2012 Schedule

[Hercules]

Ryan Field may not be great, but Chicago >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> any other town in the Big Ten.

As cool as going to the Horseshoe would be... If I were choosing between the NW game and the OSU game, I'd choose NW just because of Chicago.

 

[Muck]

Ryan Field may not be great, but Chicago >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> any other town in the Big Ten.

As cool as going to the Horseshoe would be... If I were choosing between the NW game and the OSU game, I'd choose NW just because of Chicago.

I go to football games to watch football. I don't go to sight see in cities I've been to dozens of times before. If I want a vacation there are far more compelling places in the world to visit.

 

[Excel]

Oh I don't think he was debating Ryan Field vs the Shoe, I think his calculus was more like this:

We know the following:

Ryan Field < The Horseshoe

Chicago > Columbus

but....

Ryan Field + Chicago ? The Horseshoe + Columbus

FWIW I was speaking of visiting Ryan Field on it's own merits without any comparison to playing at Ohio Stadium.

Northwestern is consistently one of the weakest visitor game day experiences in the conference. Indiana & Minnesota being the other two at the bottom of the barrel. Two caveats on the latter two; Ohio State at Bloomington can be a great time merely because it becomes a de facto home game and Minnesota's new stadium alone makes the experience far better than in the awful, awful Metrodome.

There are plenty of amazing venues for games within the Big Ten....Ryan Field just isn't one of them.

Most Big Ten schools have some kind of draw in my mind...

Minnesota - I hate to say it but the new stadium is nice though small and since they always suck it'd be pretty favorable to a visiting NU team or any other good opponent. The Twin Cities are nice to visit for a day...and a day alone

Michigan- Big stadium, tradition, a must see for any CFB fan

Ohio State - See Michigan...and Columbus isn't an awful city to visit either

PSU- See Michigan

Northwestern- Proximity to Chicago

Wisconsin- Historic Stadium (not neccesarily the program but the stadium itself)...Madison's a great town, games are giant parties

Indiana-Bloomington is great for drinking and your team will win.

Purdue, Illinois, Iowa and MSU are kind of blah to me...visit if you want.