Notre Dame is currently slated to play at Ryan Field on November 3rd 2018. Do you think this game will be played at Wrigley or Soldier? I hope not, but I am really surprised they agreed to play in Evanston.
Notre Dame in 2018
- Thread starter BigNUFan51
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Maybe because it's the home of The World Champions! Also it gets NU more publicity then any other game on their schedule.
Well. Completely shit stadium for football. If NU (Dr. Jim) were to do that then I suppose there will be excellent opportunity for $$ in reselling tickets. So, I guess I don't care.
Because it was the best game atmosphere since the Penn State game in 95.
To each his own. I and any NU fan should NEVER sell their tickets to the enemy.
The electricity that was at tThe Wrigley was unlike any other NU home game. However F NDplay that game at Ryan.
I was there, most fun I've ever had at a loss. In fact had more fun than vast majority of wins.
Could not disagree more. It was a horrendous experience.
A recent tribune article said 2020 is when football would resume at Wrigley. Next several offseasons will be construction and renovation.
This would include acceptable dimensions for "both ways" NCAA football.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...at-wrigley-field-spt-0106-20170105-story.html
With the announcement that the Cats will likely be playing at Wrigley in 2020, I'm curious as to why some people disliked the first experience so much. I'm a season ticket holder since 2004, and have attended all but a handful of home games since then, including the Wrigley game.
I am personally pumped for the Cats to play there again, and I agree the atmosphere was amazing and was only topped by games OSU in 2013, Michigan 2005, and maybe Wisconsin 2009. My seats were in the right field bleachers, so I didn't have much of a view either. I do live on the north side of the city, so they pregame parties, bar packages, and ease of getting to the game where big pros in my book as well.
For the people that disliked it so much, what were the specific reasons? View of the game? Congestion of getting to Wrigley / parking? Price of tickets if not a season ticket holder? I can't fathom why people would not be excited about the Cats playing there for both the game experience itself, and the publicity it generates. Looking for honest opinions here, not just a declaration that the experience sucked.
My only regret was that NU sent us the wrong seats. We requested and were assured that our seats would be in the upper deck 3d base side. Instead got ones in the LF bleachers, 1st row and the view was horrible. We did move higher up and then it was just OK. Otherwise the whole thing was an experience, better then anything held at Ryan Field. When the re-do is completed the place will be very fan friendly, with additional clubs and restaurants, more elevators, outdoor plaza(tailgating?) and even a hotel across the street. I would never pass up a chance to go to a game at beautiful Wrigley Field!
Wrigley was a terrible venue to watch football . There were no quality seats. There was a lot of crowd activity outside the stadium if "atmosphere" is what you are looking for-I believe ESPN Gameday was there, across the street
Leaving the game was painful , trying to get the EL afterwards was futile
Leaving the game was painful , trying to get the EL afterwards was futile
doc, you have summarized my feelings quite well. In addition, it was cold, uncomfortable and
somewhat ridiculous, with both teams on the same sideline and headed in the same direction. The pre-game stuff was fun, but the game was not. My wife and I left early, and we were glad we did.
I agree the one way thing was ridiculous, but that would obviously be corrected before another game was played there. I don't see how temperature is at all a valid complaint.
As for it being uncomfortable, this was one of the few "home" games in the last 15 years that was actually played in a stadium filled to capacity with people. The renovations should help with that as well, but I get that it was cramped. I would say that when Ryan Field is actually full though (OSU 2013, Nebraska 2012, Michigan 2005 are the only games that come to mind), it is much much much more "uncomfortable" than an at capacity Wrigley Field.
Trudging through the masses to the el is a pain if you need to leave right after the game, but traffic out of Evanston is no picnic either. Next time, stick around for awhile and grab some food and drink at one of the dozens of establishments within walking distance of Wrigley.
Oh well, to each his own though. If (when) the Cats do play there again, if you decide not to go, make sure your tickets end up in the hands of Cats fans.
Go Cats!
I'm not worried about ND fans outnumbering NU fans no matter where we play. This is literally the one opponent where I believe NU fans can be counted upon to A) show up and B) act like actual college football fans.
I know you were there. I could hear you whining from across the park.
I sat in the low 500s between home plate and first base, so I had a clear view of the one end zone that counted for $50. Crisp weather, the sign painted purple, the circus outside ... it was a great day for football and I have mostly positive memories of the Wrigley experience, if not the horror show of the game.
A game at Wrigley in 2020 will be a lot better because a) they'll have two end zones and b) there are two huge video boards now. But ... It's still going to be a mess for a lot of people in the stadium unless they can run the field diagonally. If it's the first-base line alignment, that's great for people in right field, along the shallow first base line, and the right-field bleachers, which leaves something like 10K or more seats nearly worthless except for the huge price we'll charge to turn a profit.
A game at Wrigley in 2020 will be a lot better because a) they'll have two end zones and b) there are two huge video boards now. But ... It's still going to be a mess for a lot of people in the stadium unless they can run the field diagonally. If it's the first-base line alignment, that's great for people in right field, along the shallow first base line, and the right-field bleachers, which leaves something like 10K or more seats nearly worthless except for the huge price we'll charge to turn a profit.
Seriously, you like football where both teams go in the same direction and can't catch a pass for fear of running into part of the stadium? It's about as satisfying as playing tennis against a tennis wall.
We played like that as kids. There was this great yard up the block, save for the giant oak tree with the low branches in the end zone that would clothesline you if you weren't attentive. So we switched up every possession.
Sure, but If I happened to pass by to watch, I didn't have to pay $60.
I have this recurring dream in which I'm playing squash on a court where there's a bunch of stuff stored on the court floor and we just have to play around it. I think that dream started about the time of the Wrigley game against Illinois.
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Obviously no one liked the fact that teams could only go towards one end zone but if take a look at the Cubs announcement, that has been taken care of. The bears played in Wrigley for years and those walls were there then and there are other stadiums where the end zone and the stands almost meet.
Disagree Sheffielder. I truly have come to believe our lack of local fan support is based upon:
1) with >25% of NUs undergraduates coming from the Chicagoland area, we simply don't spit out enough alums who remain in and around Chicago to build a big enough local fan base. Rough numbers, 25% of 2,000 grads per year = 500. Fifty years of that and you have only 25,000 local fans. Very rough numbers I know, but very unlike state schools where 80% of 10,000-15,000 annual graduates are from the general area, or at least the state.
2) of those 2,000 graduates per year, 500 or so who remain in and around Chicago, there are a far lower percentage of rabid sports fans than state schools, as we draw far more academically minded people who often are far less interested in sports. This doesn't mean that there aren't rabid sports fans going to NU, just that the percentages are not in our favor as compared to state schools when it comes to building a local fan base who regularly base their weekend activities around going to a football game.
3) we largely do not pull in fans who are not alums of NU. Yes, there are some. But unlike even Illinois, who every person in the state can make a case to pull for as their 'home state' team, Northwestern largely does not have the same pull. Some often mock fans who pull for schools which they didn't themselves attend, but schools with the largest fan bases are made up of high percentages of just those types of individuals. If had a more geographic name that could build fan support in a specific region, that could help (NOT that I am at all advocating changing our name). This is a big reason behind the Chicago's Big Ten team campaign, to try to generate such interest in a geographic region when our name alone does not.
But what I think we have is a perfect storm of low attendance, a very small local alumni base, an alumni base comprised of individuals for whom sports is a less passionate endeavor, and a school name/history that does not lend itself to support of the local populace. Nature of the breast in being a small, extremely elite institution that prides itself on the widely diverse geographic origins of its student body.
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Actually the seats in the upper deck and the grandstand along the 3rd base line were as good as most stadiums. Can't imagine why you would complain about a crowd at football game but to each his own. Also the "L" handles lots of even larger crowds for Cubs games and especially the World Series. Either get in line and wait your turn or stop in a establishment around Wrigley and enjoy the atmosphere and the crowd. For others, it was November and it gets cold in Chicago around then and guess what, it would have been just as cold at Ryan Field and crowd would have been likely 10,000 less, so I guess you would enjoy that.
I know, I was at the 1963 championship game between the Bears and the Giants. And there weren't any problems with the field, except it was frickin' cold.
But if that is the case why wasn't it possible to play both directions when NU played Illinois? Was the stadium still somehow configured for baseball?
Wrigley has added additional box seats behind home plate and increased the size of the dugouts since the Days when the Bears played there. Also the north end zone, even then was not the required 10 yards and still it ran right up to the bleacher wall. The next NU game will be much more enjoyable, including the outcome, I hope. They have plans to actually remove the seating and the wall along 3 base and the new restaurants and clubs will also be open, along with the "Plaza" and the hotel across the street. Enjoy.
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