Nebraska Fans Should Be PISSED Today After Traveling All The Way To Chicago To Watch Their Volleyball Team "Play" Outdoors At Wrigley Field

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We might have to stop taking indoor sports and playing them outside, guys. 

Hockey is one thing. It makes sense how you can have an ice rink outdoors in the middle of winter and put together a solid product (even though you still might have to deal with the ice melting). But all these other indoor sports that try to play games outside are always running into problems. You remember the college basketball Carrier Classic that got all fucked up in 2012? Ohio State and Marquette were supposed to play outdoors on the USS Yorktown, but the game was cancelled because of all the condensation on the court. It was a shitshow. 

Streeter Lecka. Getty Images.

Welp, the same thing happened last night at Wrigley Field. I mean, it was almost identical. The Big Ten and the SEC decided to have a women's volleyball doubleheader outdoors in Chicago with some no-joke programs involved in it. And to start, it really was a cool event. I was boots on the ground for the festivities, and it was a fucking blast. 

The first match was between Penn State and Kentucky, and while they were able to play that game to completion, there were clear signs that the playing surface was a major issue. In the final set, team managers were CONSTANTLY running onto the floor to wipe it down. And by the time we made it to Nebraska-Missouri for Game 2, the court was an outright disaster. So much condensation. So much dew. It's almost like playing next to a giant lake was a bad move after all. 

Nebraska and Missouri made it three points into their first set before the game needed a 15-20 minute break to wipe down the entire court. Every single player was on their hands and knees with a towel and some elbow grease. I had never seen anything like it. And the worst part? Out of all those people, not one of them had a fucking mop! Where the hell was Rico Bosco when you needed him?

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They tried playing after all of that mess, but they couldn't even make it halfway through the first set before going into a delay AGAIN. The broadcast just had to awkwardly fill time, while the players tried to give the fans a show by dance battling on the jumbotron. By this point, I was already down the street at a bar with a Modelo in my hand, because I knew there was no fucking chance this game was being played. 

After probably an hour of deliberation, it was announced that the game had been suspended, and the star players got on the mic to thank the fans for coming out. But here's the problem: It wasn't like there were only a few thousand fans there. There were upwards of 40,000. It was one of the largest crowds that Wrigley Field had ever seen. 

As a firsthand observer, I can tell you that it was a fucking madhouse in there. It was louder than any Cubs game I've been to. The reason for that is because it was 90% Nebraska fans, who had all made the trip to watch their #1 ranked Cornhuskers play at Wrigley. This fanbase goes NUTS for women's volleyball. Hell, they sold out the damn football stadium in Lincoln for a women's volleyball game once. 

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And those fans who traveled all the way to Chicago for this match should be fucking FURIOUS today. They got strung along so bad last night as they just had to wait and wait and wait for the game to finally be called. 

Everyone eventually poured out of the stadium in disarray. Uber prices through the roof. The Red Line train packed to the gills. It was impossible to get out of there. You just saw a bunch of sulking Nebraska fans sitting on the curb as they tried to figure out their next move. It was a sad scene in Wrigleyville, man.

You might not feel bad for the Nebraska fans, because surely they had to have known that weather might be an issue when they booked the trip. But the thing is…weather wasn't the issue. It wasn't raining or anything. It was a gorgeous night. Yes, there was some humidity that caused problems, but there was always going to be humidity. It's fucking summertime. How the fuck do you not account for that if you're organizing this event? 

So personally, I do feel bad for the Nebraska fans, and I hope they're able to make the most of their remaining time in Chicago. If they need any recs, I'm here. Maybe we can all have a nice evening at the concrete beach together or something.