Weathering the Storm

It's been a season filled with the unexpected, but none more surprising than the Tornado Bowl.

As we drove to the stadium, the clouds were looking ominous, and predictions were that the storm would hit downtown during the game.  In front of the storm came the wind.  It was so strong that the 4th Phase flag was not carried out onto the field - I can only imagine what the 40-50 mph wind would have done to the 40 yd x 20 yd flag and the fans holding its edges.

As the Bears prepared to kick off, I glanced at the ribbons on the ends of the goal posts.  I expected to see them sticking straight out.  I didn't expect to see the ribbons all pointing in toward the center of the field - the wind was being swirled by both ends of the stadium into the middle!  Pretty unbelievable conditions.

Prior to the kickoff, warnings were played on the jumbotron and PA, preparing everyone in the event we needed to evacuate to an indoor location.  It was a day when we really appreciated our seats in the club section, under the overhang, and close to shelter.  Midway through the first quarter, the tornado sirens went off in Chicago, and the crowd evacuated the stadium.  Through the windows of the club we could see just how dark and stormy things got, but we were comfortably bored.  The lights stayed on, but the cable feed to watch the other games gave out. :(

When we went back out to the stadium the it was sunny and around 65 degrees.  Thurston was regretting that he'd left his hat in the car, because the sun was so bright.  Halfway through the 2nd quarter, the temperature dropped from 60's to 30's.  We were freezing, and the wind continued for the rest of the game.  It was absolutely a stunning performance by Robbie Gould to kick the winning field goal in the middle of a "tornado".  The Tornado Bowl is a game we'll remember for a long time.

Lambeau Leaping for Joy

As I sit here basking in the glow of the Bears' victory I can look back at our experience last night with something resembling a fair and open mind.    Let us start with the good.  Packers fans in general are not as bad as I expected.   They are certainly passionate about their team.  And while that might show a lack of good sense or judgement, it is not anything I would ever condemn.   They are more "country" than the Bears fans.   Not a bad thing, just reality.   They are relatively friendly.   They gave us some hazing and certainly were not above a bit of light trash talking, but they were generally good fans.   There were some bad apples.   In particular there was a couple of guys who were very drunk and had a bit of a language problem.    A couple of other guys dressed in penguin costumes who took off after the kids we were there with.   Someone who put an offensive sticker on the back of the Coach's jacket.   A drunk woman (certainly not a lady by evidence of her speech) who also started in on the kids we were traveling with.   But if in a couple of lines I can identify all the really bad actors that we ran into, you have to grade the fans overall as being pretty "opposing team fan friendly".

Now on the Lambeau field itself.   I can honestly say it is the worst park I have been in to date.   Everything you may have heard about it is true, and more.   The seats are aluminum benches.   The amount of space per person is very small.  Because there are no seats, there are no dividers between spaces and people tend to appropriate some of your space for themselves.   They rent these little seat back things that clip to the benches, or you can bring in stadium seats and you need one or the other to claim "your space" back from the invaders.   It is the only way to ensure that after you stand up to cheer there will be someplace for you to sit back down on the bench.   The rows of benches are right on top of each other with almost no space between them.  There are two ways for someone to get out from the middle of a row.  Either everyone stands up and leaves the row and goes into the aisle to let them out, or everyone stands up and they jump up on the bench and walk across everyone's seats to get out.   There is no option of standing up and having them pass in front of you because there is not enough room for two people to pass in a row.

Last we have the food.  Now everyone knows that Wisconsin is known for it's brats and it's cheese.  In particular you can say either cheese curds or mac and cheese.   Well the good folks at the stadium apparently like to stick with what they are known for.   You have a food choice of Brats, Jumbo Brats, Cheese Brats, Hot dogs (you have to have choices you know), Mac and Cheese (with Brats), Fries with or without Cheese and fried Cheese Curds.  Oh and Beer - lots and lots of Miller Beer.   That is about it.   Someone told me they found a stand that sold Burgers also, but I saw no evidence of it.     It is not like these are primarily what they have available.   This is all of what they have available.    Now they are good Brats, but really, would a touch of variety really kill them?

Last we have to talk about the location of the stadium.   It is in a residential neighborhood.   Parking, other than those few that have parking lot passes, is on people's lawns ($20-25 a car), or in the local business lots that also sell spaces.   Tailgating is on those same lawns or in the buffalo wild wings parking lot.   The whole thing feels much more like a country fair than a professional football game.  The party spills into the streets and overall it really felt like a cross between Bourbon street in New Orleans and the County fair.

So Recap:

Fans - B+
Stadium D-
Food choice F
Bears Victory - Priceless - A++

FedEx Field, Home of the Redskins

The day before the game, we drove down to see the Redskins' stadium, FedEx Field.  It's a modern marvel of steel, glass, and billboards.

 The StubHub Club is behind the glass and the Verizon sign.  It looks out over the parking lots.

Outside the main gate, there's this statue of Joe Theissman right before his leg was broken on national TV.

Inside the StubHub club, it's like a posh food court, with bars. And an Audi dealership inside.

The stadium seating is rather strange.  The red seats have black bottom cushions, but the yellow ones do not.

Our seats in section 322 were near the 50 yd line, and gave a good view of the field.  Right above us were sky boxes, which were equipped with windows that could be opened.  The row we were seated in had a couple inches more leg room between rows than the seats in Soldier Field, but about the same width.  Overall, not a bad stadium.  Except that they played a lot of commercials on their jumbotron, even during the time outs.

Washington food - better than Pittsburg?

I won't keep you in suspense.  Yes.   Yes the signature dish for Washington DC is better than the Pittsburg Sandwich.   Keep in mind that Pittsburg did not set the bar too high.   After doing some extensive research the Washington DC signature item was either the Half Smoke sandwich or the Chicken Wings in Mambo Sauce or Senate Navy Bean Soup.   In digging some more I found that the Wings in Mambo sauce seem to have lost their popularity in recent times and the Senate Navy Bean soup was more of a political statement than a dish of the people of the city.   So the Half Smoke it is.   And without doubt the consensus location for getting a half smoke is Ben's Chili Bowl.   So off we went to the original Ben's Chili Bowl.   To describe this place you need to imagine a storefront with with bright Red and Yellow signs set against the interior of White Linoleum and Formica table tops.   You walk in and the food preparation and order taking is on the right.   On the left side is a row of tables, and in the middle is a long line of people snaking their way along to get to the order counter and place their orders.   These are prepared and most often delivered to you at the counter before you are able to work your way down to the cashier.   Cash only in this place - I don't think they have gotten to the credit card era yet.   I am not altogether sure they have gotten to the electric toaster era yet.

All of this aside if you don't have your food by the time you pay, they ask you where you are sitting - basically this room, the next room (5 tables) or the back room (about 6 more tables) and they will bring your food out to you.

Now a half smoke for those of you who don't know is a smoked sausage on a hotdog bun with some chili on top.   Surprisingly it was quite good, which I would tell you explains why Ben's has been serving them since 1958, but given what we experienced in Pittsburg we know that longevity does not necessarily equate to good.   But, in this case we were pleasantly surprised as the food was tasty and filling and reasonably inexpensive.     Ben's claims to have about 25 items on the menu, but if you break it down it comes out as Sausages, Hot Dogs, Burgers (beef or turkey), Tuna Salad, Chili and Fries.  They just put them together in a bunch of different ways.  For instance one dish the Half Smoke.   A Sausage topped with Chili.  Another is the Rice Bowl.  It consists of Rice topped with Chili.  Another is the Salad Bowl.  It consists of Salad topped with Chili.  They also have burgers topped with chili, fries topped with chili,  a sub sandwich which is a sub bun topped with veggies and chili.     Get the picture?

Along with the half smoke we ordered an order of cheese fries and chili cheese fries.   The three sausages and two orders of fries proved to be more than the three of us there could hope to have finished.

 

Now as long as we were in the area we decided to stop in by Baltimore and check out the stadium there.   Now the Coach will do a detailed entry on the stadium in Baltimore as well as the FedEx stadium in Washington, but let me give you my impression.   Purple.  Purple with Purple accents and Purple lights and so much Purple that and pre-teenage girl would be in heaven.

As long as we were in Baltimore we decided to check out their signature dish.  There was no question here.  It was Blue Crabs.  So after doing some more research we ended up at LP Steamers.   We ordered a standard dozen of the critters and they bring them to you on a lunch room tray.  They don't give you the tray, no they throw them on a piece of paper on your table and hand you a wooden mallet and say - have fun.   And fun was had.  We banged and pounded and ripped and tugged and enjoyed a ton of great crab cooked in Old Bay seasoning.   We also had one of their crab cakes and it was outstanding as well.   The place is a little short on atmosphere.   It is basically a bar with tables, but they have really good crabs and that was the point of the whole expedition anyway.


So to sum up - Washington - Good, Baltimore - Good, Detroit (can't figure out their signature item, but the BBQ was good, Pittsburg - Bad.

Coping with Loss - Part II - Reflection

I have had several days to reflect upon my last post on the loss at the Lions game and I have come to the conclusion I was wrong.   The fault was not with "bad Jay" or with the team, the fault was ours - the fans.   We gave up hope.  We lost faith.   We didn't believe hard enough.  We stopped singing after every score because we were embarrassed and worried they might lose and we would look silly.  We didn't shout even louder as the game went on and the Detroit fans left to give our team heart and to let them know we were still there.   We didn't believe in the miracle of a last second score hard enough.   We let them down.    As I sit here getting ready to go support the team in the contest against the Saint's I am reminded that we must believe in Monsters.    We must believe to the end.  We must know in our hearts that they will find a way to win.   Good teams always do.   And great fans must support them to do it.   We failed in Detroit.  We didn't clap hard enough and we let Tinkerbell die.   We need to Believe, and we need to ensure that our faith is strong and our voices stronger, and we need to clap no matter how sore our hands are getting, and we need to shout no matter how hoarse our voices are getting, and we need to believe.

Believe in Monsters - the Chicago Bears are coming and we are going to cheer and they are going to WIN.

Coping with Loss

It is inevitable.   Unless you happen to have been a Dolphins fan for only one season and that the 1972 season, you are going to have to face up to having watched your beloved team lose.   This is always worse if you happen to be at the game.  It is worse yet if that game happens to be in another team's stadium.  If you were being a bit "rambunctious" before the game - well let's just say you are probably going to deserve whatever you get.   And get it we did.   The Bears lost.   No wait, they were destroyed.   The score may have only shown an 8 point loss at the end and it may have been a whole different thing if they had recovered the on-side kick, but the reality is that other than a couple of small bright spots, they were handled by the Lions.   And all the bluster, all the "well as a Lion's fan I guess you are used to being at the bottom so everything must look up up to you.", all the swagger in the world is not going to provide a bit of defense when your quarterback seems to have drunk from the "Bad Rex" fountain.    I am not sure what it is with the Bears and quarterbacks and why consistency seems to be a four letter word, but while the rest of the team certainly didn't help much, there isn't anything you can say about 3 picks and a fumble leading directly to 17 points that is going to shift much blame anywhere else.    Anyway - tomorrow is another day, and Sunday is another game and hope springs eternal as we are counting on "Good Rex" - no wait - Good Cutler to show up and give Drew Brees a run for his money in the quarterbacking show.

The Culinary Trail

One of the things we like to do is to try the "food of the city".   Many of the cities and regions in our country have items that are either unique to that area, or at least strongly identified with a particular place.   Think of Philadelphia cheesesteak, Chicago style pizza, hot dogs and italian beef, Buffalo chicken wings and the like.   So when we were in Pittsburgh we checked out the local fare.   They have something called a Pittsburgh style sandwich.  Originally made famous by a local restaurant called Primanti Brothers.   Primanti Brothers has been serving up these "delicacies" since 1933 and has locations all around Pittsburgh and a few in Florida.    Being traditionalists we headed for the original home of the Pittsburgh style sandwich at their first location.   I could wax poetic about this place for pages.   None of it would be true, but I could.   The location was a bit sketchy.  The restaurant was a dump.  More a bar with a room added on and very heavy with "atmosphere".   The service was somewhere between horrible and rude. Unfortunately those were the highlights of the visit to Pittsburgh culinary heaven.   A Pittsburgh style sandwich is meat (your choice) with coleslaw, a thin slice of tomato,  and greasy french fries all loaded on a thick slice of crusty white bread and covered by a second slice of the same tasteless bread.   The recommended meat choice is "Angus Strip" steak.   I believe the strip they picked came from the hide.   The other choices were ground meat, pastrami, knockwurst, tuna fish and many others.   As you are probably guessing, I was not overly fond of this creation.   It was TERRIBLE.   The best part was......There was no best part.   I have a picture below.

Trust me - it is not as tasty as it looks.
Coach's comment: Served on sheets of paper, not plates. Part of the "charm".

The next place we stopped on our culinary tour was Delaware, OH.   It is sort of on the way from Pittsburgh to Detroit by way of the Hall of Fame in Canton and a stop we needed to make near Delaware for the Coach to meet with someone for work.   Delaware, and Columbus in general, does not have a food that is special to the city, but anyone who goes through Ohio has to have heard of Skyline Chili.   As it happens there was a Skyline chili near where we were camped and so off to try this staple we went.   Now I am not going to tell you that Skyline chili is the finest thing I have eaten.  I am not totally sure I even like the sweet chili flavor they have, though cinnamon in your chili is an interesting twist.  (Note they won't confirm that there is cinnamon in their secret recipe, but it certainly tastes like there is.)  What I will tell you is that it is a satisfying meal and if someone told me that was where we were going for dinner I would not say no.   What I will also tell you is I have never been to a restaurant anywhere that took better care of me, was more interested in having me as a customer or provided better service then this Skyline Chili.  From the cherry hello when we walked in the door, to the enthusiastic way they explained to the "5 way chili virgins" their menu, to the service from the waitress, the manager coming over to see how we liked our first experience all the way to the thank you and come back to see us at the end it was a delightful experience.  

Now one of the most interesting things about Skyline is that if this is your first visit, and you take their recommendation to order one of the house specialties, that item is on the house.  Since we ordered the 4-way and 5-way chili  and a pair of coney dogs, our tab for that, and our drinks, was zero.  All we paid for were the exceptional funnel cake fries we had for desert.  They also give you a goody bag with some of their stuff to take with you.   I was already over the top about the great service we were getting and so this was just the frosting on the cake if you will, but it made me want to figure out a way to come back on one of the other trips to stop in again.    The end result is that the total bill for the two of us was under $3 for our meal.   And if there is anyone I can tell about Skyline I will.   The experience was that great and we were made to feel that welcome.  

Now when I contrast the Skyline experience with the Primanti Brothers experience.  Well lets just say there is only one of them I would ever consider sending anyone I know to visit.   I don't even dislike Packer fans enough to send them to Primanti Brothers and that is saying something.

Odd Couples: Unlikely Matchups Among Fans

Sitting outside Heinz Field, Thurston and I had the perfect vantage point to spot fans arriving for the game. When we saw a pedicab cruise by with one guy in a Roethlisberger and another guy in a Cutler jersey, we decided to feature some of these die hard fans and game day frenemy pairs in our blog.  So here we have the Odd Couples for the Steelers vs Bears matchup.

These two ladies are best friends - except on game day.

This pair inspired us to show the rest.

View from the Visitors' Side: Heinz Field

Heinz Field, Where the Steelers Play Ketchup

Coming into Pittsburg from the southwest, you first catch a glimpse of the field as you emerge from a tunnel –  how appropriate!  There it is, in glowing, garish yellow, right on the river front.  It’s a tall stadium, horseshoe shaped, and open on the end facing the river. Did they run out of money or just know they couldn’t sell out tickets if they had seats all around their stadium?  They filled in the empty space with a scoreboard array that pictures just don’t do justice.  Not only is there a tacky Heinz label right in the center, but there are giant ketchup bottles on both sides.  When the Steelers have the ball, the caps of these giant bottles open up.  If the Steelers make it into the Red Zone, then the jumbotron animates the ketchup pouring into it to create the Red Zone screen.  Words escape me.

Our seats were great, on the Club level at the 40. Fans around us were fairly tolerant of the cheering and victory-song-singing of the approx 8% Bears fans in the stadium.  Toward the end of the game, Steelers fans were getting pretty frustrated, and unhappy with the constant Bears celebrations. They love their team – until they are hopelessly behind, at which point they head for the door like a stampeding herd of buffalo.

Fortunately, we were in the gray seat section.  It is a very bright "road hazard sign" yellow!

The open end of the stadium, filled with food stands, etc.

4th quarter exodus ...

Giant Ketchup Bottles!

Fan Fashion Report: Pittsburgh

Fans show their colors no matter which team they support. In Pittsburgh, the yellow and black was everywhere.  But some of these fans were real standouts.

First, we have the Luche Libre, serape and sombrero.

Honoring Hispanic Heritage

Then, since he's not in red, we have a bishop.

Yes, that woman is taking a picture of his ring.  I tried to get a picture of a woman kissing the ring, but I was laughing too hard. BTW - it's a Superbowl ring.  No idea who this is or where he got the ring, or if it's real.

Steal the show

Yesterday was the first game out on the road and the Coach and I wanted to make the most of it.   We got an early start and headed for the stadium.   Revising our plans after finding a parking lot across from the field we parked and headed for the closest Bar/Restaurant we could see.   This happened to be one owned by Jerome Bettis.   After being told there was an hour and a half wait (it was currently 7.5 hours before kickoff), we decided to keep looking.  Two doors down there was a sports bar/restaurant with immediate seating and multiple screens showing all the games, including the Packers/Bengals and the Vikings/Browns games.   Perfect.  We settled in for a long afternoon of cheering on our 2nd favorite team - whomever was beating the Packers.   There were several other tables in the small restaurant with other Bears fans and more of us in the bar.   All in all it was not a whole lot different from any sports bar in Chicago as almost half the people there were Bears fans and cheering loudly for the downfall of the hated Packers.   Finally - success was visited on all our hopes and we were able to cheer not only the Packers failure but the Vikings as well.   The day was off to a great start.

As it happens we had a table near the window overlooking the riverwalk which led to the stadium.   So we were treated to an ongoing flow of Steelers fans.   The Coach will be posting an entry with some of the pictures of these odd looking creatures.

After the delight of seeing the Packers lose we wandered about to check out what else was in the area and came across some of the oddest couples you will ever want to see.   We will be doing another post on these, but as a spoiler I can tell you it started with a pedicab rolling down the main road in front of Heinz field with two beings in the back wearing jerseys proclaiming them to be Cutler and Roethlisberger.   Would wonders never cease.

Heinz field is a very nice looking stadium overlooking the river and all in all a very comfortable place to watch a football game.   The fans were generally nice, if a bit disparaging about their teams current prospects.   I was reminded of a story I was told of a Bears fan going to see a game in Detroit a few years ago during the height of their lows and the Bears fan having to try and rally the Lions fans to have some spirit and fight.

Needless to say, the night just kept getting better and better as the Bears put a beating on the Steelers.   I  wonder at their seeming need to let their opponent get close to make the game more exciting, but all in all it was great fun.   At the start of the game there were about 7-8% Bears fans.   By the end it was probably the inverse.   Nothing quite like the fun of a rousing chant of "Lets Go Bears" in someone else's stadium that is loud enough to be heard  on the field.

I would like to close by pointing out two odd things about Heinz field.    The first is their choice of company for naming rights.    Not for the field, but for the gates.  People's Gas apparently paid for the naming rights for the gates.   So you get to enter through Peoples Gate A, B or C.   Very socialist in nature.  "Go around the corner to the Peoples Gate" and all that.   The second is the scoreboard.   Located on the main scoreboard in the stadium are two large bottles of Ketchup.   When the Steelers cross the 20 into the "red zone" the bottle caps open up and rivers of Ketchup seem to flow into the screen which fills up with the stuff creating the "Steelers Red Zone".   Very surreal.

Well that's it for this installment of our Epic Season.   Tomorrow we leave for the Hall of Fame and will be camping there for the night.   We will update you on anything exciting that happens there or along the way.  For now keep practicing the Song.   "Bear Down Chicago Bears....." because you never know when they will score and you will need to start singing at the top of your lungs.  Oh and get strange looks from all the people around you too of course.

Soggy in Pittsburgh

We have arrived here in Pittsburgh (well officially Washington, PA).   It has been raining pretty much constantly since yesterday afternoon.   So far we have met a few Steeler fans and they all have been fairly nice.   Of course one of them was telling us the story about when he met Butkas - you know that coach of the Bears.   No wait - Ditka - yeah that was him - back when McMahon was the quarterback.   Then he went on for a bit and I don't think most of it was firmly based in reality, so I am not sure if his being nice can be counted.   We are going to check out the stadium tonight and determine how to get there and where to park, then a long day of football waiting for the chance to see the Bears beat the  Steelers.  Tomorrow they are having a scratch off giveaway and one of the prizes is a chance to join the "Terrible Towel Twirl" out on the field before the game.  I wonder how they will handle it if the Coach or I win and we haul out our Bears Towels (yes we brought Bears towels with) and twirl those around?

We will let you know more tomorrow before the game and after the Victory.


GO BEARS!!

The Road Season Begins

It is the week leading up to the first road game of the 2013 season and the excitement level is almost as high as the panic level.  Bears are 2 and 0 and we hope to get back from the first trip 4 and 0.   The Coach and I are reviewing the game plan for not only this trip, but for the entire road season.  We think we have all the phases ready to go, but we won't know for sure until we finally hit the road.   Just as the Bears rely on all four phases to make a win happen, we have our four phases as well.  Our "Offense" is our drive plan.  Where and when to go, where to stop and where to stay.   Our "Defense" is our emergency plans.   What to do if there is a breakdown, how to ensure we still get to the game, what to do if the weather is bad and the like.   Our "Special Teams" is the plan for between the games.   Working from the road, entertainment and communication plans.   And finally our  "Fourth Phase", this blog and all of you who are rooting for the Bears and following us on our Epic Journey.    We have the RV ready to go, all the campgrounds are reserved (no small feat for later in the year) and now we are just waiting the last couple of days until it is time to hit the road.   We will let you know what we see, fun places we find along the way, comments and observations on the stadiums and fans for the opposition, and of course our interactions with other Bear fans we meet along the way.   If you see a large RV towing a Jeep behind with Bear stickers everywhere - give us a honk and let us know you too support our Bears on their epic 2013 march to the Super Bowl.

Tailgating

As any true Bears fan knows, part of the fun of the game is the Pre-Game Tailgate party.   We are fortunate to have a parking pass for the Waldron deck and are able to have a tailgate party for our friends and family before the games.   Well anyway, before the games where the weather cooperates at least a little bit.   The opening day game was just such an occasion and it found us picking people up at 7:00 AM in order to get down to the field and fire up the grill.   We decided to go with a simple menu for this start of the season.   Sort of a limited playbook to start things off if you will.   We had the classic marinated skirt steaks with grilled onions, a wild boar roast with a cajan char crust, korean seasoned roast, and italian sausages.  We also baked some potatoes au gratin for a side dish as well.

Now I know a few people may say something like "This does not seem like a simple tailgate menu to me".  I know people may say that because several people have already said it to me.   But you need to stay tuned as we continue through the season.   The tailgates will get more elaborate and epic as our Epic Season continues.

I have been asked a few times about the grill we use.   It is from a company called Go Galley and it is the ultimate in tailgate grilling equipment.   I am not in any way affiliated with this company, but I am including a link here for those that are interested because I am just that impressed with this grill and how it is taking our tailgating up to the next level.
Go Galley

Training Camp - Family Night, August 3, 2013

Training camp is a time full of anticipation and excitement.  The fresh-faced rookies are a mix of scared and scary.  The new Bears promotional theme says it all:

So Family Night is a tradition we love. It's a night of training camp, not a game. But after the off-season has dragged on forever,  Soldier Field is welcoming us back. The players are in full uniform, pads, and helmets - we are, most definitely, ready for some football!

At Family Night, we got a chance to see some of the new players, and to check on how the old favorites were shaping up for the season.  There were some standouts to be sure.  Kyle Long, our top draft pick, was looking sharp.  He seems very motivated, which is just what we need.  Martellus Bennett also looked good, along with Alshon Jeffrey - just the threats we need on the field to take some of the heat off Marshall and Forte.  Both of them looked excellent.  There were a lot of good things on the field that night, but what kept getting my attention was the new head coach, Trestman.  He wasn't just standing on the sidelines working on his crossword puzzle.  He was working closely with his players.  And those two words, "his players" spoke volumes about the bonds he was building with them.  They are going to really come together as a team, and it's showing on the field.  

That's Trestman, right on the number 40, watching the line as Cutler takes a snap.  I've got a good feeling about him. :)

The Epic Season ... and so it begins

For the longest time, it was just a crazy dream.  Someday, maybe, it might be possible to go to every Chicago Bears game for an entire season, all the home games, and all the away games.  An Epic Season, following the Bears, traveling in the RV - but it was just a dream.  That is, it was just a dream, until January 2013, when Bruce asked me if I'd go with him, to make that dream a reality.  I could not pass up such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -- I agreed immediately!  And now, in September of 2013, we are beginning on the amazing journey.

It's taken a lot of planning and preparation to reach this point.  It was agonizing waiting for the schedule of games to come out.  First came the list of this year's opponents - Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, St. Louis Rams, and Cleveland Browns, plus the usual games home and away versus the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings,  and the Detroit Lions.  Finally, the schedule was published, and we could reserve campgrounds and plan the itinerary. It's going to be epic!  

From training camp all the way to the Superbowl, we will share this incredible journey with the readers.  Check back for updates from the road and from home.  GO BEARS!!!