CHICAGO – With the Northwestern fight song playing and purple flags waving from Wrigley Field’s historic centerfield scoreboard, officials from NU, the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bears confirmed Friday the rumors that the Wildcats’ Nov. 20 matchup with Illinois will be played at Wrigley Field.
“It’s obviously a historic day, ” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “An opportunity for our football program to play in the hallowed grounds of Wrigley Field.”
The game, formerly scheduled to be played at Ryan Field, was announced in a press conference held on top of the Cubs’ dugout. It will be the first football game played within “The Friendly Confines” since the Bears moved to Soldier Field in 1971.
Ever since he was hired a little more than two years ago, Athletic Director Jim Phillips has been in talks with Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts about the possibility of an NU home game in the Cubs’ stadium.
“It was a process that took a long time,” Phillips said. “We get questions all the time about why, but I think the real question is why not? Why not bring football back to this historic stadium?”
The NU contingent was enthusiastic about the concept of the Wrigley game.
“As I introduced the event to our players (Thursday) morning after practice, the smiles, the excitement, was overflowing,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s going to be an opportunity also to showcase our program to the entire country.”
Senior defensive tackle Corbin Bryant was one of those caught up in the moment, taking time to stand in Wrigley’s outfield and capture the scene on his camera phone.
“In a couple of months, we’ll actually be playing football on this field,” Bryant said. “I’m just looking at the old-school scoreboard, thinking about all the history that’s behind Wrigley Field, and just stumped to be able to play here where some of the greats have played.”
But the game will be just that. Another game.
“Football is football,” Bryant said. “You just need 100 yards of grass.”
Actually, you need 120 yards, allowing space for both end zones. Finding the necessary space was a major concern for NU before committing to the game. A football field is 360 feet long, but Wrigley is 353 feet from home plate to the right field foul pole, with a brick wall on one end and a dugout on the other, causing those around NU to worry that plays close to the back of the end zone could be dangerous for the athletes.
“The critical question before we could even talk about whether we could get a deal done was, ‘Can we safely in this environment put a regulation football field at Wrigley Field?'” Phillips said. “We weren’t going to continue with negotiations unless we felt really good about the safety of our players.”
With the safety issues sorted out, Phillips cited multiple reasons for the game. Phillips said he hopes the unique nature of the game will draw interest in NU sports from the Chicago sports market. He said he also hopes consumers buying tickets to the game, which can only be purchased by NU season ticket holders, will help alleviate NU’s attendance concerns.
“This is the best market in the country, relative to sports,” Phillips said. “And this is to allow our fans, our staff, our alums, our faculty and this great city of Chicago to have this premier event right here in their backyard.”
Not to mention the players.
“It’s going to be nuts,” junior quarterback Dan Persa said. “I can’t wait. It’s going to be awesome.”
