By David Miller
Daily Herald Sports Writer
Posted on October 13, 2000
A media circus came to Naperville this week and that can mean only one thing:
Naperville Central plays Naperville North in football tonight.
The teams were inundated by reporters this week at practice, and they haven't seen anything yet. Expect
a flood of sports writers, photographers, camera crews and satellite trucks to be at the game. Three
radio stations will broadcast the action live. A noisy visit from a TV station helicopter should make an
appearance, too. I half expect one of those military sea-land Duck vehicles to float along the Riverwalk
and drive down Chicago Avenue, carrying a platoon of reporters to cover the big event.
It seems everyone wants the scoop on the two 7-0 teams. Naperville hasn't received this much attention
since George Bush stopped by for a campaign visit. Neither Naperville North coach Larry McKeon or
Naperville Central coach Joe Bunge has been heard uttering a bad word about a reporter, at least not near
a microphone in public. In fact, both helpfully passed out media packets at their practices this week. Pretty
soon though they're going to need their own sports information directors. Interest in this game has grown
to a fever pitch.
The game is being played at North Central College for the first time. North Central volunteered the use
of its Cardinal Stadium and Naperville Central took the college up on its offer so the traditional overflow
crowd could be be accommodated.
"This way we're going to provide seats for at least 3,000 more people than we could," said Naperville
Central athletic director Marty Bee in between selling tickets from his office.
North Central's stadium has a seating capacity of 7,500 and the college has installed fencing around the
field so the fans who have to stand can watch from the track oval. A crowd of 10,000 is expected,
perhaps more if the weather cooperates. Tickets have been selling in a steady stream at both schools.
"It's a little crazy," said Naperville North athletic director Neil McCauley, who recalled last year's
game when fans from both sides arrived at the school's field at 8 a.m. to reserve their spots.
"You know, they want to get their seats," McCauley said. "We've got some die-hard fans that come out
and put blankets on the seats. That stuff is fun."
While North Central will be better able to handle the crowd inside the stadium, parking is limited in the
area. Fans are advised to be prepared for a long walk or to use the shuttle buses which will be running from
both high schools.
Everyone involved will be paying attention to how well the event plays at its new venue. Both athletic
directors said North Central could host future games, but a lot will depend how smoothly thing go tonight.
"One problem is parking," McCauley said. "We've got more parking here than they do there so we'll have to
to see if there's a lot of complaints from the city or the neighborhoods where people are parked on both
sides of the street in a residential area. We're running shuttle buses to try to keep that down to a minimum,
but I don't know if Naperville people are the type to take a shuttle bus. I don't know if that'll work or not."
"North Central would like to continue to host it every year I think," Bee said. "Now they may change their
mind after this weekend, but right now they would like to have us back next year. I think that all
depends on how things go. But the game becomes a community event and North Central is an opportunity
to make it maybe a bigger community event."
The fact the players live in the same town makes this a special rivalry beyond the playing field.
"It's a respectful rivalry," Bee said. "It's been on the field, where it should be."
"The rivalry's great," McCauley said. "The relationship between the kids is super because
they've grown up playing against or with each other in Little League or youth football or youth soccer.
The kids play hard against each other. When it's over, it's over."
This game has grown into an annual Naperville happening like Ribfest or The Final Fling. A cast of
thousands eagerly await the big game.
Who doesn't love the circus?