Bear Down - Chicago Weekend 12/2 - 12/4 (87 PICTS)

[gct13]

BEAR DOWN - CHICAGO WEEKEND (12/2 - 12/4)

Friday, December 2, 2005

En route on the 6:10am City of New Orleans from Champaign.



Gilman, IL.


Kankakee, IL.


Chicago; will visit Soldier Field on Sunday.





Off the train, out and about in frigid downtown.





Saturday, December 3

Since 1994, the University of Illinois Illini basketball team has played an annual December game at their home-away-from-home, the United Center (home of the NBA Bulls). This year's opponent: the Xavier Musketeers. Illinois won, 65-62.








Downtown








Millennium Park







Michigan Ave


















Sunday, December 4




Soldier Field--opened in 1924--was built as a memorial to Americans who died in wars. From 2002-2003 the stadium was completely gutted and rebuilt on the inside while preserving the historic colonnades and exterior.

Today's contest: Bears vs. Packers. Temp: 25F. Attendance: 62,177.









Find the ball.








The West Colonnades.












With the Bears clinging to a 12-7 lead, Nathan Vasher returns a Favre interception 45 yards to put the game away. Final score: 19-7.





Everyone sing...






On the way out.









More Illini - Xavier pictures can be found here >>

More Bears - Packers pictures can be found here >>

[abrowne]

Note to self: visit Chicago.

[Yorke790]

Fantastic pictures...have never been to Chicago, but I'm starting to see why our Mayor in Toronto walks in the footsteps of his mentor Mayor Daley...some beautiful examples of public art and public space!

What a gem the new Soldier field is!

[illinoisplanner]

Amazing pictures. You really captured the essence of the city.

I was just at the United Center last night to see AEROSMITH....best concert ever. I love my city and am so fortunate to be a native. Just walking around the city as a light snow falls is just amazing. I have some downtown shots of previous trips as well as some pics from the concert last night and will post them as soon as I get around to it.

[Zoning Goddess]

People actually sit outside in 25 d. weather for hours for a football game? Brrrr....
So, do they make the stadium seats wider to accommodate winter wear? Just curious. Down here anything outside is only populated by people in shorts and tank tops.

[the north omaha star]

You took some amazing pictures at the Bears game. Where were you sitting? What kind of camera do you have?

[PlannerByDay]

WOW a lot of pictures. It is really neat to see the stadium from the inside. Thanks for the pictures.

[vaughan]

thanks so much for the pictures!

for us small-town westerners, was that a TRAIN or LIGHTRAIL I saw zipping by in downtown!?! How cool!

[mendelman]

...for us small-town westerners, was that a TRAIN or LIGHTRAIL I saw zipping by in downtown!?! How cool!

That is the rapid transit CTA "EL".

[jordanb]

^-- What y'a Noo-Yawker now?! It is spelled "L", not "EL".

Yes, that is Chicago's "subway system," except that it's mostly elevated (which is why it's called "The L" instead of "The Subway.") The train there is on The Loop, which is a rectangle of elevated track which wraps around downtown and is one of Chicago's most famous landmarks.

[mendelman]

^-- What y'a Noo-Yawker now?! It is spelled "L", not "EL".

Soooooorrry.....geez.....

Btw, nice photos of the Loop and Museum Campus area. It was as cold as it looked.

[michiganplanner]

Those pictures remind me how much I love that place. Only went twice in 05 so I hope 06 fairs better. Better yet, I wonder what the market for economic developers is there??? Working on that now!

michiganplanner - standing outside Union Station, fresh off the Amtrak from Michigan (AIB the BUN sign off's).

[gct13]

Thank you all for your comments.

People actually sit outside in 25 d. weather for hours for a football game? Brrrr....

Most of the fans are too busy consuming massive amounts of beer to feel the cold. For those that don't, the restrooms are well-heated.

So, do they make the stadium seats wider to accommodate winter wear?

No

Where were you sitting?

3rd row in the end zone, and did a lot of moving around.

What kind of camera do you have?

Sony Mavica.

[mgk920]

People actually sit outside in 25 d. weather for hours for a football game? Brrrr....
So, do they make the stadium seats wider to accommodate winter wear? Just curious. Down here anything outside is only populated by people in shorts and tank tops.

At Green Bay, it gets far colder than that (Sunday night's game vs. the Detroit Lions got into the negative teens C) and every seat is occupied until the end of the game, regardless of the temperature. I have been at Packer games where the still-air temp was about -20C (that's negative mid-single digits F, for the Luddites in the crowd). Fans up here constantly scratch their heads at people whom leave games early in other cities, ESPECIALLY when either the home team is leading or the game is still in doubt. BTW, the coldest on record at Green Bay was a still-air temp of -27C at gametime and Lambeau Field was full (just over 50K then) for that post-season game vs the Dallas Cowboys on 1967-12-31.

I don't know about Soldier Field, but most of the outdoor seats at Lambeau are aluminum benches and the resulting closeness to the other fans does have a warming effect (just bring some chunks of polyurethane foam to sit on, dress warmly and you're all set ).

Mike

[mawmaw5108]

I love the beautiful buildings there.