Northwestern Game Info

RocketHawk

Well-Known Member
First time going to a game at Northwestern. Any suggestions on what bars Hawk fans gather on Friday night? Does the Chicago I Club have anything organized? I couldn't find any information on their website.
 
If you pay more than $5 per ticket it’s too much. One of the worst venues in all of college football. Feels like a high school game between two 1-7 teams.

Seriously, though. Don’t buy a ticket for more than a couple bucks. By the end of the first half you’ll be able to go sit a few rows up at midfield.
 
Have to agree to disagree.

I've been to Ryan Field more times than another other B1G venue sans Kinnick.
(I estimate a dozen games or so, plus six BB games next door, and the Midlands once)
(Two tours at GLakes whilst active duty Navy).

Easy train ride to Central Street station via Metra UP-N line.
4-5 blocks to Ryan. Bars galore along that walking route.
Yes, smallish 50K stadium but quaint and is a step up from Champaign, West Lafayette, Bloomington, Maryland and Piscataway. (Been to them all, some repeatedly)

No bad seats IMO.
 
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Have to agree to disagree.

I've been to Ryan Field more times than another other B1G venue sans Kinnick.
(I estimate a dozen games or so, plus six BB games next door, and the Midlands once)
(Two tours at GLakes whilst active duty Navy).

Easy train ride to Central Street station via Metra UP-N line.
4-5 blocks to Ryan. Bars galore along that walking route.
Yes, smallish 50K stadium but quaint and is a step up from Champaign, West Lafayette, Bloomington, Maryland and Piscataway. (Been to them all, some repeatedly)

No bad seats IMO.
Yup. I live north of Milwaukee and drive down to Kenosha, take the Metra with a ton of Hawkeye fans, and get off at Central and take the short walk to the stadium. Seating is fine. Of course, coming from the south would be easy as well via Metra. Since I will be pheasant hunting in SD that weekend, TV will have to do.
 
And. Walk past Central station away from the stadium, pre or post game and hit the Bluestone Bar and Grill. Tons of Hawk fans, good, friendly mix with NW fans, multiple tv’s, good beer, good food. I have not missed a game at NW in over a decade. But, got to pheasant hunt this year!
 
Didn't see it posted, but it's a night game. Time TBA. It's at 6, 6:30, or 7, depending on the results of the games this weekend.
 
First time going to a game at Northwestern. Any suggestions on what bars Hawk fans gather on Friday night? Does the Chicago I Club have anything organized? I couldn't find any information on their website.

In the late 1970's to mid-1990's yes it was possible to find seats all over the place and cheap tickets. I haven't been there since 2005 but when the wildcats are really good there is a full house mainly because of th 20,000+ hawk fans who go to the game.

If the hawks beat Wisky a huge hawk contingent might go there but if the hawks lose this week it will dampen the following a bit.

Stadium was old and worn down the last time I was there but they may have tuck pointed and cleaned it up. Very much like a Kinnick feel with the stadium in amongst the neighborhoods and Univ but that lake effect wind can be bad sometimes.
 
Have to agree to disagree.

I've been to Ryan Field more times than another other B1G venue sans Kinnick.
(I estimate a dozen games or so, plus six BB games next door, and the Midlands once)
(Two tours at GLakes whilst active duty Navy).

Easy train ride to Central Street station via Metra UP-N line.
4-5 blocks to Ryan. Bars galore along that walking route.
Yes, smallish 50K stadium but quaint and is a step up from Champaign, West Lafayette, Bloomington, Maryland and Piscataway. (Been to them all, some repeatedly)

No bad seats IMO.
I was going strictly on the game experience. Total yawn fest. I'd say the worst fan engagement I've seen at P5 games, I've never been to Rutgers but I'd say that might be worse from what I've heard.

Bar scene might be good though, I'm not a partier. Can't comment on that.
 
I was going strictly on the game experience. Total yawn fest. I'd say the worst fan engagement I've seen at P5 games, I've never been to Rutgers but I'd say that might be worse from what I've heard.

Bar scene might be good though, I'm not a partier. Can't comment on that.

Haha, I do agree that most times the jNW crowd is small and just not into the game. I have to say I saw two of the more curious losses by hawkeye teams at Evanston. Fry's team with Tavian Banks and Dwight went there and outgained jNW about 3.5 to 1 in yards and TOP but the weather was crap with a northeast wind, strong, coming off the lake and the lake effect snow even being heavy. The hawks made a couple of errors and jNW got 2 short fields to win a low scoring game.

The second game was the 2005 game iirc with Tate marching the hawks up and down the field and having a 27-14 lead with 2 minutes left (after Iowa mis-used timeouts at the ends of both halves to squander scoring chances). And jNW just caught fire against Norm's usually reliable defense to score 2 TDs in what seemed like no time to win it. Tons of dejected Hawk fans left the stadium that day in disbelief.
 
Haha, I do agree that most times the jNW crowd is small and just not into the game. I have to say I saw two of the more curious losses by hawkeye teams at Evanston. Fry's team with Tavian Banks and Dwight went there and outgained jNW about 3.5 to 1 in yards and TOP but the weather was crap with a northeast wind, strong, coming off the lake and the lake effect snow even being heavy. The hawks made a couple of errors and jNW got 2 short fields to win a low scoring game.

The second game was the 2005 game iirc with Tate marching the hawks up and down the field and having a 27-14 lead with 2 minutes left (after Iowa mis-used timeouts at the ends of both halves to squander scoring chances). And jNW just caught fire against Norm's usually reliable defense to score 2 TDs in what seemed like no time to win it. Tons of dejected Hawk fans left the stadium that day in disbelief.
I was at both of those games. ugh!
 
I was at both of those games. ugh!

What really pissed me, my son, and other fans about the 2005 game at jNW was Kirk got so effing conservative with about 5 minutes to go in the game. A couple of runs then on 3rd down and long Albert Young was a shoestring tackle away from busting wide open but he also came up a couple of feet short. Kirk decided to punt and then boom the shit avalanche happened.

I remember the end of the first half scenario was the hawks used a timeout, maybe their last, instead of hurrying up or spiking the ball. A few plays later with no timeouts I think it was Scott Chandler caught a pass down along the sideline and he got pushed out of bounds but he was never wrapped up so the clock should have stopped but the official wound his arms to keep the clock running and a lot of fans knew that was a bogus bonehead call. Of course it took the hawks 30 seconds to get off the next play with the clock running down close to the jNW goalline and they didnt get a TD but rather a FG.
 
I get what you're saying.

Very true...NW crowd typically treat the games like a "wine on a blanket at Ravinia" outing.
(Rutgers crowd was the same way).

I was going strictly on the game experience. Total yawn fest. I'd say the worst fan engagement I've seen at P5 games, I've never been to Rutgers but I'd say that might be worse from what I've heard.

Bar scene might be good though, I'm not a partier. Can't comment on that.
 
I get what you're saying.

Very true...NW crowd typically treat the games like a "wine on a blanket at Ravinia" outing.
(Rutgers crowd was the same way).

The first time I went to a hawk game in Evanston with a few buddies that is exactly what happened. There were a lot of hawk fans there and not many NW fans. We got cheap tickets and in the first qtr moved to about midfield 30 rows up. This older NW couple (this was about 40 years ago) had their picnic basket spread out on a blanket in the row in front of them or between them. They had the whole spread with the nice plates and silverware, probably had wine, we had a laugh later.
 
The first time I went to a hawk game in Evanston with a few buddies that is exactly what happened. There were a lot of hawk fans there and not many NW fans. We got cheap tickets and in the first qtr moved to about midfield 30 rows up. This older NW couple (this was about 40 years ago) had their picnic basket spread out on a blanket in the row in front of them or between them. They had the whole spread with the nice plates and silverware, probably had wine, we had a laugh later.
One cool thing about NW games, especially when it's cold and when NW sucks (so most of the time) is that you can hear everything better.

You can make out a lot of what coaches are saying, you can hear audibles and call outs on the field, etc. It's literally like being at a high school game sometimes.
 
One cool thing about NW games, especially when it's cold and when NW sucks (so most of the time) is that you can hear everything better.

You can make out a lot of what coaches are saying, you can hear audibles and call outs on the field, etc. It's literally like being at a high school game sometimes.

Yes, like a very sparsely attended high school game.

Last year's game are a perfect example of how much you could hear from the coaches and players. The best one late during the Illinois game when the hawks got their TD to go up by 3 scores and the microphones picked up a Hawk OLinemen saying something like "game over baby". Even the booth analyst pointed out what he heard and how cool it is to get to hear that once in awhile, although no more covid crap years with empty stadiums please.
 

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