[NU Sports] Saturdays at Dyche Stadium

[Jim Leonard]

Fellow Wildcat Faithful,

This falls somewhere between 719 and 751 on the top 800 things that NU needs to improve, but it has been on my mind  a while. Our game day experience at Dyche Stadium just isn't good. 

Attendance is a huge part of that, and I'm not sure what can be done short of the team winning consistently. Our home crowds haven't cracked 20,000 yet this year in a city that has well over 3,000,000. I suspect that the Big Ten Network may have hurt our cause somewhat too. 

The other aspects of game day in Evanston need some attention too. Wildcat Alley doesn't seem to draw all that well. We must be one of only a handful of schools in America to literally give out free (good) beer and we still don't get big numbers. 

The part that really gets me is what goes on during the game. 

1) We "honor" way too many people between quarters. It must be embarrassing for them too, because there isn't typically enough applause to even usher them off the field. 

2) We have too many t-shirt giveaways and 'see yourself on the scoreboard' gimmicks. It really feels like a minor league baseball game. 

3) And the PA system just doesn't get it done. I rarely understand the announcements. 

I still love NU football and I don't have any issues with going to see games there. But we have a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the Big Ten. 

Victory & Honor,
Jim