly becomes the best pre-game party in the country. I hit the Holy Triumvirate of Wrigley bars — Murphy’s, Cubby Bear, and Yak-zies — and despite being outnumbered 90-10 by Iowa fans, everyone was there to have a good time and soak up a college football game day.
2. Game attendance was more like 80-20 Hawkeyes. We can’t help it that we have a sh!tty fan base. So what if we “give up a home game”? That would have been true at Ryan Field yesterday too. Make Wrigley our second home, and if we’re outnumbered, bring a Cats Against The World attitude.
3. Sight lines at Wrigley are fine if you know where to sit. The 300 level on the first base line, and even the 400 level if you avoid the posts, offer fantastic views. And there are few more beautiful and historic venues than Wrigley itself.
4. NU does a good job of branding it a home game despite the numbers. The field looked great (other than the 4th quarter sinkhole on the goal line). The video boards featured nonstop NU content, including some fun Cubs/Wildcats mashups. And the NU kids in the bleachers got a lot of quality big screen time — they were having fun out there.
5. Wrigley is easy to get to. CTA isn’t perfect to say the least, but hard to complain about door to door service to Addison. You get the usual sights and smells on the Red Line, but train cars packed with college football fans are actually kind of fun.
6. Look, I live a mile from Ryan Field, and there’s no place I’d rather be, but for a once-a-year experience, and for a home away from home the next two years when the Cubs schedule permits it, Wrigley is the answer.