For the second time in three days, I witnessed an undefeated team defeat a Chicago team. First was the Titans defeated the Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday and second was the Atlanta Hawks defeating the Chicago Bulls 113-108 last night at the United Center to win their first 6 games of the season – their best start since the 1997-98 season.
Obtaining TicketsWhen I attended NBA Opening Night two weeks ago, I bought about a dozen games for $10 each. Since the next price point above $10 is …

I had wondered what I would do between the end of the Bears game and the 6 pm Chicago Blackhawks start. However, since we ended up in the United Club at Soldier Field I had my answer. We left the United Club around 4:45 pm and I took the red line from the Roosevelt el stop and got off at the Monroe el stop. I transferred to the #20 Madison Street bus and got off at Ashland Ave. in order to eat dinner at Billy Goat Tavern, located at 1535 …

Rather than tailgating before the Chicago Bears game on Sunday we chose to frequent the bars around Soldier Field. First up was Grace O’Malley’s pub, located at 1416 S. Michigan Ave. – a good place for Irish Breakfast before the game. However, we were not eating breakfast and the bar was over crowded. Thus, we left and went to Weather Mark Tavern less than a block further south on Michigan Ave., located at 1503 S. Michigan Ave. Not only was the Weather Mark Tavern quiet and have room to sit, …

Today I set a personal record by attending my eighth college football game of the 2008 season – the most regular season games I have attended in one season. The day started out with my driving two Ohio St. fans up to Evanston, IL.
We parked on Milburn St. Although Milburn St. is about a 5-10 minute walk to Ryan Field it has no parking restrictions. Another plus with the parking location is that you pass most of the ticket scalpers as you walk to the stadium. With the game sold …

With prior plans on Saturday night and the Chicago Bears game to attend on Sunday afternoon, the Chicago Fire’s home game in the conference semifinals fell on the only day of the week I could have attended – Thursday night.
I had considered eating at Fire Station Pub before the match since Nicole was not attending but I called one of my friend’s to see if they were attending. They were and said I could get a ride to Toyota Park. The ride from Wrigley Field to Toyota Park …

I planned my flight back from Minneapolis on Saturday night so we could make the early morning tailgate for the Chicago Bears game Sunday morning. Just as we had done before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on September 21, we arrived in Soldier Field’s south lot by 8:45 am.
However, this time we chose to drive and park in the Monroe Parking Garage located on the corner of Monroe St. and Columbus Dr. (instead of taking the train and walking for 30 to 40 minutes to the parking lot). The perk …

The post game tailgate at the Metrodome turned into a pre game tailgate for the Timbervolves game as we walked over to the Target Center for the Timberwolves game. We had thought about driving to the Xcel Energy Center for a college hockey doubleheader but with my flight scheduled to depart at 10:15 pm we would have had to leave the second hockey game too early to make it worthwhile.
Instead we were able to buy 100 level seats ($50 face value per ticket) for $10 each to the …

We arrived at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome around 9:30 am. Just enough time to tailgate before the 11 am start. We paid $7 to park and walked a few blocks to Chicago Ave and 3rd St. S – one of the lots that allow fans to tailgate.
Obtaining TicketsAt 10:40 am, we decided to start looking for tickets. My plan was to pay about $10 each for tickets. The same price I would expect to pay for a non-sold out game at Ryan Field in Evanston, …

Tonight I am flying up to Minneapolis for a doubleheader day tomorrow. In the first game of the day, the Minnesota Golden Gophers host the Northwestern Wildcats at 11 am. Second, I am attending the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves game. Tip off is at 7 pm.
When I booked the ticket in August (and ever since) airfares from Chicago to Minneapolis have hovered between $400 and $450. Since that is an unreasonable amount of money to pay for a day trip to Minneapolis, I chose …

Last night was the NBA’s Opening Night. It does not have the same ring as Opening Day for Major League Baseball, but with the Bulls playing and Nicole spending her night working, I was definitely going.
As I was driving to the United Center, I texted “Old Style Tom” – could I stop by after the game? Remember he lives 3 blocks from the UC. He said they were going to bed by 9:30 pm for an early morning workout but were around beforehand if I wanted to …