For the first time since 1989, the Chicago Bulls played a pre-season game at Assembly Hall in Champaign, IL. Since I had not attended a game at Assembly Hall, I decided to drive to last night’s Bulls game rather than attend a University of Illinois basketball game. Last year, I had planned to drive to Champaign when the Fighting Illini hosted Northwestern on Sunday, January 27. Instead I went to the Chicago Bulls game that day.

The drive to Champaign from Chicago is about 2.5 hours. I have made the drive four times before (3 time for Bears games during the 2002 season and for an Illinois football game when they hosted Northwestern in 2003).

Pre Game Dining
I arrived in Champaign around 5:30 pm and drove to Green St. – the entertainment and retail center for Illinois students. The main two bars on Green St. are Legends and Murphy’s Pub. Six years ago, I remembered going to Legends before the Jets and Bears game. I walked into Legends and texted my friend who went to U of I. He texted back – get out of there and go to Murphy’s Pub. I left Legends and went to Murphy’s Pub – a place the Ultimate Sports Wife and I went before the Lions game in 2002. Each bar had $2 beer specials and Friday night food specials.

Obtaining Tickets
At 7 pm, I headed over to Assembly Hall. I parked in a university lot that did not need a permit on a Friday night – aka free parking. I walked around Assembly Hall and found the main ticket office – normally the spot to find extra tickets. I noticed one fan trying to sell an extra ticket but the scalpers would only offer him $5. He got in line to enter the arena without selling the tickets. I went to find him in line and asked if he had an extra ticket. I also explained I was going to the game and would take the ticket if he was just going to “waste it.” I also promised not to sit next to him if he wanted to extra seat. He seemed annoyed, but handed me the ticket. The ticket was 11 rows from the court. Thus, I found a seat a few sections from where the actual seat was located.