Usually the last pre season game doesn’t say much, but lets hear what you guys think. Lets also get everyone on record here for their season predictions on the Bears record – I am sticking by my 7-9 call. There may be a prize or two for whoever is correct – I am thinking a sixer of New Glarus.
Open thread for any Bears news you guys have heard, as well as for the game tomorrow night that Carl should be at unless his wife has more important plans for him. I won’t be able to see the game up here in Wisco and I will be damned if I am driving all the way down there for a crappy pre season game, so if you guys could keep an eye on Julius and let me know how he looks I would appreciate it.
I think it is time to create a new feature here at Fire Everybody, I think it will be called Dan Pompei’s mailbag.
Can you imagine writing a sentence like the title of this post? I read it and almost soaked my computer screen with this throwback Pepsi, which I am very much enjoying. You don’t say? Great concern?
It comes from the great mind of none other than grinning skull Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune. I took the time to read the mailbag today and would like to offer what the real answers to these mailbag questions should be after I show Dan’s stupid answers.
Thank god we have the drum line and don’t have to suffer through looking at these instead…
I know this is up a day early, but lets hear what you are thinking about camp, and we can fold that right into the pre season game tomorrow night. Carl will be there at Millenium Park with his wife drinking wine, so I will be very interested to hear what he our commenters has have to say about seeing Julius play live on tv.
When I think of the Bears traveling to San Diego I remember going to San Diego as a road trip for the first game of the season the year after the Bears lost at the Super Bowl, in 2007. Spirits were high and even though we lost the Super Bowl it seemed like the Bears might be able to keep it together at a high level and make another run. But as we all know that just led to a bunch of seasons (3 in a row) where the Bears didn’t even make the playoffs. While lots of things conspired to make the Bears stink in the interim we know here at the site that Ron Turner was a prime contributor but it took a village to take the Bears from Super Bowl runner up to consistently bringing up the rear.
As far as the pre-season, Dan rightly tells me to ignore the pre-season because it doesn’t matter. And while he is right, it is all we have so here we go…
There is a flutter about the backup QB issue, whether we should go out and find a veteran QB. Frankly I could care less. These Bears aren’t a great team and Cutler is one of their more talented players; if Cutler’s out, our season is almost guaranteed to go down the tubes so it doesn’t matter if it comes down to that. We already are just getting drunk in the cheap seats at that point.
So we only have 1 series with the first team offense, and it ends like most SUCCESSFUL Bears offensive drive ends, with a field goal. This team is red zone misery, always has been, although of course as a fan we want to see that change this year under Martz. I still will have a hard time believing that it will happen, until I see it with my own eyes.
Some of the journalists said it was a good idea to keep Cutler out of the line of fire with our shaky offensive line, and I guess that makes sense. I just don’t know how our offensive line is “magically” going to improve significantly through these first four meaningless exhibition games. Cutler better be prepared to be hit in the backfield all the time and have to scramble around because that’s what our offensive line tends to deliver.
I will open up the thread now to much smarter commenters…
Doshi actually went to training camp and commented so I thought I would make a formal post out of it…
Went to training camp last night, got to see the one aspect of camp I really wanted to see. Here’s what I noticed…
Tommie’s got his step back, but his instincts are somewhat behind. He looked really strong for most of the practice, but jumped offsides far too many times for my taste.
Pep is incredible. He terrorized both sides of the line in the 2v2 and 2v3 drills, and was easily the first person off the lines in position drills.
I saw really very little out of the rest of the guys that gave me any real hope. But Anderson wasn’t in practice last night, so I didn’t get a chance to see him.
On the offensive side, the left side of the line looked pretty good when they weren’t going against a Peppers/Harris combination in the 2v2 and 2v3 drills. Only Chris Williams had any success at slowing down Pep on that side of the line. The right side, OTOH, looked as porous as ever. This doesn’t look too good for a right-handed QB, as rolling to the left means you can’t set your feet and throw with power. About all you can do that way is dump-offs.
Robbie Gould looked in midseason form last night. He hit a couple from the 45 yard line (both of which would’ve been good from another 5 yards out), and had at least 3 natural touchbacks in the special teams drills.
I skipped the team drills so I could get a decent spot for the autograph session. I heard a LOT of cheering and WOWing from the crowd over there, not really sure what happened. But I chose the wrong side of the isle this time. Only Dan LeFevour and Rashied Davis even came over to my side, and I could only get Davis’s Hancock. The other side got basically all of the tier-2 players (Manning, Devins, Steltz, Olsen, etc). BTW, it generally doesn’t matter what you call the guys, as they don’t seem to hear most of it. Just don’t insult them, and call them by their name. As far as who you get, it’s pretty much luck of the draw. I didn’t see Pep or Urlacher or any of our Stars come down that isle. Bit disappointing. And I can’t get back up there again this preseason. Oh well. My football is at least mostly clean, so I can try again next year…
So, what have you guys heard so far? Lets hear the good, the bad and the ugly.
I bashed Julius Peppers pretty damned hard during the off season for partying until the wee hours instead of getting good sleep and working out. I hear that he looks pretty good in camp. That makes me happy. I still won’t be convinced until I watch him at Soldier Field and see if he works hard as he can out there. I don’t want to see any dogging.
Although Julius may have not let himself go as badly as I was theorizing (lets hope so), Albert Haynesworth really did an awesome number on himself. He was the only Redskin not to attend the off season conditioning camps. Now, Haynesworth is really, really paying the price. Uh-oh, there is a new sherriff in town, Mike Shanahan.
In this SUPER funny clown show, Shanahan is making him pass a simple conditioning test before letting him practice with the team. I will remind everyone that Haynesworth is the owner of the most expensive contract in all of the NFL – and is now sitting the bench.
And I knew this would ultimately happen – everyone is trying the test and passing it, from little girls to old men. I haven’t tried it yet but have absoluetly no doubt that I would pass the test on the first try.
I absolutely love this clown show, and like Shanny even more now than I used to.
Steve Czaban says it best in his great post on the subject:
Because to me, this is a huge – albeit spectacularly funny – waste of time. Think about it. You have a player who is hated in the locker-room, ridiculed by fans, grossly out of shape, with a horseshit attitude, and is now way behind in learning the new scheme.
You gonna trust him on a big 3rd and 7 against the Dallas Cowboys on the road?
He’ll take two half-assed steps into a gap, lose his balance, fall down, and allow Marion Barber to go 74 yards up the middle for a TD.
No thanks. Let’s cut the strings to this parade float, and pretend it never, ever, ever happened.
Or, maybe there’s a fairy tale finish somewhere here, where Al passes the test, and works his way back into the starting lineup playing the hated 3-4 scheme. Team-mates accept him back, fans begrudgingly do as well, and it’s all just one big silly summer misunderstanding.
Sure.
I will continue to monitor and laugh uncontrollably at this situation and at Fatass Haynesworth until he finally passes. Like I always say when I am at a Bear game, no matter now cold or crappy the weather is, or how bad the parking and traffic are – at least we aren’t at Fed Ex.
Over here at FRT we measure results in a few ways. Dan looked at the latest odds to make the Super Bowl for this year, and the Bears were way down at a sad 30-1. I noted that the Bears were ranked a lowly #86 on franchises out of 122 across the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB per ESPN here, and now we get another way to look at the Bears.
Per Forbes, here are the most valuable NFL franchises:
1. Dallas $1.650B
2. Redskins $1.55B (boy this one seems hard to believe but what do I know)
3. Patriots $1.36B
4. NY Giants $1.18B
5. NY Jets $1.17B
6. Houston $1.15B
7. Eagles $1.12B
8. Tampa Bay $1.085B
9. Chicago Bears $1.082B
10. Denver $1.081B
While the Bears are a valuable franchise, all the ones ranked ahead of us in value are also ahead of us in Dan’s pre-season odds, with the exception of the hapless Tampa Bay Bucs at 100-1.
We have our resident insane columnist Dan Pompei clogging up the Trib with his crazy columns. But we aren’t the only ones cursed with that sort of lunacy.
Tebow signed a contract yesterday per this at ESPN. Here is the money:
Tebow might not be ready to make a big impact as a rookie because he faces a big adjustment as he morphs from combination college quarterback to prototypical pro passer. Still, many consider him the best college player ever and he’s creating the kind of buzz in the Rockies that John Elway did back in 1983.
I had to laugh out loud at that part – I don’t think the author of the article, Bill Williamson, knows just exactly what type of buzz that the first round draft pick Tebow has created in Denver.
For the fans, at least the ones I have talked to, here is the BUZZ – it is an unmitigated disaster. Everyone knows that Tebow will wash out rather quickly when faced with the speed and ferocity of the NFL caliber players.
Denver now has not one, not two, but THREE journeymen qb’s on their roster – Neckbeard, which they just signed to a one year $2.6m deal, Tebow and Brady Quinn. Ouch. My my how some of the mighty franchises have fallen.
At our other blogs Dan and I have a rule not to make fun of easy targets but I just can’t help myself with grinning, idiotic skull Dan Pompei over at the otherwise decent Chicago Tribune. His latest article (I agree with the title, at least) is “All is well for Bears, at Least Until the Hitting Starts“.
In fact, I feel better about this Bears team’s makeup than I’ve felt about any Bears team in recent memory. In hindsight, the 2006 NFC champion Bears were better on paper than this team is today. But this team has the potential to be better than that team. The reason is this team has two potential difference-makers in Jay Cutler and Julius Peppers who weren’t around in 2006, and another, Devin Hester, who is in a different role. Cutler, Peppers and maybe even Hester have the abilities to take over games in ways their predecessors in 2006 did not. Whether or not they will is another issue.
Huh? You are comparing this team to the 2006 Bears? They are COMPLETELY different teams, one of which (2006) was built primarily around defense while the 2010 model has invested quite a lot on the offensive side (sadly not at offensive line, though). Also, I know that Pompei’s memory is about as short as that fish in “Finding Nemo” but the Bears had OTHER guys who could dominate a game back in 2006, such as Hester as a kickoff returner when he drove field position (unlike today) and Urlacher especially if you remember that Cardinals game.
Of course, “unrealized potential” could be the subtitle for the Bears highlight film from many of their 89 seasons. And it could be for this team too. What should prevent that, at least in theory, is this staff of assistants. It’s easily the best coach Lovie Smith has had, and one of the best in team history.
What I love most about Pompei is his consistency. Last year he was giving fawning interviews with our despised Ron Turner, repeating every word he said as if he was talking to Bill Walsh or a Hall-of-Fame coach, instead of the worse-than-useless dope that was Ron. Pompei even DEFENDED Ron against all those “haters” out there, people like this blog or pretty much every Bear fan I ever encountered who didn’t have anything good to say about Ron (although some hated Lovie even more than Ron). Now he is fawning over the new core of assistants, which likely is an improvement but come on the combo of Turner and whomever was calling our terrible defensive schemes most of the time is the lowest bar in the NFL outside of maybe the Redskins and the Raiders.
Dan is sending me the pre-season tickets and I will head on up because Saturday night games are quite pleasant I am sure I will see the usual crop of people that will never make the team and a lot of backup QB’s.
I just thought of something. Julius Peppers will make $20 million this year. According to this, the Bears gate from last year was $57m. So Peppers’ salary will = 35% of the total gate. Yikes.
Dan put up a post about the start of training camp and Doshi put up a big comment on his prediction so I thought it deserved a post of its own rather than being buried in the comments.
I can see a 9-7 season, playoff miss.
The offense looks to be this team’s strength this year. We’ve got two legitimate RB1s that have all the tools to succeed in a passing-oriented offense. While Martz tends to run passing offenses, they tend to be screens to set up bombs. Or bombs to set up screens. Forte works best in space, and Taylor is experienced enough and technically sound enough to work in pretty much any system we put him in.
Our TE situation is kinda a clusterf$%k right now. We’ve got two legitimate pass-catching TEs in Olsen and Clark. We’ve got two legitimate blocking TEs in Brandon and Davis. I know that the Martz offense likes having blocking TEs more than pass-catching TEs. I see Olsen and Clark being converted more into slot possession receivers under this offense. Which would kinda suck, as Earl Bennett looks most comfortable in that role, and has much better speed and toughness than Olsen at the very least.
I might be in the minority here, but I’m optimistic about our WR core. I see us as having 4 different WR2s with basically 4 different skill sets. I don’t see how any secondary core can easily plan for our WRs when we can pretty much swap them out at will and play matchups however we want. At least one of them could pass into legit WR1 territory. My best guess is DevA.
As far as QB, Cutler really wasn’t that bad last year IMO. I can attribute at least 10 of his picks directly to our putrid offensive line last year. And he was remarkably better in those last 2 games when idiot Turner decided to actually play Williams in his natural position of LT. Remember, Cutler was sacked 35 times last season, tied for 7th most on the list. And only Aaron Rogers had more TDs with more sacks than Cutler last year. Yes, he’s a Favre-ian gunslinger type, and he’s going to toss his picks during the season. But as long as the line can protect him and he can work with his WRs efficiently, I see a pretty decent passing team for this season.
And that brings me to the real question mark on this offense. The line. It was putrid last year. And there’s been zero big roster changes for this year. We got Mike Tice, a supposed line guru. But we’ve heard that before (Marinelli) and it didn’t help us. It will be nice having Williams in his natural position where he can actually play based on instinct rather than thought. Kreutz and Garza are locked into their positions, and have traditionally been pretty good there. It’s at LG and RT that I’m worried. I know they’re hyping Omiyale at RT right now, but he’s been a disappointment in other games, and I kinda liked what Schaffer did there at the end of last season. At LG, there’s really nobody right now filling that spot. This will be a work in progress this season.
If you would have told me at the end of last season that our defense would have Peppers and Harris guarding the front and back, I would’ve told you that we had a top 5 NFL defense. That was before they unreasonably cut Brown and Vasher and didn’t renew Wale. I’ll start with the good.
Our LB core is IMO the strongest in the NFL. One through six, this core can start on virtually any team in the NFL, and we’ve got 3 of them in backup and special teams positions. Call me an optimist, but I see Urlacher playing out the season. He’s only really had two injuries in his career, and the first time he came back with a VENGEANCE. Briggs is the perfect player for his position in this defense. Fast, strong, big, and instinctive. Love watching this guy fly around the field. On the other side, we’ve got a young gun with a chip on his shoulder, and a veteran looking to prove he’s still got something left in the tank. I really don’t care who wins that battle, but I’d like to see both players on the field at some point. Hillenmeyer is a backup to all three positions. He’s competent at all 3, but unspectacular.
In the secondary, we’ve got IMO a tier 1 CB playing CB2, which I think is a mistake. Peanut has proven over many seasons that he can cover pretty much anybody, and has shut down some of the best WR talents that he has faced, culminating in that very impressive showing against Calvin Johnson in the first game last year. For those that don’t remember, Megatron went OFF against the Bears in the first half, playing mostly against anybody not named Peanut. Second half? Nada. I think two catches for like 20 yards or something like that. Bowman is good, but IMO still raw, and he needs another season working the CB2 position before he gets promoted. This is where Nathan Vasher could’ve made an impact. The guy had one incredible season, and has been injured pretty much since. I think this year he’ll break out again with a team that’s willing to give him a second chance. I just wish it was with the Bears.
Down deep, we’ve got a talented veteran returning to his original team as the most veteran player at his position. Great. Now find somebody to start aside him. I was VERY impressed with Afalava last year, and I’m surprised there’s no talk of him taking one of the Safety spots this year. I was similarly UNimpressed with the other guys we had. Oh yeah. Danieal Manning is not a Safety. He’s a nickel back. He’s been impressive at that position, and I don’t want this team to tamper with a good thing.
In the trenches, we’ve got one of the top 5 DEs in the NFL. Shame we couldn’t build a line around him. I’m not buying the Tommie Harris hype again. We’ve bought into the hype every season since 2006, and I’m getting sick of it. IMO, this is his absolute last chance to prove he’s a top flight DT. Otherwise, we start looking in another direction. Similarly with Anderson, though he’s had ZERO excuse for his drop in play. That was ATROCIOUS. Massive sack machine in his first season, a ghost since then. Letting go of Alex Brown was a mistake that this team will regret in the first game of the season. He wasn’t a spectacular player. But he was solid, knew his role, and could make the little plays that prevent big plays from breaking. Anderson has some big shoes to fill there. At the other DT position, I’ve got no idea who’s starting there. If Brown were still around, I’d say that Israel Idonije would be the best fit in there. He’s more of a DT anyway. But since Brown left, they put Izzy in a tussle for the starting DE spot, and I think that’s a shame and a waste of a good player.
No worries about the Special Teams here. Toub always gets good things out of his players. Johnny Flyer is a special kind of player, and I can easily see him breaking a few BIG runs this season. Bennett is capable on the PR team. I just wish this idiot coaching staff hadn’t ruined the best returner the NFL has ever seen by trying to convert him into a pass-catching WR. BTW, this is the last season Hester has to prove himself as a legitimate WR2, or IMO get rid of the guy.
Based on the matchups, I’ve got us at 9-7, basically losing out to the NFC East, splitting our division except Detroit, and losing to the Patriots.
Well, here we go everyone. The Bears first practice is at 3pm on Friday. I wish I could be there to yell and harass the fatass pro players who let themselves go over the off season, and to cheer those who have actually prepared ahead of time.
At the Bears website I found this quote by Carl’s hero Rod Marinelli:
I didn’t know him as a person. But we played him twice a year when I was in Tampa and our offensive coaches would sweat bullets all week. All I can tell you is what I’ve seen here. Mr X is extremely talented and competitive. What I’ve seen is a great work ethic. Not a good work ethic, but a great one. And he’s got a real thirst for knowledge, which is about as good a compliment as you can give
I had to laugh out loud when I read this one. I won’t tell you who Rod is talking about but will put the answer in the comments.
So, faithful readers, it is prediction time. Give me your best shot on what the Bears record will be this year. With our new Mike Martz e=mc2 offense (tm Tyler) we should score more points than last year. But anyone who replaces Ron Turner SHOULD do better. Hell, I know I could do better. So Martz in a goofy way should thank Turner for sucking so badly making it a breeze for Martz to “succeed”. Of course this is relative to RON, not to the rest of the league. Which is setting the bar pretty damned low, but the Bears are used to that.
Our defense looks to suck out loud. ‘Nuff said about that. If Mark Anderson doesn’t come through we are really toast.
I have a few predictions – Julius Peppers gets hurt in training camp and the Bears go 7-9 – again. I will also say that they will probably give Martz the head coaching job when they run Lovie out of town after this season.
And I also predict that the Bears Drum Line will still suck.
Lets hear your predictions in the comments.
.
Well, some more Super Bowl futures are up, and they have the Bears at a longshot 30-1.
NFL
Super Bowl XLIV
Event Date: Feb. 6, 2011
Team / Current
Indianapolis 13/2
Dallas 8/1
New Orleans 8/1
San Diego 17/2
New England 9/1
Green Bay 19/2
N.Y. Jets 10/1
Minnesota 11/1
Baltimore 14/1
N.Y. Giants 15/1
Pittsburgh 20/1
Atlanta 20/1
Tennessee 22/1
Cincinnati 26/1
Miami 28/1
Washington 28/1
Philadelphia 28/1
Houston 30/1
Chicago 30/1
San Francisco 40/1
Arizona 50/1
Jacksonville 50/1
Denver 55/1
Carolina 60/1
Seattle 60/1
Cleveland 80/1
Detroit 80/1
Kansas City 100/1
Oakland 100/1
Tampa Bay 100/1
Buffalo 120/1
St. Louis 150/1
From what I am hearing the Packers are going to be the team to beat in the Central. I see Detroit way down there at 80/1, but I think they will finally be a little bit respectable. Suh will probably win at least one game for them himself.
Cleveland, KC, Oakland, Tampa, Buffalo, St. Louis – always the same names on the bottom of the list. Their fans must be more despondent then us. Denver at 55-1 – I guess Tebow didn’t bring enough Jesus to Denver to impress the oddsmakers. I can’t believe how that franchise is imploding. I am betting that their insane rabid fans will blow up eventually and go nuts, instead of the slow drain of the Redskins franchise, whos fans quietly just go away.
The Colts are still the favorite, although Ron Turner is poisoning their waters now. That would truly SUCK if Ron got a Super Bowl ring. I have to start rooting against the Colts with all of my power.
While we wait through the summer to see the new and improved (hopefully) 2010 Bears, Dan keeps getting emails from the Washington Redskins inviting him to come and purchase season tickets. My how that franchise has fallen; from being one of the most valuable and emulated NFL franchises into a laughingstock, with a terrible reputation for their expensive new stadium. They are begging Dan to come and visit and become a season ticket holder. Bears’ management, while awful in recent years, should look upon the Redskins as a cautionary tale of their future if they don’t get this franchise moving in the right direction.
I like the part in this advertisement about the “punter proof” HD videoboards, too.
The July 12, 2010 issue of ESPN Magazine ranked all the major sports franchises (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL) from 1 to 122 on a variety of criteria, including
- Fan relations (18.5%)
- Bang for the buck (22.5%)
- Players (17.4)
- Coaching (3.4%)
- Title Track (5.7%)
- Ownership (10.3%)
- Affordability (12.6%)
- Stadium Experience (9.6%)
The Bears are a cornerstone franchise of the NFL. By all rights, if properly run, they should be near the top of the NFL teams. BUT… according to ESPN Magazine, here is the company we keep in terms of those franchises ranked LOWER than our beloved Bears (we are at #86, remember this includes all franchises not just the NFL):
1. Cincinnati Bengals (#90) – really, this is a dismal franchise
2. Kansas City Chiefs (#95) – these guys haven’t won a playoff game in a century
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (#99) – this is what happens when you win a Super Bowl and raise expectations and then demolish the team
4. Buffalo Bills (#101) – as if missing winning the Super Bowl all those times and being in upstate New York wasn’t enough of a burden
5. Washington Redskins (#105) – of all the teams on this list the ‘Skins may have a claim to be even more brutal to the fans and the fans’ expectations than the Bears, relative to their history
6. Cleveland Browns (#108) – a disastrous 2009 must have played into this
7. Detroit Lions (#109) – as if being in Detroit wasn’t enough, a pitiful win total adds to the frustration
8. St. Louis Rams (#114) – another franchise running itself into the ground
9. Oakland Raiders (#115) – see our posts on their striving for excellence
So there they are. Out of the NFL franchises, this is the company we keep.
As veteran Bear fans we can guess what the reviewers thought of the coaches, the owners, championships, and the like. Our expectations are not close to being met, and this is why we are hanging out with the crappy teams listed above.
THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. DEMAND MORE FROM THE BEARS.
Of all the stupid crap that we write about here at Fire Everybody there are a series of posts that draw the most hate, and those are the posts that trash the Chicago Bears Drum Line. Someone left a comment yesterday that was knee slapping funny. We did have to delete it though, to keep this a family blog.
I have a feeling that some of those posts are getting pretty high on the Google rankings. Lets look. Aha, number three. I get it now. Nice!
Some of the comments on that thread make me smile to this day – that post is one of my pride and joys of the blogosphere. As a note, I write at about six other blogs on a variety of subjects.
The only thing I can imagine that causes such a visceral reaction to me trashing the stupid drum line would be that these people have to be members of the drum line itself, or their girlfriends/families. To that end, they have something to defend, that being their sweet sideline seats and field access. As a side note, I will put out the fact that there are no women on the drum line. Is it some sort of good old boys club?
Does anyone remember the Honey Bears? Yes, the Bears used to have cheerleaders. Oh man do I wish they had cheerleaders again instead of the silly drum line that nobody cares about. That would make me actually bring binoculars to the game once again to view the game from my nosebleeds. Of course the cheerleading squad would cost a hell of a lot more than some ex-band members gathering on the field for a drum smash session, and we all know how the economic analysis of that would go in the McCasket’s office.
In the end, the discussion ends with that classic youtube in this post, where they get done smashing the drums, the echoes across Soldier Field subside, and literally two people give them a round of applause.
Dan and I love the Illini football program and they are playing this year against Northwestern at Wrigley Field. While I am not a professional prognosticator I predict that this game will be a HOT ticket because lots of people want to 1) see football at Wrigley Field 2) pee in a trough. I am assuming that they will sell beer at the game… but I don’t know that and can’t seem to get an official answer on the ol’ intertubes.
SO… in order to get these tickets I need to BECOME A NORTHWESTERN SEASON TICKET HOLDER. Ugh. That hurt a bit. So I paid $394 for 4 end zone seats which will give me the right to purchase 4 tickets (at an additional charge) to the Illini / NU game at Wrigley. Then I called up the ticket office and they very nicely allowed me to buy 8 tickets for the Wrigley Field game. I haven’t received them yet but they charged my credit card which I view as a good sign, because it didn’t seem clear to me whether I could buy 1 or 2 tickets for this game for every Northwestern season ticket I had. Frankly, the NU office is probably overwhelmed with activity for the first time in ages based upon this plan.
Now don’t get me wrong. Northwestern actually plays good football, leveraging their resources to the hilt (their players I am sure can actually read and write and potentially contribute to society, as opposed to most of the other major college programs, sadly including Illinois) and it will be fun to watch them, but I am and always will be an Illini fan and although Northwestern is a team I’d root for I guess against most competition certainly NOT against the Illini. I will go to the other games though and probably see some good football.
Another angle to all of this is now Nebraska joined the Big Ten. I know one thing – those Nebraska fans LOVE to travel. Plus, they will love to travel to Chicago with all of our bars and restaurants they can’t be that excited to go to Iowa or Ohio or Michigan or pretty much any of the other Big Ten cities (actually Madison, Wisconsin is probably the most fun, if the most frozen). There are 47,000 seats at Ryan Field which is pretty small and they need to reserve some for students so I probably will just hold on to these tickets indefinitely and just sell off the Nebraska set every couple of years and make enough to pay for the whole set. Oh who am I kidding I probably will go over there and see Nebraska myself and Dan too at least the first time.
In any case it is a strange world where I find myself a Northwestern Season ticket holder.