Check out a game at Northwestern! 2 good ones on tap -
Hi Selma Bama Fan.
My nickname is Eurocat and I'm a big Northwestern fan (and alumnus). If you haven't finalized your decisions, I'd like to encourage you to consider traveling up to see us play.
Evanston (where Northwestern is at) is a lovely suburb of Chicago and you can take the "El" train (that's what Chicagoans call their "subway") right to our small but lovely stadium. We like to call it the "Wrigley field of college football". It only seats 48k and almost every seat is great.
While the Illini vs UCLA matchup sounds like a good one, we play Arizona State that day and that should be just as good of a game. One week later, on the 18th, Kansas comes to Evanston. If you are still in Chicago on the second of October, you should DEFINITELY reserve tickets (NOW!) to see Ohio State versus Northwestern in Evanston. We hope that we will beat them this year as this would be the first time we beat them since 1971 or so. This game will be televised nationally on ESPN and will be a night game, so you can tailgate with fellow fans all day long. This game MAY sell out so get tickets now or you may be out of luck (or stuck with cruddy seats).
Keep in mind we are a small, private school. We do not have anything remotely resembling the fan experience you'd get at any SEC venue, apart from perhaps Vanderbilt. Vandy is actually a good comparison to us in terms of, well, just about everything (except for that fact that we've had more recent success than they have - we went to a minor bowl last year).
If you want a REAL "SEC-like" experience, you'll definitely find that at Ohio State the month you are there. Another option, and I hate to point you this way because you may choose to go there instead of to a Northwestern game, is Wisconsin. BIG party and tailgating scene, it's a blast. They are our biggest rival (after Illinois) but I have to give them credit where it's due, they know how to have a good time. I think you'll love it if you go. Madison (where Wisconsin is) is CLOSER to Chicago than Chamapaign (where Illinois is) so don't worry about the distance thing. I'd choose Madison over Illinois. Wisconsin is playing home games on the 4th of September (against UCF), the 11th (against UNLV), and the 25th (against Penn State - this is a game I would go to frankly).
Another option to consider, and I hope you won't flame me for suggesting this as I know they beat your team last year, is Northern Illinois which is in DeKalb (about an hour from Chicago).
Purdue and Notre Dame are also within easy driving distance of Chicago (2-3 hours).
This is our most active board (sorry, it's rivals, but it's our best board):
http://northwestern.rivals.com/forum.asp?sid=901&fid=57&style=1&Reset=
If you truly can't stand rivals, here is a fan board, but it's a lot "deadder"
http://pub13.ezboard.com/fnorthwesternwildcatfanboardfrm2
Here is a fan site:
http://www.fareastwildcat.com/
Here is another fan site:
http://www.hailtopurple.com/
Here is the official website for the sports department at NU. You can order tickets here:
http://nusports.collegesports.com/index-main.html
Here are some tips on the Evanston/Northwestern game day experience that I and another NU fan/poster have compiled for visiting fans. While some of it won't apply to you (as you'll already be in Chicago), perhaps some of the information will be handy. I hope you consider joining us for a great time in lovely Evanston. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at theoriginaleurocat at yahoo.com. Obviously the at is an @. Here is the information for fans visiting NU for a game -
INTRODUCTION -
I've gone to games in several cities, and have found that it is always helpful to get some advice from the home fans. Let me start out by saying that Evanston is a nice, safe town in which to see a college football game. I've seen large numbers of Ohio State fans, Michigan fans, Illinois fans, and Wisconsin fans here, all decked out in their team colors. In general, the people of Evanston are not into the college football thing, so most of them won't even know why you're wearing your colors (well, maybe it's not THAT bad, but you get the point). The reason is simply that - we are in Chicago! This is "da Bears" town and college football isn't the "thing" for too many folks. We also have grads from all kinds of schools here, so it isn't as "Wildcat focused" as you'd see in a "college town" like Iowa City or Madison or Lincoln Nebraska.
GETTING TO AND FROM THE STADIUM -
There is almost no parking near the stadium, so don't even try to park there. All the spots will be reserved for Northwestern Season Ticket Holders and, no, the passes can't be bought by visiting fans. Visiting fans can park on campus or in one of the public garages in downtown Evanston. There are free trolleys to the stadium, although you can walk it in 20-25 minutes from downtown Evanston or from the campus (which is essentially next to downtown). Note that the trolleys start to fill up within an hour of kick-off so start getting ready to board one early. Because of the partking situation, I say that the El train is the way to go. You need to board the RED line. At HOWARD street you have to change trains to the PURPLE line (essentially, it's a continuation of the same train, you just hop across the platform). To get to downtown Evanston, get off at DAVIS street. To get to the stadium get off on CENTRAL street (you'll see the stadium from the train and platform, it's less less than five minutes away by foot).
TAILGATING -
Tailgating, nerf ball tossing, dancing to boom-box music and the like will take place in the parking lot next to the stadium all day long (and, depending on the crowd, on campus as well in the designated on-campus parking lots). Go over to the stadium at least an hour before the game (if not earlier) and you can have a drink in Wildcat Alley which is just north of the stadium. They have free beer there, courtesy of Goose Island Brewery. Each adult can get two drink tickets just for asking. It opens two hours before kick-off. It's just north of the big building that is north of the stadium. If you look really thirsty, you may be able to obtain additional drink tickets by begging them from people who haven't used both of theirs. I've actually seen this happen.
FUN IN EVANTON BEFORE AND AFTER THE GAME -
Downtown Evanston consists of about 12 square blocks around the corner of Sherman and Church streets. Within a short walk of this intersection are many restaurants (perhaps 100 or more), including a lot of ethnic ones. There are several bars, but none of them is a true sports bar, and I can honestly say that I don't know of any Evanston bar that could be referred to as Wildcat Central. Again, this is the Chicago metro area, and life here simply does not revolve around Wildcat football. There too many other things going on.
While more exciting nightlife and can be found in Chicago, here's a suggestion for the Evanston experience. For Friday night, have dinner at Dave's Italian Kitchen (homemade pasta with very large portions) or Tapas Barcelona (a Spanish tapas restaurant) or the Flat Top grill (make your own stir fry), or one of the many Barbeque restaurants (Hecky's, Chicken Shack, Merle's), or Carmens Pizza (Chicago-style deep dish pizza chain) then go over to Tommy Nevin's for a drink. Nevin's is an Irish bar, across the street from the Best Western. There are a dozen other bars essentially next door to it if Nevins isn't your style or is too crowded. Wrap-up the night with an ice cream cone at the Marble Slab Creamery (homemade ice cream).
On Saturday, have breakfast at Le Pepe (which is almost next to the Hilton Hotel - though it can be crowded but that's because it's good even though it's a chain) or Viva Le Crepe (which is next to the Best Western) which never seems to have a line or a wait, but the food is just as good. If you wake up late - have lunch at Merles Rib Palace (Southern cooking) and enjoy a beer there and watch some other games on their big screen TV's. Many other bars also have TV's set up and tuned to football games.
If the weather is nice, feel free to walk over to the lake. If you look north from there, you can see the Northwestern campus, if you look south you'll see the Chicago skyline. If possible, take time to walk about the campus a bit. It's nice and as stated before, people may be tailgating on the lake.
GAME DAY PROCEDURES AT THE STADIUM -
I would enter the stadium early because our stadium is rather old (though completely renovated a few years ago) and that means the aisles are kinda small too so it can take some time to find your seats. Be advised that the authorities DO check people entering the stadium quite stringently post 9/11 so I wouldn't expect for fans to be able to smuggle drinks inside unless they are well hidden.
The field of play was lowered some years back and with a small stadium anyway, almost all seats are good seats except for, maybe, the end zone (some say it's too far away, I don't mind it) or the far corner of the east stands. I would also try to get seats higher up so you can see over the players on the sideline.
The Northwestern band will take the field about 20 minutes before kick off (though because school starts in late September at NU, the band may not be on hand yet for all of the early non-conference games). The band starts in the south end zone and marches onto the field. Then they stop as the drum majors are introduced. At this point, the three drum majors will bend over backward so that the tops of their hats touch the ground behind them. It sounds hokey, but it's kind of neat to see. Also,check out the Wildcat statue in the south end zone.
The visiting teams locker room will be in the south tower of the stadium. Between the south tower and the south end-zone seating area, there is passageway that the players will go through to enter and exit the field. This is also the only way for fans to walk from the west stands to the east stands, so both players and spectators share this passage way. My suggestion is to go there near the end of halftime, and you will be able to see the visiting players up close, when they go back on the field. Security people are usually in this area, just ask them where you can stand to see the players as the go by. They'll let you do it.
Aferwards, you can go back to one of the many Evanston bars (Nevin's, Bar Louie, the 1800 Club or the Keg, which is more of student place). Or head into Chicago for a real "good time. Or go out to eat....or....or....
Here is the shuttle bus info.
http://nusports.collegesports.com/genrel/shuttle.html
:biga:
