[NU Sports] Ryan Field fans ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> I agree that's part of it.  Of course, the 11am
> starts are for TV.  The 

Well, just because other towns aren't Chicago doesn't
mean there's nothing to do the night before a game.
Anyone who's been to Madison, Happy Valley or any
other Big Ten town knows that.:)

There are a couple factors. Being in a pro-sports city
hurts (ASU in Phoenix, Minnesota in the Twin Cities,
etc. also hurt to fill stadiums despite larger alumni
bases living closer). And our alumni base hurts too --
we're small and spread out (California and NY are
comprable to Illinois in terms of NU alums, right?).
And most Big Ten stadium student sections are larger
than our student body. As I tell my friend from
Madison - we have the best student support - by
percentage - in the Big Ten.:) We get 5000 of 8000 -
they get 12,000 of 40,000.:)

But the point I was trying to make was certainly that
the factor was not the product on the field. We've had
good home records, amazing upset wins and a flurry of
close, heart-stopping finishes at Ryan Field the past
decade (just when you think you've seen it all at a
Northwestern game, something new comes!).

Parking is tough - but no worse than Madison on
gameday. And we do have the "snobbery" aspect where
folks from Chicago will cheer for the state school
because they're a part of Illinois but a private
school presents an elite and non-inclusive aura for
non-alums.

Whatever the case, I really don't care much anymore
why the other fans aren't showing up. Would it be nice
to have a true home field edge instead of Wisconsin
and Iowa fans making Dyche their home away from home?
Yes. 

I have my tickets, I've been fortunate to watch the
amazing finishes of the past decade and I love the
cozy environment and beautiful campus surroundings. If
others don't want to come - their loss.

> That raises an interesting hypothetical question,
> not that I think it would 
> ever happen: Would it be worth it to give up/change
> one (or even both) of 
> the two clock rules that allow NFL games to be
> shorter in order to change 
> kickoff times?

My opinion - no. The play clock one maybe (though
you'd see a lot more penalties because teams,
officials, linesmen and more won't get in place in
time) ... but I love the rule to stop the clock to
move the chains. It leads to more of these exciting
finishes. If you wanted to make it only in the last
2:00 of the half, then I might support it ... but you
can't take it away. That's part of college football.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!


	
		
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