A last minute decision based on safety has turned the Illinois-Northwestern football game at Wrigley Field tomorrow into somewhat of a joke. To put it simply, there will be one end zone and whenever there is a switch in possession, the teams will turn to the opposite direction so the offense will face that said end zone.
The end zone is on the west side of the football field now desecrating Wrigley Field.
Maybe this Wrigley Field idea wasn’t such a great idea after all.
Wrigley Field was modified to Big Ten standards. Earlier, Big Ten officials did a walk-through at Wrigley and didn’t raise a fuss. Both of those points were raised in a rather terse even passive-aggressive statement issued by the Chicago Cubs organization after the Big Ten decided to make their changes:
“This game would not have been scheduled if it did not pass the strict and meticulous standards of everyone involved, a process that began more than a year ago. All are in agreement Wrigley Field is a safe venue to host a football game. Other baseball parks, including tomorrow night’s game in Yankee Stadium, feature similar football field-to-venue grid dimensions and rule changes are not considered for football games played in other baseball parks.
“We have reached out to the Big Ten to further discuss the playing field. While we are surprised by this morning’s last-minute statement, all agree that tomorrow will be an historic event and a wonderful experience for the fans, the schools and the student-athletes.”
Well, it doesn’t bode well to upset your hosts. Play Ball!
oh and Go Illini!