Attention Chicago Ducks, we are moving our watch parties back to Witt's.

Here is the note sent by the alumni association:

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Hey Duck fans,

First, a housekeeping note. We will no longer be watching games at Rocks and will be returning to Witts as our weekly watch party spot. While Rocks was a great host and a good location to watch games, Rocks is unable to guarantee space for the Ducks' night games due to private parties. Witts will be able to accommodate us regardless if there are private parties due to their patio space.

What: Oregon vs. UCLA
When: Saturday, October 11 at 9pm
Where: Witts
            2913 N. Lincoln
            Chicago, IL 60657

Go Ducks!

From the Boiler Report message board (Scout.com) -------------------------------------------------- Lets start with what everyone really cares about and that’s the bar scene. I think Purdue’s bar scene is ok, there are far better out there in other college towns. Harry’s Chocolate Shop (believe me it’s a bar) is seen as the iconic Purdue bar, really only because it’s been around longer than others. It’s small and on busy nights you can’t even move. Juke box has a good selection of classic songs. One thing I like is the drinks are always strong, which you won’t find at other bars. Place is old and not much to look at but that is what makes it different, a must stop for at least a couple. Other than that you have Where Else? which I don’t care for, Brothers which is ok, Jakes isn’t bad for some early action and food. There is also the Yacht Club, which I have never been to. These five or so bars make up what is known as the "Chancey Hill" area. East down State St. towards Lafayette , you will find the "Levee" area. Here you will find Nine Irish Brothers, an Irish Pub if you didn’t guess, good atmosphere, live music and a favorite of mine. Parking is hard to come by though. Also you have the Neon Cactus, a big place with a dance floor. Drinks are ok but it has the "Piano Bar", with "Bruce the Piano Man". It is wise to catch his act if you can for it’s a great time. For a good tip he will play your school fight song which then will turn out to be a war with another Purdue fan outbidding you. Then there is Buffalo Wild Wings down from the Cactus. These are the bars in the immediate campus area. There are other bars across the bridge into downtown Lafayette. Have to eat right? Stop by Triple XXX (it’s a restaurant believe me) It’s basically in old root beer stand but they don’t serve people in cars anyone. Recently has been featured on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" on the food network. You will know because they plaster it everywhere in the place to not make you forget. It has hamburgers named after football stars and pictures on the wall of Purdue greats. A place you might find familiar as other college towns have something like it, this is by Chancey Hill You will find Bruno’s and Scotty’s Brew House in the Levee area. Bruno’s has good pizza and is great for families. Scotty’s is kinda expensive but a big menu and it’s really not a brew house. These are the restaurants in the immediate campus area. There are plenty of others across the bridge into Lafayette.

Looks like its O-Zone or nothing for the Utah State game, unless you receive Comcast Sports Northwest (?). GamePlan wanted to provide the game, but Fox exercised its blackout option. I urge everyone to boycott UW vs. BYU and just listed to the damn radio if you have to. It sucks that there is no websites with free radio broadcast. Used to be available on KXL.com but not anymore. So if you live out of CSNW range, you are reduced to paying $9.95 to goducks.com and watching the streaming video of the O-Zone. What a sad state of affairs. It will REALLY bug me when we have to do the same for the Boise State game in two weeks!

Re-post of the news that Chicago Ducks have a new nest...

 

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I wrote about Witt's Bar & Grill last week in my "The Story of Witt's" FanPost, but it seems I spoke too soon. The Chicago chapter of the Oregon alumni association is changing the venue for our football watch parties. The manager at Witt's has moved to a new bar in the same neighborhood, "Rocks". He invited the Oregon crowd to make Rocks the new "Oregon bar" in town, and he pledged to continue taking good care of us. (Meanwhile, Witt's stopped flying the Oregon flag outside and is flying an Iowa Hawkeyes flag instead.)

Rocks is similar in size and layout to Witt's. It is on a side street, so the parking situation is a nice improvement from Witt's. Rocks has a great selection of beers and liquors, and good food too. They have 8 TVs. It's a 10-minute (or less) walk from the Diversey Brown Line stop, and bus stops on Ashland, Lincoln, and Diversey.

Rocks Lincoln Park
1301 W. Schubert Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614

Map:
maps.google.com/maps?f=q&h...013711&z=16

Rocks website:
www.rockslincolnpark.com/

Hope to see everyone at Rocks on August 30th!

 

I wrote about Witt's Bar & Grill last week in my "The Story of Witt's" FanPost, but it seems I spoke too soon. The Chicago chapter of the Oregon alumni association is changing the venue for our football watch parties. The manager at Witt's has moved to a new bar in the same neighborhood, "Rocks". He invited the Oregon crowd to make Rocks the new "Oregon bar" in town, and he pledged to continue taking good care of us. (Meanwhile, Witt's stopped flying the Oregon flag outside and is flying an Iowa Hawkeyes flag instead.)

Rocks is similar in size and layout to Witt's. It is on a side street, so the parking situation is a nice improvement from Witt's. Rocks has a great selection of beers and liquors, and good food too. They have 8 TVs. It's a 10-minute (or less) walk from the Diversey Brown Line stop, and bus stops on Ashland, Lincoln, and Diversey.

Rocks Lincoln Park
1301 W. Schubert Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614

Map:
maps.google.com/maps?f=q&h...013711&z=16

Rocks website:
www.rockslincolnpark.com/

Hope to see everyone at Rocks on August 30th!

I moved to Chicago in the summer of 2004. Coincidentally, a month after I arrived I received an e-mail from the Alumni Association. The note went to Chicago-area Ducks in an effort to establish a Chicago chapter of the UOAA. I went to that initial meeting and there were 8 people there. We agreed that finding a place to watch Ducks Football was the top priority.

 

We settled on a bar called "Joe's", a massive warehouse of a sports bar with 100+ TVs. The manager at Joe's gave us the VIP room for our first game vs. Indiana (though we had to share it with the Hoosiers crowd). I nearly jumped off a bridge into the nearby Chicago River at halftime, but otherwise had a good time with about 20 other Ducks. But after that first game, we were out of the VIP room and into the back corner, with the crappy small TV and no audio. We had 10-20 people show up each week that season, and around the same numbers in 2005.

 

In 2006, our intrepid leader Drew was contacted by the manager of a neighborhood bar called Witt's. The owner had just remodeled the place and put in new TVs, and he was looking for a couple of college teams to "adopt". He wanted teams that did not already have a dedicated “home” in Chicago (ruling out Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, etc.), so he picked Purdue from the Big 10 and contacted their alumni chapter. He also wanted a Pac 10 team to get the afternoon crowd (West Coast games start a few hours later than Big 10 games), and after some research he learned that there are 500+ Oregon alums in Chicagoland. He also knew we had a strong football program, so he reached out to Drew and invited him to bring the Ducks to Witt's.

 

That first game in 2006 against Stanford, I wandered into the bar and was shocked to see a crowd of 30+ quacker backers on hand, and the Ducks game on 4 different screens with surround-sound audio. WAAAAAAY better situation than the dark corners of Joe's. The Ducks started that season on fire, and the crowds got bigger every week. We probably had 50+ folks pack that place for the wild Oklahoma game. Drew brought a big green OREGON flag and it now hangs outside Witt's. They also play an MP3 of "Mighty Oregon" after touchdowns and victories.

 

Last year we kept up the momentum, attracting 30-50 Oregon fans to Witt's for every game until the season unraveled. We only had about 15 people for the UCLA and Oregon State games and the Sun Bowl. Hopefully this year will be a packed house for every game (saying a prayer that ESPN Gameplan gets the broadcast rights) of a 13-0 season (hey, why not?).

 

I dropped by Witt's for a Ducks basketball game a few months ago, and I noticed some new remodeling including a big sign that features the "O" logo painted above the beer list. Also new booths, and a new beer cooler behind the bar. I guess they made so much coin off the Duck fans that they could afford to fix up the place even more!

 

In short, we've gone from 8 people in the dark corner of Joe's with fuzzy picture and no sound, to 50 people in a nice new bar with good food and drink, the Ducks game on several TVs and full audio, and the flag flying outside and the fight song playing inside. Needless to say, we love Witt's!

 

Final thought: Given that we share Witt's with the Purdue crowd, we REALLY need Oregon to knock off the Boilermakers on September 13 so we can have bragging rights for the rest of the season.

http://www.wittschicago.com/pictures.htm

 

TO: Accounting Dept.

FROM: DavisDuck

RE: Request for new job code

===============================

Please open a new job code so that I can correctly charge my time.

Title is Addicted to Quack

This is an internal cost center.

As of August 4, please adjust my timesheet to reflect 2.0 hours per day to this code. FY09 budget projections should allow for up to 15.0 hours per week between now and December. In addition, please allow expenses toward this code of up to $1,000 for "meals/beverages" and "transportation".

 

 

 

The UOAA is chartering a bus to take Duck fans from Chicago to West Lafayette and back. (I just saw the flyer. If you are on the UOAA mailing list in Chicago, you'll be getting an e-mail later this week.)

This is a package deal that includes a ride from Chicago on a small charter bus, and a game ticket in the Oregon section (end zone bleachers).

$110 for UOAA members / $125 for non-members

The bus departs from Witt's Bar & Grille on Lincoln Ave. at 9:00 AM on Saturday, September 13.

Call for info: 800-245-2586

 

 

It's not official yet, but I heard from a trusted source that the UOAA is arranging for a charter bus for the Purdue game. Pickup and dropoff will be in Chicago at Witt's Bar & Grill. The price is to be determined, but it will be a package deal that includes a game ticket in the Oregon section along with the bus ride. I don't know any other details, like "will it be UOAA members only" or "can I ride the bus if I already have a game ticket". (I'm guessing "yes" and "no" respectively.) I'll post more information when it becomes available.