For the first time since 1995, Northwestern will be the host school for ESPN's college football pregame show, "GameDay", which features host Chris Fowler, former Indiana coach Lee Corso, former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit and former Michigan star and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard (do they really need five people to front this show?).
Anyway, this will be in conjunction with a street festival set up in cooperation with the Cubs, Northwestern and the city of Chicago on Saturday; Sheffield Avenue between Addison Street and Waveland Avenue will be turned into "Wildcat Way"; it will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and admission is free. About noon, the Northwestern football team will get off the L at the Addison stop after the team dresses in Evanston and rides the train to Wrigley Field; the players will enter the field from Sheffield through the "knothole" -- the screen through which people can see some of the game. After the jump, more information about what's happening at Wrigley to prepare for the game, and what will be happening all day and evening on Saturday.
According to the Cubs, there will be many activities and events will happen on Wildcat Way on Saturday morning, afternoon and evening, including having other college football games air on numerous screens beginning at 11 a.m.; four live music acts on a stage near Waveland; a large heated tent with TV's, bars and face painters.
Also, in conjunction with the game's sponsor, Allstate, the Allstate Tailgate Tour will be there -- it includes the Allstate College Football Legacy Museum, the Allstate Fan Club where fans can create personal signs, a Plinko-type board for prizes and a green screen photo area where fans can take pictures that will be online after the game. Also, former Northwestern star running back Damien Anderson will host an interactive Q-and-A session and sign autographs from 1 to 2 p.m. And, as has become traditional at many pregame events, a football toss challenge and bags game will be present for fans of all ages.
Finally, in a first for Wrigley Field, the Cubs announced that there will be external light towers and camera towers on Waveland Avenue, which are necessary because football lighting requirements are different than baseball. Wrigley Field personnel will begin lighting checks on Thursday evening and they hope to be done by midnight. The lights at Wrigley Field will be on throughout the week as football setup takes place.