Tampa in the rear view mirror. Giants here we come.

We woke up this morning in a gray haze.  Unfortunately it turned out to be fog and not a bad dream that the Bears had played perhaps the worst game I have ever seen them play.  If you think about it, I don’t know that there were two passes all day that went where they absolutely should have.    When you add in the seemingly absolute lack of coverage of anyone that has a TE in the position title, it would seem that our Bears are on a swift slide to a good draft pick.  I am thinking QB? 

There were a few bright spots.  1. The weather was really nice for the game.  2. Because it was Eastern time and after Daylight savings time the sun had gone far enough so our seats were in the shadow of the upper stands.  So there was no bright sun or glare.  3. We can be absolutely certain that Jay is not going to work his way back to being QB for the Bears next year.

The Tampa stadium is a nice stadium.  Not the finest by any means, but it is easy to get to, there is plenty of close up parking available and the signage is great.  The club in the stadium is nice.  It has lots of seating, visiting cheerleaders, live bands for entertainment, free water dispensers with lemon and ice, and reasonable prices.   The food selections were fairly standard, but the pricing was great.  A soda was $4 or $6 with unlimited refills in a souvenir cup.   A burger with fries, and outstanding topping bar with everything from bacon, cheese, grilled onions and mushrooms to the standards of lettuce, tomato,  onion and pretty much anything else you might want on a burger.  The price - $10.  I think that is about ½ what they would charge at Soldier Field.

The biggest difference you notice from Soldier Field is how far away you are from the action.  Where at Soldier Field every tier is built on top of the lower tier.  In Tampa it just keeps going back and each level is behind the one before in on smooth set of tiers.  So big plus for SF.  Much better design.

We have left the wonderful Tampa Bay area and headed up to Colonial Williamsburg on the way to the Giants game.  You know how they say humility is good for the soul.  Well being a Bears fan in an away stadium is an exercise in extreme humility this year. 

After a couple of days enjoying the past we will dash up to the Liberty Harbor campground.  Now calling this a campground is being very, very generous.  It consists of a parking lot with electric posts.  Oh and lines on the ground so you know where to park.  But it does have the advantage of being just across the bridge from New York City, not far from the airports and fairly close to the stadium.  So that is where I stay when I visit New York in an RV.

I am of somewhat mixed feelings when it comes to the game.  I want the Bears to play well, but given that they have no shot at the playoffs, I don’t want them to blow their draft pick.  So maybe just a close game that they manage to lose at the last minute.  That might be best.

So far the journey has been truly epic.  I have been able to cross and recross the country east to west and north to south.  I have seen many places and enjoyed not just the locations I arrive at, but the journey to get there.  So let me close this by saying no matter what we Follow the Bears

GO BEARS.  – hey and wasn’t it great that at least the Packers and Vikings lost too.  Can we be looking at Detroit finally winning the division?

Back in the Saddle - Tampa Bay Eve

So we are back in the saddle again.   After a disastrous couple of games in Texas with an even worse game at home sandwiched between the coach and I were about ready to throw in the towel.  But an ok game against the lions followed by a reasonable game in Indianapolis and a win back at home against the Vikings have rejuvenated our adventuring spirit and given hope that perhaps our Bears will play well enough to be worth watching again.   So after a long bye week  spent trying to find some magic at either Disney World or Universal’s Harry Potter place we find ourselves in Tampa Florida awaiting yet another of our road games.

Tampa will make the 20^th stadium that we have visited (21 if you include Soldier Field) and after next week at the Giants we will have seen the Bears play 21 of the 31 opponents.   Actually if you include seeing them in London I will be able to claim seeing them play opponents in 23 stadiums.

We went out tonight in search of the Tampa signature dish, which depending on who you talk to is either the Cuban sandwich, just about any seafood dish, or smoked mullet.  We settled for just about every seafood dish.  Tomorrow I hope to get the smoked mullet.   We went to a Peruvian seafood restaurant and I think everyone had a good time.   After the meal we did our traditional pre-game trip to the stadium to get the lay of the land.

For this trip we have along with the Coach, my brother and a couple of nephews as well as some friends.  Tomorrow we will represent the true and loyal Bears fans and shout as loudly as possible.  Tomorrow we shall have victory!!!  Well to be honest I would settle for a really good game. 

A couple of side notes. 

1.  For those of you who are Harry Potter fans and have not had the opportunity to visit Universal’s Diagon Alley you are missing a fantastic experience.   I was far less enchanted with Hogsmead at Island of Adventure, but Diagon Alley is an experience not to be missed.

2. Epcot holds an annual International Food and Wine festival.   If you love long lines, fairly pretentious people and long lines, I strongly recommend you attend.  If on the other hand these do not have the appeal to you that apparently they did to the people attending the festival, stay away!!

3. If you ever get the chance to camp next door to a Lion Safari park I strongly recommend you take it.  There is something surreal about sitting at your camp and listening to a Lion roar.  It was quite the experience and I am glad the Coach and I were able to do so while on our sojourn to Tampa.

Not to turn this to politics - never gonna happen, but I did happen to see an incredibly funny post today.  

BREAKING NEWS:  Chicago Cubs are being forced to give up their World Series Title.

Cleveland Indians fans have rioted across the country in protest of the 2016 World Series.  Despite knowing the rules of the game prior to playing, they were unhappy they lost and demanded the outcome to be changed.  They could be heard chanting #NotOurWorldSeriesChampion all across America.

Even though the Cubs won 4 games and the Indians only won 3,  since both teams scored 27 total runs throughout all 7 games, they are being declared co-world champions.

When questioned, Commissioner Manfred stated, “We felt as though it was the right thing to do for the nation.  What kind of example would Major League Baseball be setting if we expected the adults who play this game, and their fans, to Gracefully accept defeat?  Instead of creating a bigger divide between the Cubs and the Indians, MLB is confident that the Cubs will gladly share their victory with the Indians”.

I hope you got as big a laugh out of that as I did.

Tomorrow is game.  The Bears are favored by most of the analysts so we have to cross our fingers and hope they have not been given the kiss of death.  Most of the team is back healthy(ish) and with luck we will see some calculated and precise passing from Jay and some outstanding defense.  I will report in tomorrow night with our impressions of the stadium and any interesting tidbits that turn up.

In the meantime – GO BEARS!!