B10 Football at Wrigley!
Next fall Wrigley Field will host the epic show down of Illinois vs. Northwestern. Details to be announced tomorrow.
When this game was first rumored I know they had said they were considering bringing in the Maize and Blue for a game in an upcoming season.
TALK ABOUT AWESOME!! Winter Classic was spectacular, but if Michigan were to play at Wrigley I don't know what I would do I would be so pumped!
Overall Tate just has better stuff, but Denard's got the heat.
I WOULD enjoy seeing TWolf patrolling center field.
Get Northwestern to trade $$$ for a game there, and we might get an extra "home" game.
(I mean, if Indiana[?] can be convinced to give a game away to Penn State, why not?).
...Brandon might try to pull off having IU move the 2012 game to Lucas Oil Stadium? Yeah, we'd fill that thing.
My hope is that any future Big Ten championship game would be played in either Wrigley or Soldier Field.
I think a B10 Championship game would almost have to be held at Soldier Field, Lucas Oil Stadium (Indy) or Lambeau.
If the conference didn't want to give a distinct advantage to any team it would negate the stadiums in Cleveland (too close to OSU), Cincinnati (Ditto), Detroit (too close to UM/MSU), and Pittsburgh (too close to Penn State and potentially too far East).
Given that Iowa has no pro football, and the Metrodome is a bit far north-west, I think those mentioned above are the only options.
That being said , if the conference expands to include a bunch of the former big east teams Pittsburgh might come back into play and the Ohio Stadiums start to look a little more centrally located.
Alas, I only speculate ...
I think money would overrule any "fairness" concern about location.
True, but you're kinda missing the point.
The SEC has its championship in Atlanta not because it couldn't sell out the stadium in Gainseville or Tuscaloosa, but rather because its centrally located amongst the SEC's territory.
A championship game within the territory of a conference, by definition, would be near one school or another. The idea is to have it a pro-stadium that isn't on the doorstep one of the schools within the conference to maximize both revenue and logistical concerns.
Probably not Lambeau. Green Bay is in the middle of nowhere and difficult to get to. Soldier Field or Ford Field would be more centralized locations.
What makes those that much closer than Northwestern is to Chicago, Indiana is to Indianapolis, or Wisconsin is to Lambeau (or Northwestern is in the other direction)? Or are we just discounting the first two because they probably won't be there that much?
Detroit isn't THAT close to MSU, at least, and I don't know that Pitt is all that much closer to PSU (can't really say for the Ohios...but who wants to hold it there anyway?).
I think the first two are likely, because of Big Ten and NCAA office locations (though Indy is much more set to host stuff where people come to town than Soldier Field...I mean, Chicago can handle it, but you won't be by the Stadium at all). I doubt anyone is going up to Lambeau, either. But to see a Michigan game there would be cool. Depends on if Ford has any endorsement money by that time...(and yes, I know you weren't considering that...only the fairness).
(Someone with more time will Mapquest all the distances and prove me wrong, I'm sure).
While I was attempting to edit my comment to explain that Chicago and Indianapolis are negated because Northwestern and IU are of little football relevance my comment got locked.
Basically, you're correct in assuming that I negated those schools because they're frequently not relevant in respects to football
Winter Classic was a blast, but Wrigley is still a dump.
Should be a cool event though.
What makes Wrigley a dump? Yeah, it's an older building, but in general its a great place to watch a ball game.
You probably hate Yost too.
Nope. I love Yost.
Wrigley is just a dump, man. I don't know how you can say it isn't. The place is falling apart. Instead of renovating or fixing things, they put up nets to catch falling concrete. There are obstructed views everywhere. I just don't like it.
The atmosphere of the place is a great place to watch a ballgame, but the physical entity that is Wrigley Field is a dump.
The structural posts if youre in the lower section near the back do suck, and yeah, the nets to catch falling concrete was dumb - the nets was a tribune co thing, they were going through bankruptcy, that's been fixed.
But now the new owners are renovating and fixing things. Just get better seats. Yes the atmosphere is awesome, but so is the building. Brick & Ivy, fans right on top of the game, bullpens down the foul lines, it's how baseball stadiums should be
...at least some of the nets were still in place, FWIW. And I have read complaints about The Big House scoreboards and PA systems on this blog, but the ones at Wrigley are by far the worst of any stadium I have ever been to.
I couldn't care less, but you just offended one million Cub fans. You can't come between Cub fans and that scoreboard.
...I just call them like I see them. Or, as is the case from about 40% of the seats at Wrigley Field, as I see it through a pole. The atmosphere in Wrigleyville on a summer afternoon is great, no doubt. But IMHO there are better stadiums in which to watch a game, no matter the sport.
How is Wrigley a dump? I hate the Cubs with a passion but Wrigley is a great place...
As a die-hard Cubs fan, I have to say that Wrigley is my second favorite place to watch a sporting event (first being the Big House, of course). I would love to watch a football game at Wrigley.
I live across the street from Wrigley, so this should be fun. Maybe I'll grab a ticket and go watch.
I would love to see us play Illinios at Wrigley. That would be sweet.
I don't think we'll ever see this with Wrigley being in Northwestern's backyard
We would most likely play NU there due to proximity, and for it to be called a Northwestern "home game". Also, its Illinois, not Illinios.
Syracuse will be playing upcoming games at the new Yankee Stadium. How about M-SU?
the big question though, is how is the playing surface going to affect the players?
and then play at Giants Stadium?
Just kidding! Just kidding!
Don't worry, we play there too... ;)
April 23rd, 2010 at 12:29 PM ^
Just seems way too small, capacity-wise.
April 23rd, 2010 at 12:44 PM ^
Not when compared to that glorified high school stadium Northwestern already plays in.