The Michigan Football program has been around for 146 years. When the Wolverines played their first game in 1879, Rutherford B. Hayes was the president of the United States, Albert Einsetin had just been born, and Thomas Edison was a few months away from inventing the light bulb.
Yet, over those 146 years Michigan has never once played football at the iconic Wrigley Field in Chicago. That’s about to change tomorrow.
Today’s discussion question is this — do you enjoy when Michigan plays in venues and
stadiums it has never been to before, or are you a traditionalist who wants to keep things the way they’ve always been?
While Wrigley Field will be new to the Wolverines, playing in baseball stadiums is not a new concept. Michigan has played several games at Yankee Stadium in New York in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Similarly, the Minnesota Golden Gophers used to call the Metrodome their home, along with the Minnesota Twins, and Michigah played there as recent as 2008.
However, Wrigley is a whole new avenue. This will be just the sixth ever college football game at Wrigley Field. Several Michigan players and coaches talked about how unique this opportunity is earlier this week. There have been concerns in the past about the size of the field outside the lines, but we’ll see if that impacts the game.
Some football traditionalists may roll their eyes at the thought of playing football in baseball stadiums. There’s no doubt it’s odd watching bowl games take place in Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park in December. College football is, at it’s core, an inter-collegiate sporting event. You can make the case that regular season games should never be played anywhere but on college campuses.
But the Wildcats are under unique circumstances, as they are waiting for the completion of their new stadium. They’ve pivoted nicely by moving some games to an iconic venue. Are you excited about the venue change or dreading it? Do you wish the Wolverines played more “neutral site” games? Do you wish they played less?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
