Pregame: Illinois at Northwestern, Saturday, November 30th, 11:00am CT, BTN

Status
Not open for further replies.
#76      
Illinois_2_AZ
ChiefGritty said:
I would imagine they treat it as a true neutral site? You could argue shade it a point our way given the likely composition of the crowd, but the travel is much easier for them and all that.
Click to expand...
You are right. I also didn't check the weather before I said that. It looks like about 25 degrees, with a chance of snow.
 
#77      
Illini2010-11
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
this i think is simply ur typical toss up game. anything can happen in this game and they've been competitive in their losses.
Click to expand...
Come On Now Jimmy Fallon GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Just an FYI: NW has not been competitive in any of their B1G losses (lost by 19 to Washington, 17 to IU, 20 to Wisconsin, 26 to Iowa, 24 to Ohio State, and 44 to Michigan). By my math, that is 3+ possession losses in all their B1G losses.

Can NW be competitive? Sure. But this is no toss up game. Illinois should be favored by at least a touchdown. Illinois has so much more to play for, so I expect this team to come out firing to get to the 9th win.
 
#78      
RabidDawgClassic
Crazy stat, considering how bad Illinois has been over the last three decades, but...

In his four seasons at Illinois, Bret Bielema has beaten every B1G team at least once, except for Ohio State and the four new Pac 12 teams. Of those five teams he hasn’t yet beaten, Oregon is the only team Illinois has played under Bielema.

Even crazier, we haven't played Ohio State since 2017. And we've only played them twice in the past ten seasons.

Bottom line: I think we’ve got ourselves a pretty good coach and super conference scheduling has gummed up traditional scheduling.
 
#81      
OrangeBlue98
We've exorcised a few ghosts this season. Why not one more, which is often to play down to Northwestern's level when they are not very good?
 
#83      
Illini2010-11
OrangeBlue98 said:
Whiskey, bourbon, and schnapps can help with the weather from what I’ve been told…..
Click to expand...
If you can afford it, you do that in the Makers Mark Barrel Room section at Wrigley. It will only set you back $445 plus fees.

Sadly, the weather is going to limit how many people actually go to the game. It just makes too much sense to watch the game on the sofa in a climate controlled environment. The first time the game took place at Wrigley, I can see people still going. The allure has worn off, and the ticket prices are not worth freezing for 3 hours.

But hey, the secondary market tickets will likely bottom out this week. Could be some value for those willing to endure the weather.
 
#86      
Illiniwacker
Illini2010-11 said:
If you can afford it, you do that in the Makers Mark Barrel Room section at Wrigley. It will only set you back $445 plus fees.

Sadly, the weather is going to limit how many people actually go to the game. It just makes too much sense to watch the game on the sofa in a climate controlled environment. The first time the game took place at Wrigley, I can see people still going. The allure has worn off, and the ticket prices are not worth freezing for 3 hours.

But hey, the secondary market tickets will likely bottom out this week. Could be some value for those willing to endure the weather.
Click to expand...
We need people in the stands Saturday. A low Illini turnout makes us look like the meh fanbase that we have been due to bad teams. We now have a good team, so now is not the time for us to sit on our asses at home. I am going with my warmest coat and gloves. Go Illini !
 
#88      
Fighter of the Nightman
Illini-Rule said:
How many rivalry trophies are we tied to? I can't remember....
Click to expand...
I think OSU, Northwestern and Purdue are it, right? Then we had the one with Mizzou (not sure if the same trophy will be used when we resume that rivalry or not). On that note, I just want to express the sentiment that it is COMPLETELY outrageous that Minnesota and Penn State have a rivalry trophy while Illinois and Iowa do not. What on Earth happened there?!
 
#89      
Fighter of the Nightman
mhuml32 said:
Makes me want to add a fourth trophy opportunity - and I'm open to suggestions
Click to expand...
As I said below, how is it not Iowa?? While Indiana and Wisconsin are closer to campus geographically, I feel like Iowa and Illinois fans actually exist alongside each other MUCH more often given the Quad Cities. Add in the component of Bielema having played there and the VERY clear success of the rivalry on the hoops side of things, and it's a no-brainer. Unfortunately, Iowa already has three other in-conference trophy games with Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska, so it will probably never happen. We blew our chance to be in Wisconsin's spot by sucking for a couple decades, lol.

Also, some slight movement on the ticket front, which is surprising/encouraging given the forecast. The following sections all moved from one option available to no availability on the website:

007
115
117
231
409
414

However, 329 had more availability added, so I am certainly just wasting my time. :ROFLMAO: FWIW, the OSU/NU game sold about 38k tickets, but it was clear from the photos/video that there were some decently empty pockets. I think we need to get to 35k ticket sales for it to look respectable, which unfortunately sounds like a reach given the weather and prices?
 
#93      
Illini2010-11
Fighter of the Nightman said:
However, 329 had more availability added, so I am certainly just wasting my time. :ROFLMAO: FWIW, the OSU/NU game sold about 38k tickets, but it was clear from the photos/video that there were some decently empty pockets. I think we need to get to 35k ticket sales for it to look respectable, which unfortunately sounds like a reach given the weather and prices?
Click to expand...
I think that is the biggest issue. For many it is hard to justify paying $100+ (including fees) per ticket, especially if the weather is going to be super cold. That would be more per ticket than I spent for my per seat season tickets (which was $99 per seat total for the season tickets). When I was a bit younger and single, I would be out at the game in a heartbeat; however, with a young toddler, this would not be the game to try and take him to.

I would love to see the place packed, but I am skeptical that it would even come close to looking like the game a couple weeks ago. I think the biggest ticket movement will come in the secondary marketplace, as the seats become much cheaper than the face value. It is just sad that NW and the Cubs decided to have such high ticket costs. They priced the game like it was 2010, when Wrigley first hosted a college football game. Nothing unique or special about Wrigley hosting anymore.
 
#94      
WeWillWhen
Illiniwacker said:
We need people in the stands Saturday. A low Illini turnout makes us look like the meh fanbase that we have been due to bad teams. We now have a good team, so now is not the time for us to sit on our asses at home. I am going with my warmest coat and gloves. Go Illini !
Click to expand...
I don't think meager attendance at a game with a projected 23 degree high means jack. I've got six tickets and I think the odds of me getting the wife and kids out the door are <50%, and less than that to last until halftime. 🥶⛄
 
#95      
blackdog
Illiniwacker said:
We need people in the stands Saturday. A low Illini turnout makes us look like the meh fanbase that we have been due to bad teams. We now have a good team, so now is not the time for us to sit on our asses at home. I am going with my warmest coat and gloves. Go Illini !
Click to expand...

It's technically a home game for NW though. We are really just taking over the stadium from them because their fanbsse is lame.
 
#97      
Fighter of the Nightman
blackdog said:
It's technically a home game for NW though. We are really just taking over the stadium from them because their fanbsse is lame.
Click to expand...
True, BUT I kind of hate that schools like Iowa and Ohio State will be putting more fans in Wrigley. This is our backyard, and several numbers back up that there are just simply SIGNIFICANTLY more Illini fans in Chicago than any other Big Ten school (e.g., number of alumni in the MSA or the polls that the Tribune/Sun Times do every year). So, when those schools are outdrawing us, it can't be anything other than our fans are less likely to show up ... which kind of sucks. :(

With that said, this is indeed a different situation. Per this website, the game time weather for each of NU's Wrigley games was...

2010 vs. Illinois: 44° F and 12 mph winds ... 41,058 attendance (definitely boosted by the novelty/CGD appearance)
2021 vs. Purdue: 43° F and 12 mph winds ... 31,500 attendance (and definitely a ton of no-shows)
2023 vs. Iowa: 56° F and 6 mph winds ... 38,000 attendance (I was in Wrigleyville this day, it was beautiful)
2024 vs. Ohio State: 52° F and 10 mph winds ... 38,147 attendance

2024 vs. Illinois: 23° F and 10 mph winds, along with a chance of snow ... lol.

So yeah, our crowd cannot reasonably be compared to the other ones when you take all of the factors into account. It sucks we couldn't have just gotten this past Saturday's weather at the very least!
 
#99      
Fighter of the Nightman
Also this seems like a relevant time to bust out the results of what is easily Fighter's and Mrs. Fighter's nerdiest hobby ... a note on my phone that has tallied every piece of college sports apparel we have seen in the Chicago metro area since we moved here in August 2019. :ROFLMAO: It sounds a lot harder than it is, but it's super easy to mark down and my wife will text me while she's at work (RN at Northwestern Memorial downtown) and say something like, "2 Illini, 1 Michigan, 1 Iowa." I even have friends keeping track for me now since they're all pretty interested in the results. I have posted this before, but here is the count as of today ... keep in mind it is somewhat biased toward whatever the fan mix is in Gold Coast (where we lived until last October), Roscoe Village (where we've lived for the past year) and the northwest suburbs (where I drive for work and where we have friends). Schools with at least 10:

Illinois - 332
Michigan - 133
Iowa - 128
Notre Dame - 99
Wisconsin - 97
Indiana - 81
Michigan State - 70
Northwestern, aka Chicago's Big Ten Team - 64
Purdue - 52
Ohio State - 32
Marquette - 27
Illinois State - 25
DePaul - 23
Kansas - 19
Missouri - 16
Miami (OH) - 15
Northern Illinois - 14
Alabama - 14
Iowa State - 13
Loyola Chicago - 12
Texas - 11
Colorado - 10
Dayton - 10
Minnesota - 10

Obviously, this is far from scientific ... but I pretty much believe it to be directionally correct, all things considered. The only adjustments I would make if I were making an official guestimate would be:

- Knock Michigan and Iowa down just a touch, as I feel like their fans wear their gear ALL the time. In other words, you are way more likely to see a Purdue or Northwestern fan that is just in regular clothes, and thus they would be undercounted here.
- Move Notre Dame up, as I feel like their fan base is disproportionately concentrated in areas where we don't spend as much time (e.g., the southwest suburbs).
- Move Northern Illinois up a bit. NIU has a ton of alumni here, they probably just aren't as likely to be loud and proud about the football team.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back