I Guess I Should Be Telling You How They Arrived at the Rankings

I have only been to a whole bunch of games at Northwestern's Dyche Stadium, now Ryan Field, and one U of Illinois and one Indiana University game, so that is the extent of my Big 10 football experiences.

The writers of the article in the Tribune last year said they weighed factors such as atmosphere, tailgating, tradition, food and even parking to rank fan experience at each school.

They think you should put some of these on your bucket list, but say you might want to skip the East Coast.  I personally believe that those East Coast schools:  Maryland and Rutgers, are a blemish on the Big Ten, 11,12,13,14.

--RoadDog

This Past Weekend: Nov. 29 to Dec. 1: Movies, Bars, Band, and Two Sad Days

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29

Movie day for me.  I saw the movies "Creed II" and "Bohemian Rhapsody."  I always try to see at least 52 movies every year, one for every week.  Today's movies were #42 and #43.  The music in "Bohemian Rhapsody,"  Wow!!!

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30

We had more snow  Went to Meijer and ate at Steak 'N Shake.  We met Kevin and Kelly at the Legion and watched the last few exciting minutes of the MAC Championship.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1

Today was the anniversary of a very sad day in Chicago history, the Our Lady of the Angels fire which took the lives of 92 students and 3 nuns.  Liz knew some of the students.  Also sad to hear that former President George H.K. Bush died on Friday.

Went to the Fox Lake American Legion and had a great time listening to Joe Kadlec in the afternoon.  Then we went to Sunnyside and watched the Northwestern and Georgia Big 10, 11,12,13,14 and SEC championship games.  Sadly, both lost.

--RoadDog

A Losing Football and Baseball Kind of Weekend

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16TH--  Went shopping in McHenry.  usual Suspects at the Legion.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17TH--  Drove to Arlington Heights and had a great breakfast with Bob and Marilyn.  Then he drove to Evanston and had a nice walk to Ryan Field past some really pretty older homes with beautiful landscaping as the fall colors were starting.  Unfortunately, Northwestern lost to Iowa, but an absolutely great fall day for college football.

Afterwards we went to Sports Page in Arlington Heights to eat.  Stopped at Half-Price Books in Palatine on my way home.  This is my favorite store.

Liz and I went to several places that were too crowded before we found places to sit at the bar at the Legion to watch the Cubs game.  Unfortunately another loss to the Mets.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER  18TH--  Met the Usual Suspects at Squaw Bar for the Bears-Lions game.  Unfortunately another loss in a game Chicago could have won.  Then sat out by the lake at Kevin and Kelly's.  Came home and watched another Cubs loss.  Those pitchers and that Murphy guy are killing us.

--RoadLoserDog


COUNTER PROVERBS:  What will be, will be.  --or--  Life is what you make it.

Heading Out for the Northwestern-Iowa Game

In just a few minutes I will be leaving for Arlington Heights, where I will meet up with my buddy Bob and after a gourmet breakfast, will head for Evanston and the Wildcat-Hawkeye game at Ryan Field.

It is a very chilly day.  We have a freeze warning in effect right now, our first of the year.

Afterwards, it will be a post-game chowdown somewhere and home for a baseball game.

--RoadDog

COUNTER PROVERBS:  The bigger, the better.  --or--  The best things come in small packages.

Wrigley's Gone Purple

The iconic green scoreboard out in front of Chicago's Wrigley Field has been painted purple and the familiar baseball field has been obliterated in preparation for tomorrow's Northwestern-Illinois football game. It's purple because it is a Northwestern home game.

The idea to bring football back to Wrigley began two years ago, but has been going full bore this last month.

The last football game at the "Friendly Confines" was in 1970, when the Bears played their last game there. The last college football game was when the DePaul Blue Demons (now football-less) defeated St. Louis in 1938. Even Loyola, another football-less college played their games at Wrigley.

Of course, a few years ago, the Chicago Blackhawks had a hockey game there.

The football field's configuration is a bit different now. The goal posts are in right field (actually on the wall itself) and along the third base line.

Eighty tons of sand and lots of sod have been have been brought in and placed around the field.

The Chicago Sun-Times had an article about it called "Here's the Sod Story." There were a lot of photos accompanying it. They have painted the famous ivy on the walls. I imagine the famous rooftop venues will be in operation for this as well.

That Would Be a Neat Game to Watch, But I Will Be On the Road. --RoadDog


DOORMATS WITH ATTITUDE: Beer Gets You In the Door.

One Great Football Game-- part 1

Drove to Arlington Heights this morning and had an excellent breakfast at Bob's house. We were joined by his nephew Chris, also a Northern Illinois grad, only a lot more recent.

Evanston is particularly beautiful this time of the year, along with those gorgeous homes. We parked to the west of Green Bay Road and walked over to Ryan Field and took our seats along the 30 yard line on the east side.

We were near the Indiana cheering section and they had lots to yell about in the first part of the game. I mean, LOTS. The first play from scrimmage and a Hoosier ran 70 yards for a touchdown. before long, it was 21-0.

Northwestern finally got a field goal, but on the ensuing kickoff, another Indiana touchdown and a 28-3 lead.

Fortunately, it hadn't rained, but the seats were wet, plus it was quite cool and overcast with a breeze, so we were really considering leaving.

Things Gotta Get better. --RoadDog

Let's Go Out to the Ballpark--Wrigley Field, That Is

Gone are the days when Liz and I, back in the 70s and early 80s would, on a great summer day, get up and say, "What do we want to do today? Hey, why not go see the Cubs play." We'd drive over to Evanston, park in the General Finance Corporation lots by Dyche Stadium (now Ryan Field), home of Northwestern University's football games. (You remember GFC's Friendly Bob Adams who was anxious to give you a loan.)

Liz worked at GFC for awhile before becoming a teacher. Her dad, Amby, worked there from 1964 to 1981.

We'd then catch the El at Central Avenue and take it to the "Friendly Confines" which were truly friendly back then. You never had a problem getting a ticket, even on the day of the game (except, as we found out once, when the dastardly Cardinals were in town). Other than the Cardinals, there was rarely a sell-out. And, we could get a good seat for around $5 and drink reasonably-priced beer. Food was also reasonable. Now those were the days. We thought they'd never end. We'd sing and dance...Oops, sorry Thelma Hopkins, that's your song.

I've been keeping a written journal since 1978, and found an entry from May of 1981 saying that they'd raised the price of a cup of beer to the astronomical high of $1.50. My comment was, "I can't drink here anymore."  Too expensive,

I doubt that we had too many beautiful people in the park as people liked the Cubs in Chicago, but it wasn't the place to go to see and be seen. Of course, not cell phones either, and you never saw people get a phone call and start waving madly at the camera.

Sitting in the bleachers was around $3. And they were crazy back then as well.

Those Were the Days, My Friend. We Thought They'd Never End. --RoadDog