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.