September 1st 2007, the Iowa Hawkeyes take on the Northern Illinois Huskies in the first FCS game played at Soldier Field in over a decade. Soldier Field is sold out months in advance in anticipation of the contest. Huskie and Hawkeye fans alike see the game as a great opportunity for both schools to play in a NFL stadium, on Lake Michigan, on Labor Day weekend. Both schools have activities planned throughout the city including Iowa Day at Wrigley Field. The Hawkeyes win a defensive game 16-3, but both teams go onto have sub-par 2007 seasons.
Fast forward fifty-four weeks later, and you find a fan base up in arms over the seemingly forgone conclusion of playing Wisconsin in 2008 at the same venue. After seeing BCS opponents Wake Forest, Maryland, and Iowa State come to DeKalb in a two year span, a BCS team has not traveled to Huskie Stadium in five years. Instead, NIU has played home out of conference games against Southern Illinois (twice), Tennessee Tech, Temple (at the time), Indiana State (twice), and finally Navy this season. They want to see better opponents, and nobody can blame them for that.
According to a UW official, the likely scenario appears to be a game at Soldier Field against Northern Illinois. The Huskies are scheduled to play host to UW on Oct. 24 next season in DeKalb, Ill., though that appears likely to change in the wake of the talks between the schools. “They’re driving it but we’re excited about it,” the UW official said of facing the Huskies at Soldier Field. “We have a big fan base down there and it is a pro venue.
However those who do not see the good reason to play this game at Soldier Field are truly being selfish. Yes, we as fans have to make sacrifices and pay more then we would if the game was at with Huskie Stadium, but to a mid major school with a small football budget, the money that NIU will receive for this game is too good to pass up. Fans can concoct ways to make more money by having the game in DeKalb by charging a premium for the Wisconsin game and making students pay for tickets, but in the end you alienate your fan base as much as you do by having the game at Soldier Field. The athletic department is run by people who are better at their job than people on a message board, and fans need to have faith in them. Northern made between a million and a million and a half dollars playing at Soldier Field and with a program that is desperately in need of an indoor practice facility and a new press box, the money is too much to pass up.
I think that it's a great idea to be able to play at Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears. More importantly, having a game at a professional stadium will give us more well-needed publicity and also will help greatly with our recruiting.-Britt Davis
In the end, we as fans make think it is all about them, but really it is about the student-athletes who leave everything out on the field every Saturday. To play in a professional venue is a special opportunity that most collegiate do not get the chance to do. It’s a fantastic opportunity for them to showcase their skills on the biggest stage, against a BCS opponent. Good for them, and good for NIU.
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