It's been a while since we've been in the north suburbs of Chicago.
Four years for the Nittany Lions.
Usually, Penn State has had the upperhand against Northwestern when it comes to football, except for that bizarre, inept contest here back in 2003.
Sure, the 1995 Michigan game in Beaver Stadium was known for the 18 inches of snow that fell the week leading up to it.
But the 2003 game in Evanston actually featured snow during the game -- enough to cover the field in a couple of inches.
It was a strange November atmosphere. The white stuff was falling steady in the hours leading up to the game, the comfy, leafy streets around the stadium pretty much deserted.
We walked around and bought hot cider and looked in shops and phoned home, trying to figure out how Christmastime came about six weeks early.
The teams warmed up -- not good teams, mind you. Penn State was 3-9 that year -- and there was hardly anyone watching. Former Penn State offensive coordinator Fran Ganter likened it to an Ivy League football atmopshere.
We figured it looked more like a high school atmosphere.
Of course, the game was equally as strange.
The Lions dropped one wide-open touchdown pass in the end zone and scored their only one on a Zack Mills keeper that never really did break the goal line. (Too much snow covered it, we guess, for the officials to really tell).
And the Lions eventually lost when a desperation pass by some no-name Northwestern quarterback bounced off the hands of two colliding Penn State defenders -- right into the waiting arms of a Northwestern receiver.
A Wildcat touchdown. Another Penn State loss.
A most memorable afternoon in the middle of a most lousy season.
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