Failure To Plan = Planning To Fail

by Christopher Gates on Nov 19, 2010 11:09 AM CST in News

Football. You're doing it wrong. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Yes, this isn't a Vikings-related posting, but the level of fail here puts even anything that the Vikings have done this year. . .on OR off the field. . .to shame.

This weekend, the Northwestern Wildcats and Illinois Fighting Illini will play their Big Ten Conference football game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. You know. . .the baseball stadium? Sounds like a neat little idea, right?

Well, apparently somebody didn't think this all the way through. Seriously, the level of fail involved here is mind-boggling. How much fail? This much fail.

Only one end zone will be used for offense Saturday at Wrigley Field for the Illinois-Northwestern game because of safety concerns, the Big Ten announced Friday.

The east end zone is just feet away from the right-field wall, and although there is padding, there still were concerns that players could be injured there.
...
When a team is on offense Saturday, it will be positioned to head to the west end zone.

Seriously. We're not making this up. After every change of possession, the teams will switch sides of the field so that the offenses are going the same way every time. All you suckers that bought tickets to sit in the east end zone? Yeah. . .sorry about that.

This makes me happy that a) the Gophers are off the weekend, and b) the Big Ten Network exists. . .I want to see this crime against football for myself. I look forward to hearing what our Northwestern blog (Sippin' On Purple) and our Illinois blog (Hail to the Orange) have to say about this.

But yeah, I thought this was an interesting story. . .was going to FanShot it, but then I started typing more than I thought I would. So, here you go.

Back with more Vikings-related stuff here in a bit.

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Comments

yes, this is retarded. "college" football implies that there are educated people involved.

what is happening to our educational system?….oh wait, we are talking about chicago, nevermind.

in the future there will be no war...there will only be rollerball.

by jethrophet on Nov 19, 2010 11:17 AM CST reply actions

I actually think the field looks cool

reminds me of the old Met Stadium, where both end zones were right up against the wall and both teams were on the same sideline.

And won’t the end of the field that gets used constantly be completely chewed up by the fourth quarter, leading to a greater chance of injury?

I think the risk of injury is ridiculously low, and whatever team that is on the other side of the 50 will be at a significant disdvantage in terms of substitute packages.

The Daily Norseman
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"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed."

by Ted Glover on Nov 19, 2010 11:30 AM CST reply actions

Maybe they could have gone back to the old days,

When the Bears played at Wrigley. In those days, the ballpark looked like this in its football layout:

However, that would require dismantling the bleachers in LF.

I didn't believe it last August, but it turns out that love survives.

Possibly hiking up Mount Marcy during the weekend of October 23-24. State high point count: 3/50

by Vermont Cubs Fan on Nov 19, 2010 12:32 PM CST up reply actions

it would be even more hilarious if they scheduled it as a night game.

in the future there will be no war...there will only be rollerball.

by jethrophet on Nov 19, 2010 11:44 AM CST reply actions

I think that...

… the Bears played there early on, before Soldier field. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that before.

Doesn’t really seem a big deal to me. I heard this on espn too and they were making a big deal of it. The defense can still score in the other endzone. It’s just that offense will always go the same way. Why is that such a big deal?

I wonder what the Bears did in that stadium, but I suppose the dimensions might have changed to add seats, etc, since then.

by HammeroftheGods on Nov 19, 2010 12:03 PM CST reply actions

Yes

But the field went the other way and the walls were further back.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/11/19/losers-walk-only-one-end-zone-will-be-in-use-for-the-football-game-in-wrigley-field/

by Danwood on Nov 19, 2010 12:17 PM CST up reply actions

The Vikes aren't technically dead yet

They’re only mostly dead.

by kirkaracha on Nov 19, 2010 12:12 PM CST reply actions

Love "The Princess Bride" reference.

Now, if only the Vikings had a wheelbarrow.

Your fantasy football expert since Jerry Rice's rookie year.

by Odin on Nov 19, 2010 12:47 PM CST up reply actions

And a holocaust cloak...We definitely need one of those!

by IlinoisVike on Nov 20, 2010 12:30 PM CST up reply actions

This is a bit crazy

So, if a defensive touchdown is scored, do they switch fields to attempt the PAT?
At the coin toss, whoever wins it gets to choose if they kick or receive, what do the losers get to choose?

WR, CB, K & P of the Minnesota Machine

by dthompson on Nov 19, 2010 12:54 PM CST reply actions

One group that's happy about this:

The marketing group at Allstate. They have been getting a metric assload of advertising thanks to that wall!

Proud contributor to Daily Norseman and SB Nation Minnesota

by Eric J. Thompson on Nov 19, 2010 1:03 PM CST reply actions

Announcing the starting quarterback for the Fighting Illini -

Carlos Zambrano! -

by abba7 on Nov 19, 2010 2:06 PM CST reply actions

Sounds like a great idea to me

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Minnesota legislature announced that it had accepted architectural blue prints for a new stadium based on this model. Imagine how much you could save on the price of a new stadium if you only had to have one end zone.

by kcskol on Nov 19, 2010 4:12 PM CST reply actions