Asmussen | Who needs two? Good seats available at start of ticket-buying window
Jul. 14—CHAMPAIGN — If I am going to a sporting event, it is almost always as a reporter.
And that means my admission is gratis, which translates to "free" for us non-Latin speakers.
I'm not against buying tickets.
It just isn't necessary very often.
Thursday was one of those days. My brother, the really tall one, is coming to an Illinois football game in 2023 with a couple of his buddies.
He lives a day's drive away, so he is only going to attend once. No need for season tickets.
Single-game sales started for Illinois football at noon Thursday. I could have bought them online or by phone, but what fun is that?
So I jumped in the RAV-4 and drove to First and Kirby.
No problem finding a parking spot in front of the Illinois ticket office. The 10-minute time limit is more of a guideline than a rule, right?
Inside the spacious office, there was one ticket-buyer in front of me. She was getting seats for a couple different sports, but it all went very fast.
My turn. I was greeted by a pleasant agent, who did an excellent job of showing me the different options.
She told me the price ($80 per ticket) and asked me if that was OK.
"Of course," I accidentally shouted into the high-powered microphone.
It seemed more than fair when you consider the seat location: middle of the stadium, about 20 rows up.
I went a little old-school, asking for printed tickets. The mobile tickets are fine for most games, but it will be easier to pass along the tickets in hand.
The entire transaction took five minutes tops. There were a couple more customers in line, but not a large rush. The season, after all, doesn't start for 50 days.
Rather than tell my brother where the seats are located, I walked into the stadium, went to the actual spot and snapped a photo of his view.
Great to see the century-old building is accessible. Stadium workers are getting the place in playing shape.
I've been to a game at every stadium in the conference except Maryland, which I hope to check off this year. There isn't a better venue for fans to watch a game in than Champaign. And it has been a pleasure to work there for 34 years.
Difficult choices
The Associated Press Top 25 voting opens on Friday, and the first ballots are due by Aug. 1.
Mine is a work in progress. Mostly settled at the top, but decisions to make in positions 20 through 25.
Toledo, the defending MAC champion, is one of the teams I am considering. The Rockets visit C-U on Sept. 2. Other contenders for my ballot include Texas-San Antonio, Tulane, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, UCLA, Kansas State, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas Tech and Maryland.
The good news, as the AP folks remind us often, is that the ballots can be changed each week. Comforting to know. My preseason poll will list at least three 2023 Illinois opponents: Penn State, Iowa and Wisconsin.
More on the Wildcats
Northwestern, already having a dreadful week that included the firing of longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald, is taking more hits.
The team's 2024 recruiting class is down to 10 commitments, the fewest in the Big Ten. The class is ranked last among league members by both Rivals.com and 247Sports.
Soon expect to see current players exploring their transfer options. My guess is the program loses five to 10 players who would have been contributors. At least.
Two names that been trotted out as possible Fitzgerald replacements make no sense to me.
Yes, Urban Meyer and Ed Orgeron won in a big way during their previous stops at Florida, LSU and Ohio State. But both have too many red flags for Northwestern to consider them.
