Bourbon and Bows Visits Ryan Field

Written by: Kathie Chong (@HooHooKathie)

It has been a while since any of us have watched LIVE football (on screen, or in person).  I had an urge to be close to a football stadium, any stadium, and the urge became almost too much to bear. 

With all the chatter about whether there will in fact be college football in 2020, I decided to trek to the nearest Big Ten Stadium for good luck. 

Here’s a quick guide in case you decide to see a football or basketball game at Northwestern. I took photos of my trip up from downtown Chicago to Northwestern, a journey I hope to take again once the season starts!

Lake Shore Drive is one of the prettiest drives in the country because you get to see the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan at the same time on either side of you.  It is also (mostly) an efficient way to travel North-South in Chicago – here are the traffic arrows turning off the end of Lake Shore Drive to the north.

Even though the star of today’s trip is Chicago’s Big Ten Stadium (if Ryan Field can really be called a “stadium”), Loyola University Chicago is right off of Lake Shore Drive on the way there.  

I had to make a stop to say hello to Coach Porter Moser and Sister Jean. That 2017-18 Loyola Ramblers men’s basketball team and its Cinderella run all the way to the national semi-finals sure had the city of Chicago (and the nation) captivated.

Actually seeing and feeling the ambiance (the empty parking lots where tailgates would be) around Ryan Field was bittersweet.  It dawned on me that this may be the closest I get to a football stadium for a while.  You can see how close the seats are to the end zone – Ryan Field has an intimate vibe. I always feel like I am close enough to give Coach Fitz a high five!

Speaking of which – Coach Fitz had that magical run to the 2018 Big Ten West Title (a fact which is plastered all over Ryan Field and its surroundings), and even managed to keep up with Ohio State’s platoon of NFL receivers for close to a half in the title game before the talent disparity became overwhelming.
I’m always impressed that Coach Fitz (who was a star defensive player at Northwestern, one of the rarer coaches to have played for the team he coaches) fields a real Big Ten team at Northwestern. His defense has generally been good, although last year’s team really struggled on both sides of the ball.  Hopefully, his new hire of Mike Bajakian at offensive coordinator pays dividends this season!

Presented without comment. Gator Bowl *sigh*

Ryan Field is connected via a covered walkway to Welsh-Ryan Arena (where the Wildcats play basketball).  Welsh-Ryan Arena was recently overhauled, and they did a great job with the renovations.  Look at the pretty landscaping – the flowers are purple to match the school colors, which is a nice touch.

It is always nice to be able to trek up to Evanston to see one’s favorite Big Ten team (although that means Northwestern’s home court advantage is often watered down by the enthusiastic away crowds).  When I went up to see the Hoosiers (a game that unfortunately turned out to be terrible), I took a photo with the B1G trophy and captioned it “Romeo is taking us all the way” for good luck – alas.

While it may be hard to find parking in Evanston on game days, a lot of the area alumni B1G bars organize brunch-plus-party-bus packages to go to the game. It’s always fun to heckle all the nerds from the bus as you arrive in Evanston.

 Chicago also has great public transit, you can take the CTA Red Line up from the city to Howard, transfer to the CTA Purple Line and continue on to the (beautiful) Central station. Ryan Field and Welsh-Ryan Arena are a few blocks west of the station. 

As they are currently closed in Chicago, I snuck away to a beach in Evanston. It was nice seeing people enjoying themselves in the sun!

Any Bourbon and Bows outing would not be complete with a visit to the area distillery.  FEW Spirits is a little hard to find, as it is off the street, down an alley and located in a former “chop shop,” where stolen cars were taken apart and repurposed.  This is a picture of me standing in the alley. 

Some interesting facts about FEW: Evanston was the home of the Temperance Movement, and was dry for nearly a century. FEW was founded in 2011 after managing to get the city’s long-standing dry laws rewritten.  The distillery has a 2,700-square-foot distilling floor and a 400-square-foot tasting room, which I hope to visit when it reopens

I brought home a souvenir from my outing: a wonderful single-barrel rye whiskey. 

Here’s what the label from FEW says: “On the nose, fresh peach and wintergreen, caramel wafer, vanilla butter and oak spice. On the palate, orange candy, mint sprig, vanilla butter, toffee bar, and cinnamon candy. The finish is gorgeous, with spice giving way to sweeter fruit and toffee bar flavors.” Can’t wait to try it! 

What’s your favorite Big Ten stadium to visit?

Let me know @HooHooKathie on Twitter.