So now that it's over and everyone survived, what needs to be said about the Big Ten's experiment at Wrigley Field? First of all, credit to Pete Fiutak at College Football News for noting that we should have expected this from a conference whose very name is a mathematical misnomer.Was this the first publicity stunt that was ladled with an extra dollop of publicity stunt? I doubt this is how it actually went down, but imagine if the Big Ten knew what it was doing all along? Imagine if the plan from the beginning was to play a "Westbound and Downs" game but not to announce it until just a day prior to the game?
You know what I'd call that? Marketing genius!
As Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, a Northwestern alum whose beat is the Wildcats (imagine ... covering your alma mater), wrote that last Friday, "Well, if any football fans in America didn't already know about Saturday's game, they surely do now."
Certainly, the "Losers Walk Classic" invited bizarre changes in routine. The obvious example is that referees had to re-spot the football after each change of possession and yet, not after the first and third quarters. A less obvious example: Since Illinois and Northwestern shared the same sideline, the two teams switched what side of the 50 they were situated on after halftime. Another: Choosing which end zone to defend during the coin toss became a moot topic.
As a one-time gimmick, I'm with Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald: "It's football. Let's go."
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Source: http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2010/11/23/big-ten-harvest-not-so-friendly-confines/
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