It was a game we had looked forward to since it was announced in March – Northwestern football hosting Illinois at Wrigley Field. This would be the first college football game at Wrigley Field since 1938 and the first football game since 1970 when the Chicago Bears moved to Soldier Field.

Even my parents, who are also Northwestern alumni, flew in from San Francisco to attend the game. At first, we hoped this game would repeat annually, but with the announcement that both teams would score in the west end zone, the game is looking more like a one shot deal.

Beg, Borrow and Deal
I needed four tickets together for this game. So rather than deal with the scalpers around Wrigley Field on game day, I chose to buy tickets directly from Northwestern when they went on sale to alumni in October. We bought tickets in the $100 area. The tickets were in the lower level of the west end zone and ended up being great seats for the game.

Pre Game “Tailgate”
One of the guys I always tailgate with at Ryan Field lives a block from the Ultimate Sports Wife and me. I did not want to have competing tailgates at our houses. Since Nicole teaches ice skating on Saturday mornings, I told them we would not be able to host the pre-game party but could host the post-game party. Before we went to the party, my parents and I walked around Wrigley Field with the Ultimate Sports Baby to take in the atmosphere. The area around Wrigley was buzzing like a Cubs playoff game.

We left the pre-game party early so the Ultimate Sports Wife could also wander around Wrigley Field once she got back from teaching ice skating. It was even crazier closer to game time.

Illinois at Northwestern
Illinois’ Mikel Leshoure dominated Northwestern, running for 330 yards and two touchdowns leading Illinois to a 48-27 victory at Wrigley Field. It was not the result Northwestern fans were hoping for, but the result is sometimes overlooked at events like this one.

Post Game Dining
As I wrote earlier, most of my friends were supposed to show up at my place for a post game party but only a handful of people showed up. Instead everyone went to Mullen’s Bar & Grill where one of our college friends is the manager. Thus, we shut down our party early, put all the food and beer away and went over to Mullen’s as well.

After Mullen’s, the Ultimate Sports Wife went home since she had to fly to Philadelphia in the morning for a job interview while I decided to go to Guthrie’s Tavern to play board games before heading home for the evening.