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sox83cubs84
11-16-2010, 07:45 AM
The first college football game at the Cubs home field since 1938 will be taking place this coming Saturday, but the ballpark doesn't appear to be rolling out the welcome mat for ballhawks seeking a pigskin as a trophy.

ESPNChicago reported that Sheffield Avenue would be turned into a party/festival area for the game. The east goalpost, which is in front of the right field wall, may have FGs and XPs kicked through that end up in this special purpose area, meaning that even if a fan seeking a football gets in, their ability to move around will be severly restricted, unlike baseball games, where ballhawks can run dozens of feet to make a catch.

The Cubs reportedly are going to be watching this experiment to see if, sometime in the next couple of years, they can adopt this practice for Cubs games. If Sheffield ends up being a party area that the Cubs make money from, how much longer until Waveland Avenue is next...?

All told, for the guys on the street (at least the ones I get along with), I hope the Cubs don't see enough in the street party area to adapt it to an 81-game home schedule.

Dave Miedema

otismalibu
11-16-2010, 09:17 AM
http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/wrigley-field-football-configuration-fright-lines-29246

Jayworld
11-16-2010, 09:34 AM
Is there some reason they would not run the field the way the Bears used to run it when playing in Wrigley (from the first base foul line to left field)? From several vintage pictures I've seen, it looks as if it would provide more room that way...

sox83cubs84
11-16-2010, 12:20 PM
Is there some reason they would not run the field the way the Bears used to run it when playing in Wrigley (from the first base foul line to left field)? From several vintage pictures I've seen, it looks as if it would provide more room that way...

I'm not sure why...that would make more sense to me, as well. There used to be all sorts of scrums and pileups for footballs on Waveland Avenue in the 1960s (before nets). One of the Ballhawks I do get along with, Rich Buhrke, grabbed two as a teenager.

Dave Miedema

ballhawknet
11-17-2010, 03:53 AM
Is there some reason they would not run the field the way the Bears used to run it when playing in Wrigley (from the first base foul line to left field)? From several vintage pictures I've seen, it looks as if it would provide more room that way...


Ok , I had a little extra time on my hand and decide to play around with
photoshop. . It is as close to accurate and to scale as I can design :D

The reason they are going the other way , east west , is simple. A whole
field never fit the other way. The end zones were only 8 yards deep . In the photo I show the full 120 yard field going north/south with the white lines representing the actual back end zone line ( 8ft end zones )

Also this overhead view gives one a good idea of why it is a lot easier to hit a home run into the bleachers in the left ( or onto Waveland ) vs hitting one out to right. I marked the outfield signs with circles , the 368's and 400 in center. The left field sign is not even close to where a normal power alley is marked . Even the center field sign is off and not directly in line with home and second.

Lastly , not sure what Dave M. was expecting since they are not "rolling out the welcome mat" for the Ballhawks. ?? Im sure the Cubs concern for us hawks is somewhere between making sure Ronnie Woo Woo gets his game day ticket , and providing Moe with free parking near the ballpark ... lol. And I'm not sure where Dave M got the idea that ( and Id like to hear a quote from someone ) " The Cubs reportedly are going to be watching this experiment to see if, sometime in the next couple of years, they can adopt this practice for Cubs games ". ( really ? who said that ? )
For a one time game such as this football event , sure you can get the necessary permits for blocking a public street , but for 81 games a year ??
never going to happen. The Cubs have their own problems selling actual tickets let alone worrying about a "tent event " outside the park.

So relax on that Mr Doom ... I mean Mediema . Try to look at the bright side of things... there will be no nets ( most likely ) . So balls will come out
and that's a cool thing even if there are 1000 people out there !!! And don't worry , Waveland and Sheffield will never be blocked for events during regular season Cubs games.... now the World Series...different story .... lol.

trsent
11-17-2010, 09:31 AM
I don't understand what y'all are worrying about.

They should tear the dump down and build a nice, modern ballpark with a normal place to go to the bathroom and plenty of reasonably priced parking.

Maybe move the location to the old Migs Field or maybe move west and a lot closer to The Edens.

Everybody's a dreamer...

Jayworld
11-17-2010, 10:23 AM
[QUOTE=ballhawknet;226360]Ok , I had a little extra time on my hand and decide to play around with
photoshop. . It is as close to accurate and to scale as I can design :D

The reason they are going the other way , east west , is simple. A whole
field never fit the other way. The end zones were only 8 yards deep . In the photo I show the full 120 yard field going north/south with the white lines representing the actual back end zone line ( 8ft end zones )

Ballhawknet: very good research on your part. Not being from Chicago (but being a stadium aficionado), I did not realize that Wrigley offered only 8 yard endzones during the Bears tenure. From a PDF I found: "...The tour guide stated that the Chicago Bears played 51 years in Wrigley Field. They moved to Soldier Field when the NFL moved the goal posts to the back of the 10-yard end-zone. Wrigley
Field did not have the space for full 10 yards of end zone. The Bears had played with 8-yard end zones in Wrigley Field. The Cubs would have had to place the goal posts behind the visitors club house in the first few rows of seats and just beyond the left field wall messing up some bleacher bums views."

trsent
11-17-2010, 01:10 PM
Years from now, what will Wrigley look like?

http://www.csnchicago.com/11/16/10/Years-from-now-what-will-Wrigley-look-li/landing_cubs.html?blockID=354454&feedID=661

sox83cubs84
11-17-2010, 08:56 PM
Dave D>:

The comments were made on the Saturday AM GameDay show on WMVP AM-1000 (Chicago's ESPN affiliate). Moreover, similar discussions were made on The Afternoon Saloon on the same station Monday.

Dave Miedema

ballhawknet
11-17-2010, 11:33 PM
Dave D>:

The comments were made on the Saturday AM GameDay show on WMVP AM-1000 (Chicago's ESPN affiliate). Moreover, similar discussions were made on The Afternoon Saloon on the same station Monday.

Dave Miedema


Oh ok , I took " Cubs are reportedly " like it was from actual news agency not just some radio personality giving his opinion on what they think the Cubs might look to do... My opinion remains it can't and will never happen during the the regular season. Not 1 time , not 81 times .

You should have stated who reported it in your comments. That way I could have just laughed to myself instead of questioning who the heck said it :)

otismalibu
11-19-2010, 12:18 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/ncf/news/story?id=5824661

ballhawknet
11-19-2010, 02:15 PM
[quote=sox83cubs84;226229] the ballpark doesn't appear to be rolling out the welcome mat for ballhawks seeking a pigskin as a trophy.

[quote=otismalibu] http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/wrigle...ht-lines-29246 (http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/wrigley-field-football-configuration-fright-lines-29246)

They have decide not to use the east end zone , it would NOW be fair to say they are " not rolling out the welcome mat ... "

By the way , only 2 out of 24 attempted field goals came out on to Sheffield on Thursday .

Good thing they had 8 months to figure this out . I would be upset if I had end zone seats in the east end. I wouldn't think they would practice that direction for field goals either on game day . So that might be it ..... :mad:

I guess going to have to wait until opening day for another ball ... its only 132 days 23 hours 5 minutes ......

ballhawknet
11-20-2010, 07:50 PM
Prior to the game , Illinois' kicker decided that even though they were not going to use the East end zone during the game , he still wanted to try and
kick a few out of the ballpark. And he did !!! Three of them :). There were a lot of people on the street , but no one was really paying attention . The first one hit the top of a "trailer? " and went to another fan. The second one when wide left ..I have no idea where it went. Third one right through the middle of the goal posts to where I was standing on the other side of Sheffield.

Cool how they have the Illinois stamp on them. I wish MLB teams had their own stamp on baseballs.

Hopefully the powers that be can fix the end zone problem before next years game so we can get some game action on the street.

both-teams-played-hard
11-20-2010, 09:58 PM
Prior to the game , Illinois' kicker decided that even though they were not going to use the East end zone during the game , he still wanted to try and
kick a few out of the ballpark. And he did !!! Three of them :). There were a lot of people on the street , but no one was really paying attention . The first one hit the top of a "trailer? " and went to another fan. The second one when wide left ..I have no idea where it went. Third one right through the middle of the goal posts to where I was standing on the other side of Sheffield.

Cool how they have the Illinois stamp on them. I wish MLB teams had their own stamp on baseballs.

Hopefully the powers that be can fix the end zone problem before next years game so we can get some game action on the street.
IMPRESSIVE!

sox83cubs84
11-21-2010, 11:10 PM
Nice grab, Dave. Unless I'm missing someone, that makes three Chicago Ballhawks who've caught footballs at college or pro games. Rich Buhrke grabbed two old Duke pre-merger footballs on Waveland Avenue at early 1960's Bears games. Then, in 1983, I corraled an extra point during a USFL game (Blitz-Wranglers) at Soldier Field (no nets).

Dave Miedema

sox83cubs84
03-08-2011, 08:25 PM
I am resurrecting this thread because the potential pitfalls of a party-centric Sheffield Avenue...which didn't stop Dave D. from nabbing a practice kick there during the event in the title...now appears to slowly be spreading to the Cubs season as well.

Plans are being created for a closed-off Sheffield Avenue for the section of that street that borders Wrigley Field for three weekend series at the Unfriendly Confines this summer...visits by the Yankees, White Sox and Cardinals.

While pedestrians will be able to walk through the area, the ability to chase baseballs will be noticeably hampered by tables, chairs, food stands, and party types, at least some of whom will be less than lucid due to extreme consumption of alcohol.

This isn't to say that getting a home run ball will be impossible, but timing and location will play a much bigger part than they do when no such party area is being set up.

Me? I'll sit out there for the duration of the game, avoid anything stronger than Pepsi, and carry a wad of cash to buy a home run ball in the event that someone near me happens upon one. I'm too physically damaged these days to chase around after one.;)

Dave Miedema

2020mike
03-08-2011, 10:32 PM
As a Cubs fan I do enjoy Wrigley Field there's not a bad seat in the house unless you get one of the obstructed view seats. Yeah the bathrooms are small you have your share of other small nagging things, but I think its part of the experience.

Although after my travels and experiencing other stadiums it wouldnt break my heart to see the old girl torn down. Its had a great run but its time to move on up. If Jerry can threaten to leave town and get a new stadium built Tom and gang can do the same thing and get approval in 24 hours to break ground on a new field IMO.

ballhawknet
03-08-2011, 10:44 PM
[quote=sox83cubs84;242788]I am resurrecting this thread because the potential pitfalls of a party-centric Sheffield Avenue...which didn't stop Dave D. from nabbing a practice kick there during the event in the title...now appears to slowly be spreading to the Cubs season as well.

Plans are being created for a closed-off Sheffield Avenue for the section of that street that borders Wrigley Field for three weekend series at the Unfriendly Confines this summer...visits by the Yankees, White Sox and Cardinals.

While pedestrians will be able to walk through the area, the ability to chase baseballs will be noticeably hampered by tables, chairs, food stands, and party types, at least some of whom will be less than lucid due to extreme consumption of alcohol.



I GUESS I HAVE TO SAY I WAS WRONG WHEN I FIRST HEARD THIS BROUGHT UP BY DAVE M. EARLIER IN THE THREAD.

I STILL FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THIS WILL FLY CONSIDERING THE POSSIBILITIES FOR EVEN MORE DRUNKEN IDIOTS IN THE STREETS. PLUS , THE BAR OWNERS WILL NOT BE HAPPY WITH THE LOSS OF REVENUE .
SIT INSIDE A BAR OR GO HANG OUT ON THE STREETS WATCHING THE GAME ON THE BIG SCREENS ? PLUS .... LETS SAY ...OH I DONT KNOW...YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE !!! AND FIRE TRUCK NOW HAS TO GO THE LONG WAY TO FIGHT THE FIRE .... OR POLICE , PARAMEDICS ...
( odds of that actually happening ? not sure .. but it could )

AS FAR AS BEING HAMPERED BY " TALBES , CHAIRS, AND FOOD STANDS ? ....WELL ....I USUALLY TRY TO AVOID ALL CONTACT WITH ANY THING OR ANYBODY ... BUT ...... LOL

WE SHALL SEE

jobathenut
03-09-2011, 12:39 AM
Hey dave-When the yankees come to town.I would more than happy to come down there with you and play bodyguard for you.All it would take is airfare and i will be your kevin costner.No wait tha would make you whitney-bad example.Anyways, you said you were "physically damaged" to fight for the home runs.I have no problem running interference for you while you chase down the home runs.But if alex's hits it,i get it-:)
I am resurrecting this thread because the potential pitfalls of a party-centric Sheffield Avenue...which didn't stop Dave D. from nabbing a practice kick there during the event in the title...now appears to slowly be spreading to the Cubs season as well.

Plans are being created for a closed-off Sheffield Avenue for the section of that street that borders Wrigley Field for three weekend series at the Unfriendly Confines this summer...visits by the Yankees, White Sox and Cardinals.

While pedestrians will be able to walk through the area, the ability to chase baseballs will be noticeably hampered by tables, chairs, food stands, and party types, at least some of whom will be less than lucid due to extreme consumption of alcohol.

This isn't to say that getting a home run ball will be impossible, but timing and location will play a much bigger part than they do when no such party area is being set up.

Me? I'll sit out there for the duration of the game, avoid anything stronger than Pepsi, and carry a wad of cash to buy a home run ball in the event that someone near me happens upon one. I'm too physically damaged these days to chase around after one.;)

Dave Miedema

sox83cubs84
03-09-2011, 05:25 AM
Joba:

Your offer is appreciated, but I'll decline.

Actually, being in that crowd might be tougher in some ways than being over on Waveland Avenue with the regulars. Whatever my misgivings are about how I've been treated by some of the folks out there the last few years, I will say, in their defense, that intentional violence is not the way of the Waveland crowd...I just have had my physical skills deteriorate to the point where I can't run or keep my balance well enough to compete phyiscally. It's just that these guys aren't gonna cut me any slack, and many of them will act out the Ballhawk equivalent of an end zone celebration in beating me out of a baseball, bad legs, bad balance and all, in the same manner they would if they beat out one of the players themselves.
The fans (many of whom will be drunk) on Sheffield are far more likely to play dirty, but, if the home run doesn't come directly to me (which it never has in 19 years of hawking on Sheffield), I'll sit it out and see if the person who does get it wants some ample food/beer money for his/her catch.

Dave M.