Kenneth Sothman, Bears Superfan



"The win".

The definition of "The win": When a team pulls off a victory so great it changes the season forever. It's the game where for the first time ever not only does everything go right, but it does such in a fashion that it wakes the world up. Instead of being one of the contender's, that team is now the favorite. The confidence of every player on the team thus rises from this, but only in positive forms that enhances their play. Suddenly every small thing starts dropping in this team's direction, and the team seems unstoppable. At the end of the year, this game will be remembered as what changed everything.

Ladies and gentlemen, I feel this win is coming for either team on Sunday. Onto some random Bears stuff:

- Rex Grossman is currently in "Jon Garland Zone", meaning as long as he doesn't have that inning, or in Rex's case that horrible interception, then he's going to be good.

- Props to Gail for making the best point on this board so far. This team, the one we will be watching on Sunday, deserves to grow and become it's own identity. They can be special by themselves, and don't need the extra pressure of trying to be "The next 85-86 Bears" rather then being the "06-07 Bears". Anytime there's a good Chicago Bears team, we shouldn't have to dig up comparisons of teams from the past. Honestly, is there another team in the league so fixated on one past team that it brings up the same team over and over again anytime the city has a good team? I mean yes, they were definitely great, possibly one of the most loaded teams of all-time. Their efforts should always be remembered and celebrated, but to be able to move on from the past, we also have to let it go.

- The Sports Guy picked against us once again, so mark up the win for us...

- Sorry so short, but trust me, once we chalk up the win on Sunday, you'll be hearing alot from me. Also, next week will be the debut of the "Goal-Line Stand"...

- Go BEARS!

Kathee Meade, Bears Super Fan




Kathee Meade – Bears Super Fan

I’d like to shout a big congratulations out to Rex Grossman for being named the NFC Offensive Player of the month for September. He has shown versatility and adversity by spreading the ball around the field by throwing 36 passes to Wide Receivers, 14 to Tight Ends and 11 to Backs – all for completions. That’s the way to do it -- keep the defense guessing!

Kathee Meade
Your NWI Voice For The Chicago Bears

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan

Don't you ever wonder how the current Bears feel when people always compare them to the '85 Bears, the Monsters of the Midway? Considering some were just born, it seems like always hearing from your folks "In my day..." You don't have to throw tradition out the window, but always bringing up Super Bowl XX is really living in the past. I think the new Bears should have their own phrases coined to describe them.

Do you think any team ever really fears another? An athlete has to be competitive with a mindset that not only can he win, but he will win. I believe players may have a respect for other players but it would be self-defeating to fear another team. Every player on every team expects to win every game.

GO BEARS!

Sue Rhein, Bears Super Fan




If I could only predict the winning lottery numbers as well as my prediction of other teams being afraid to come to Soldier Field to play the Bears I would be a millionaire, but since I'm not that great at picking the lottery numbers, I'll stick with my day job.

If I have confused you as to what I am talking about, I'll explain. I wrote in yesterday's blog that I wanted other teams to be afraid of the Bears when they come to play them at Soldier Field, well my wish has come true. I was on the train heading home last night when I read an article in the SunTimes that stated as follows:

"Mike Holmgren told reporters in Seattle on Monday that he went home the night before, after a victory over the New York Giants, promising himself he would live in the moment and not let his mind wander forward. Alas, the danger presented by the Bears' vaunted defense left the Seahawks coach mulling over Sunday's game at Soldier Field instead of appreciating his team's 3-0 start."

If the Bears Defense can cause worry to a man who, just a few years back feared nothing and no one when he walked into the opposing teams stadium because he had a gun slinging quarterback by the name of Favre in his holster, then you know that the Bears Defense has evolved into the "Monsters of the Midway" from years past.


GO BEARS

Kenneth Sothman, Bears Superfan



Note to readers: This entry was started at 12:26, so if any news after this time has changed, please take that in mind.

Beyond what any of us (including myself) have said, even as fans of a team that accept any advantage (as all fans of any teams do), when something happens to a player we all of course hope for a quick and healthy comeback, especially in a league where the contracts aren't guaranteed. We realize that these players on and off the field are human beings also, and in the end have families that they go home at night to also.

With that said, the Terrell Owens suicide attempt, which at this point has not been confirmed or denied, is very saddening to hear. My hopes and prayers are with T.O. himself, his family, and his friends for this is something beyond football. This is a life.

From this point on I will most likely not comment on anything that has to do with this event. As a telecommunications major here at Ball State, anything I say here could eventually be used against myself in the future, and I feel as if my opinion over the situation would/could harm my future oppurtunities.

With that said, I will say this. Terrell Owens is a top-three wide receiver from this era of football. His play-making abilities, explosiveness, and work ethic can not be matched by any player that puts on a uniform. For T.O. doesn't make plays, he makes art in motion.

Anytime he's on camera he smiles as big as a eight year-old at Disney World, and even though his celebrations may get sneered at, they add extra entertainment to a game, which I don't know about you guys, but I enjoy being entertained.

And even as the Eagles may not want to remember the T.O. era, remember the fact that they didn't make the Super Bowl until he showed up. And it was also T.O. that came back off a season-ending injury, risking his career for this one game, to have the Super Bowl performance that players can only dream of having.

I wish the best of luck to his recovery.

Sue Rhein, Bears Super Fan




I too was in shock last night when I heard the news about Shaun Alexander not being able to play in Sunday's game against the Bears, but then my shock turned into excitement and I too had a smile on my face.

I finally saw some highlights from the Seattle/Giants game on Sunday and how Hasselbeck threw not only one touchdown but five touchdowns throughout the game and that's when my smile disappeared. I quickly said a prayer that our Defense stays as strong as it has been for the past three games and that we shut down Hasselbeck and the rest of his Offense the minute they step onto our turf at Soldier Field. I also said a second prayer that our Offense and Special Teams continue to play strong and put points on the board the way Grossman and company have been doing. I want the Bears to walk into Soldier Field next Sunday with their heads held high and walk out with another "W" in their column.

It would be nice if we were considered the most feared team in the league after only week four and we could then have the attitude that if you think you are going to come into "Our House" and take away a win from us then you better come in with everything you've got and all your men healthy because, we don't want to hear later on when the game is all said and done how you didn't win the game because one of your key players is out for the season due to an injury. The excuse just wont cut it in our book so save your crying for the towel.

I can remember just a few years back when you would mention to someone that the game is on and someone else would say who's playing and you would say for instance Seattle and the Bears and then someone else would immediately say oh Seattle's playing the Bears well that's an easy win and they would put they're money on the Bears to lose. Well its time our Bears turned this town and its other Bears fans around so that come Sunday when someone says Seattle's playing the Bears that someone says that the Bears are a tough team to beat and that Seattle better come at them with everything they have if they want to win the game. I'm tired of being the underdog all the time.

I'm so proud of our Bears and how they have excelled game after game for the past three weeks and I want to continue to see them excel for the next thirteen weeks naturally one week at a time and to also prove everyone wrong in their way of thinking that the Bears are a second rate team. Our time to shine is now and by beating the pants off of Seattle this coming Sunday is going to be how we show Chicago that the other Bears fans that the Bears are for real and that we are here to stay.

My prediction for this Sunday's game against Seattle is: Bears 17 - Seattle 13.

GO BEARS

Lisa Schmidt, Bears Super Fan

Ok, I will tell you all now that I knew Shaun Alexander was going to get hurt. How, you ask? He is on the Madden game. Every year since a player has been put on the Madden game, that player has gotten hurt or had a very bad season (this is dating back to 2000). Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madden_curse if you'd like to read more about it! I was sure I even warned my boyfriend not to pick him for fantasy. Of course, I couldn't have predicted it would come at an opportune time such is this, but the Seahawks are still not an easy team to beat. Hasselbeck still threw for 5 touchdowns with Alexander not playing his best. They are an extremely offensive team, so our defense is really going to have play their best this week.

Winning ugly is still winning. Hopefully the officiating on Sunday will be better than the officiating last Sunday. I seriously wanted to vomit with some of those calls they were making. I didn't realize grabbing someone around the shoulder was unnecessary roughness. But I guess that's why i don't make the big bucks. But the Bears pulled it out for me, as an early birthday present since they can't play on my actual birthday.

I think Rex is going to have to be on fire Sunday to keep up with the offense, because I know our defense is awesome, but I still think Seattle will score. I say 31-17 Bears. I like when they score over 30 points, it makes me feel good. :-)

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan

It's too bad that Shaun Alexander is hurt. Now when we win that will be used as an excuse as to why we had an advantage. I, too, wondered why Cedric wasn't put in during the 4th quarter although I did like a little of what Thomas did this week. I believe it was David Haugh who had a not so complimentary commentary on Cedric in the Tribune. I'm not sure how much should just be taken with a grain of salt. I think Thomas will be back on track Sunday and the running game will be used a little more. Rex was good at keeping his composure for the win. I'm glad Nathan was able to get into the game more, too. Danieal caused me to scream at the tv a few times. Guess I just miss Chris. Mark Anderson had been doing a good job when he gets on the field. You know we can always count on Brian, Lance, Tommie. I'd like to see Tank out there more. As for Desmond, he's been doing an excellent job overall but John and Gabe will be able to step in and help out.

Finally, it's always a relief and good for the blood pressure to see Robbie. You know points will go on the board. What a find he was!!

I'm not intentionally leaving other players and the offensive line out...they all will do their part to get this win on Sunday. Just like the Bears Fans will do!

GO BEARS!!

Kathee Meade, Bears Super Fan



Kathee Meade – Bears Super Fan!

Even though I hate for anyone to get injured, I’d have to be honest and tell all of you that there was a slight smirk on my face the moment I heard that Shaun Alexander broke his foot and wouldn’t be able to play against our Bears on Sunday Night. What a break (in more ways than one)! Every little bit helps when it comes to continuing an undefeated record. Especially since Hassellbeck had a franchise record-tying 5 touchdown passes in this past Sunday’s game. Our defensive line needs to back him up, causing him to have to hurry plays and make poor decisions that he will regret later!

I said it in my first-ever Bears Super Fan Blog – “The golden leg of Robbie Gould”. That boy can kick and he is exactly what The Bears need to keep them on track with regard to putting points on the board. He is a sure confidence-booster for the team. If nobody can do it, Robbie can!

I think Devin might have gotten a bit big-headed from his long punt return against Green Bay because since then, he has returned many a kickoff and punt return and seems to have lost direction of which way he is supposed to go. The first thing every kick return player learns (besides how to catch the ball) is to run North/South – as fast as one can. Kind of like a bullet being shot from a gun. Running East/West can work; however, more times than not, it’s unsuccessful.

Kathee Meade
Your NWI Voice For THE CHICAGO BEARS

Melissa Box, Bears Super Fan



I knew the Vikings were going to be a GOOD challenge for the Bears. I wasn't able to see the game yesterday, but I did listen via radio. Let's take a Grossman break and congratulate Robbie Gould. I must say Gould kept us in the game wit his field goals 10-10 for the season so far. The Vikings really showed the Bears weakness yesterday. They shut down our rushing game yesterday, Jones with 54 yards! Cedric Benson didn't get to play???? Even though he's not my favorite, I was shocked that he didn't ANY clock! Did Lovie say why he didn't play Benson? Mushin Muhammad is really impressing me this season. Tommie Harris is really helping us a lot on defense, he's stepping up when we need it. Hopefully, Rex will look at the film from yesterday and figure out how to adapt if the Seahawks try to make him throw off his back foot! Desmond, Desmond, is hurt OH NO! The seahawks are going to be a Big Challenge on Sunday. If we could win this game all the Naysayers will respect the Bears! Guess what? Wal mart sells Bears Jerseys for 24.99, they had white, orange and blue jerseys with Urlacher, Muhammed and Grossman!

Mark Bradley, Bears Super Fan

I'm excited about the NFC favorites set to clash this weekend- The Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks are set to provide a preview of the playoffs.

Home field advantage is on the line. That's what makes Week 4 game so monumental. If the Bears win, home field could be ours.

Home Field Advantage: It could snow. It could be 10 below. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's let the rivalry heat up first.

Both teams come off Week 3 victories significant for different reasons.

• Rex Grossman, grew up in a back-from- the-dead comeback.
• Seattle gave a glimpse of how potent its offense can be.

Rex Grossman went from goat to hero during the Minnesota game, proving he can fight through adversity. His ill-advised pass to the flat from the end zone resulted in an interception and a Vikings touchdown. But Grossman kept firing fearlessly - 41 times in all - and eventually threw the winning touchdown pass, a 24-yard beauty to Rashied Davis with 1:53 remaining.

If Grossman continues to dispelled every doubt so far (I have lots of them). If he continues to play the way he has, the Bears - with a tremendous defense and a running game that should come around - will be major players come January. We won't repeat last season's one- and-done and on our way to NFC Champs!

Kenneth Sothman, Bears Superfan




Oh Marcus Marcus... sure I don't get my drinking water from the great Lake Michigan here, but I'd like to think my head's on straight none the less.

Maybe Marcus is right, if I wanted to build a team from scratch to make the playoffs I'd take Peyton over Rex. You have to remember though, there's a reason for the famous "Peyton Manning Face", so if I wanted to win in the playoffs, I'm not so sure if Peyton would even be a top three pick from the league. I like my fingers blingin' with gold rings, so I think I'll take Brady, Big Ben, and as a wild card even if he doesn't own any jewelry yet, I'll take Michael Vick before Peyton comes into play.

Besides, I definitely wouldn't want a player on my team that is going to blame his offensive line over a playoff loss. Onto some Bears stuff:

- I have to openly thank Bill Simmons for picking against the Chicago Bears this past weekend, for we're 3-0 when the Sports Guy is against our boys. But don't worry Mr. Simmons, I'm thinking the Seahawks are definitely looking good against Chicago this weekend...

- Robbie Gould is slowly but surely turning into a favorite of mine. Perfect on the season so far from all ranges, and as one of our top rookie kicker's ever last year, I'm looking forward to him having a long tenure in Chicago. With that said, I wish there was a more animated way to bringing him in though. Once the Sox are done could we have Ozzie Guillen start signaling him in at home games?

- In my mind, every Rashied Davis touchdown adds another three dollars to the autographed program he signed for me at training camp this year. Show me the money Rashied!

(Just joking... I'd never Ebay or attempt to sell any of my Bears merchandise. Trust me, it sits nicely right next to my Jon Garland World Series bobble-head doll.)

- After yesterday's performance I'm thinking of jumping in on the Muhsin Muhammad diet. In fact, by the end of the season, Muhammad should leverage this to his advantage to be the sport's version Rachel Ray. Does the diet include tuna salad sandwiches by any chance?

- Is it too late to coin the phrase "Lovie-Ball"?

- I think some of my fellow bloggers will disagree with this, but I would love to see the Bears become overly cocky. We definitely have the talent to back up the swagger, so why not use it?

Sue Rhein, Bears Super Fan



As much as I love putting that "W" in our winning column, I have to admit it that that was one UGLY win. I couldn't believe all the missed tackles by our beloved Defense and then all the missed routes by our heart pounding Offense. I was sitting in my living room watching the game with my family and I was getting so frustrated that I would have to leave the room and go outside in order to stay calm. I can honestly say that I was glad that I missed that fourth quarter interception thrown by Rex because otherwise my neighbors may have called the police.
Yes I am a very aggressive fan when either watching the game at home or in the stadium and when Tommie Harris stripped that ball and Adewale Ogunleye recovered it I started jumping up and down in my living room out of excitement knowing that the Bears had been given one last chance to win the game. After I stopped jumping up and down I noticed that my two year old nephew and nine month old niece were staring at me with this look on their face that said "she's nuts" and then they both laughed. As it is my two year old nephew has trouble pronouncing my name so instead of calling me Susie it sounds more like ZuZu and after I noticed that they were both laughing at me I started putting my hands in the air like gold posts and saying touchdown and then my two year old nephew started yelling my name and he would say touchdown and put his hands in the air just like mine. My nine month old niece looked first at her older brother and then at me and then she started shaking her hands in the air and let out a very loud ear piercing scream and I looked at both my sister and my nephew and niece's mom and told them I guess that was her way of cheering and saying touchdown too. Then with the next play or two Rex threw the bomb to Davis for the winning touchdown and I started jumping up and down again and the kids just laughed.

As exciting as this game was to watch and to take home the win, I was still very disappointed in the way the Bears didn't capitalize more on points when in the red zone. I thought we had worked past those problems in week two against the Lions but I see we still have more room for improvement which I guess in one sense, that can be a good thing. I wouldn't want our Bears getting overly confident in themselves this early and then blowing the rest of the season. The Bears still have thirteen more games to play and three of those thirteen are going to be against the very same divisional teams that we just beat in weeks one, two and three.

Well now it's on to Seattle and the Bears have to start the learning process all over again to see how they can break down Seattle's Offense and Defense in order to continue to hold on to their title as the "Undefeated Monsters of the Midway."

GO BEARS

Glenn Timmerman, Bears Super Fan



Well that game was way to close for my liking, But at least now we know that Rex can handle himself with the game on the line. Olin didn't seem to look real comfortable in the 1st half, crowd noise really seemed to bother everyone. So hopefully the crowd at the next home game keeps the noise level up in order to bother the Seahawks defense. That was a nice video Danielle, Do you by chance have Jimbo Covert signing me on tape? If so please send me a copy. I wanted to mention this before the game yesterday but didn't get a chance. When Rex got hurt in Minnesota by diving forward for the touchdown, Would you as fans boo'ed him if he would have ran out of bounds? I feel some poeple would have! I'm was not happy that he got hurt, but I loved the fact he tried to give us 110% be diving to the goal line instead of just running out of bounds. And finally Kathee you hit it on the dot, tackling is what will be the main subject in practice this week. I'll be trying to get Hunter Hillenmeyer to sign me on Tuesday night that would make #39. Hope he'll do it!!

Marcus Riley, Web Development Manager


Please keep my seat warm on the bandwagon -- I'm not ready to hop on yet. Please note, Ken, I said if the Bears win "impressively." Yes, it was an ugly win, but on the road, in those circumstances, I agree, a win is a win. Side note: I bought a plane ticket for Miami on Southwest for January 31 - Feb. 5. There's still several available out of Chicago for about $200. Colts versus the Bears? Hmmmm...

Lisa Schmidt, Bears Super Fan

BEARS! I admit, I didn't appreciate the stress that was placed on all us Bears fans for the first time this year. But all my worries went away as soon as Fox showed the stat on screen "Rex Grossman has never thrown a fourth quarter touchdown in his career." Sometimes the jinxes work in your favor. Like yesterday.

It was so perfect to see the fans in Minnesota deflate. To see those Viking horns get lowered to their sides. To hear the many Bears fans who made the trip to Minnesota erupt when Rex connected to Davis for that touchdown. That's what good quarterbacks do. They make big game winning plays. Even in a stadium that they haven't won in in five years. It was a sloppy game (what was with some of those penalties), some of the worst officiating I have seen in a long time, and not well thought out timeouts and what not by the Bears. But winning ugly is okay, as long as you win.

I am not really sure why Thomas Jones stayed in as long as his did. Now I know I advocated him starting because of what he did last year. However, I never said if he is not producing that Benson shouldn't get a shot. Because, TJ was not producing yesterday. Benson should have gotten a shot. You have to earn your spot on an NFL team, and you have to continue to play well in order to keep it, and so far Thomas Jones hasn't been doing that.

Another happy Monday in Bear land. Seattle may be a tough matchup on Sunday -- but they were up 35 nothing against the Giants yesterday, and only ended up winning by 12. I think we can take em.

Kathee Meade, Bears Super Fan



Kathee Meade – Bears Super Fan!

I’m sure glad The Bears were able to squeak one through yesterday by winning against The Vikings. I have to admit – I was a little bit worried throughout most of the game (especially with some of those bad officiating calls), but the good guys pulled through. GO BEARS!!! 3-0 feels pretty good!

Sue, with reference to your inquiry concerning Bears Management continuing to play Cade McNown many eons ago while there was better talent sitting the bench, I felt the same way even then. I didn’t think Cade had what it took and was frustrated as heck the way Bears Management seemed to look the other way while Cade displayed terrible performances, game after game.

The Bears are going to have to clean up their act in Sunday’s game against Seattle and cool it with the penalties if they expect to win. We had 9 penalties in the first half against The Vikings, while racking up only 10 penalties in the first two games combined. Very inconsistent. I do think, however, that some of the calls were to blame for the high number of penalties. I was surprised to see Kreutz mess up, not only once, but twice on simply hiking the ball. I’m sure the coaching staff will have him working on his delivery during this week’s practices to ensure that he performs the way we all know he can against Seattle.

Kathee Meade

Kenneth Sothman, Bears Superfan



Sorry Marcus, but there's not any room on this bandwagon for a Colts fan. I think we gave the last seat up to Daniella...

Thankfully the Bears pulled through and proved Marcus wrong, but like expected this one turned out to be a rough one. This ugly victory though, as a whole, was HUGE.

Forget the fact Rex was playing like Trent Dilfer instead of Dan Marino... this comeback win is the best thing that's happened to him all season long. We now have a quarterback that has proven even when he's playing less then spectacular, that he'll never lose his confidence and make the proper adjustments to lead his team to the dub. I'd rather take the quarterback that's poised enough to win in big-game situations then the one that'll just blow teams away and blow it when it matters. ::coughcoughPeytonManningcoughcough::

Our defense is still rather amazing, and that doesn't surprise me one bit. 286 total yards allowed is absolutely out of this world, and the momentum they're building up is only going to make them better. The defense knows it for sure, if they win the SuperBowl, they will be considered among the all-time great defenses. If that's not motivation, then I'm not sure what is.

I'm not going to jump the gun quite yet for I'll wait until after tomorrow nights Saints/Falcons game, but I'm very close to stating the Bears are indeed the best team in the NFC.

Now only if the Bears played at a different time then the Colts so the games won't be blacked out here in Muncie and everything will be alright!

Also I forgot to mention it in my last couple posts, but if you haven't gotten the chance yet take a couple minutes to look at Daniella's video piece. It was definitely put together nicely, flows smoothly, and most importantly gives a good feel about who the bloggers on this site actually are.

With everything said, Rex for MVP in 2007.

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan

A big, not so pretty win, but a big win nonetheless. I was way off on my prediction of the score, but at least I was right about the win. Things are a little bit tougher when we play a better team. I had a feeling Rashied would have a good day. Some bad calls, as usual, but the team needs to work on minimizing the penalties. We had been doing so well in this area. And Rex, please just don't throw the ball blindly. Hit the ground, intentional grounding, something. For awhile it seemed like Alex was the only player out there on defense. I don't quite understand the reasoning behind challenging some of those plays, either.

BEARS WIN, and Marcus has jumped on the bandwagon, too? Good way to start the new week. Bring on Seattle.

GO BEARS!

Mark Bradley, Bears Super Fan

The Chicago Bears faced some adversity from Minnesota this week, which I think is good - since the victories over Green Bay and Detroit didn't provide much resistance. I also agree, it says a lot about the offense and defense working together to get the needed Win.

Most Exciting Play: Rex Grossman threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Rashied Davis with 1:53 left in the game, completing a five-play, 37-yard drive that gave the Bears the win.

Game ball: Defensive Tackle Tommie Harris and the Bears' defense, which shut down another opponent, holding the Vikings to 286 total yards.

Marcus Riley, Web Development Manager



Are you ready for some football! I can't wait for today's game. Jacksonville will provide the biggest test thus far for the Colts, and I'm a little ... wait a minute. I'm sorry, wrong blog.

Ah yes, the Bears. The team with an offense putting up Colts-like numbers. I've been watching a lot of ESPN over the past couple of days, and the so-called experts seem to be evenly divided over who's going to win. The Bears vaunted Tampa 2 defense befuddles most offenses, but as one analyst said, the Vikings "know where the bones are buried." Apparently they face the same sort of schemes every day in practice.

Sorry guys. I think it will be the Vikings day, setting up an even more important matchup when these two teams play later in the season. Rex may play better with his back against the wall, and all of the anointing going on this week may have caused him to lose focus. Yes, I even heard a Favre comparison today! Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

However, if the Bears win impressively today, please save some room on the bandwagon for me.

Kenneth Sothman, Bears Superfan





So the big game between the undefeateds has come upon us, and as much as I want to say this is going to be a cake-walk, I think the Vikings will give a bigger challenge then anybody would have thought prior to the season. Brad Johnson has proved that his resurrection of his team last year was no fluke, and even though I wouldn't call their defense great, they'll definitely give Rex some problems for the first couple quarters.

With that said, I think once our defense keeps the game close for the first half, the Bears will eventually break out with some big plays and come up with the dub.

Bears 24, Vikings 13.

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan

Who's that mysterious "non-blogger" in orange in our group shot?

Danielle Barrera, Web Intern



Hello Bear Fans! Let me introduce myself, my name is Danielle Barrera and I am the first NBC5.com intern. I am new to the bears blog but I wanted to stop by, say hi, and show you the first piece that I shot, edited, and uploaded onto the Internet.
Think you're a Bears Superfan? Meet our Bears Superfan Bloggers! Enjoy. Talk to you soon.

Danielle

Sue Rhein, Bears Super Fan


Well here we are 43 hours before kickoff and I finally made it through everyone's blog from this past week. Yes I've been one very busy person at work but I usually try to read and make comments to my fellow bloggers blogs while I'm on the train going home. I love what most of you have written, it made my hour train ride home enjoyable.

Kathee and Eileen you both stated that you would have liked to see Griese start at the quarterback position instead of Rex because he has more experience than Rex but you understood why Bears management wouldn't put their highest paying player on the bench. My question to both of you is, how did you feel when Cade was playing at the starting quarterback position?? Lets face it, Bears management paid Cade big bucks to play and even though we had better talent sitting on the bench, Bears management never changed the starting quarterback position even though Cade cost us the season. Eileen, you also stated that after the preseason Rex left you with doubts as to his ability to being the Bears starting quarterback well, now that we are heading into week three of the regular season with Rex as our starting quarterback and he is having the best season of his career thus far by shutting out two division teams, I was wondering if you still have doubts or has Rex proved himself worthy to you of the starting quarterback position??

Lisa you're absolutely right most of our touchdowns last season were scored by the Defense however, you have to give Kyle some credit for the awesome season we had. After all, we did go all the way to the playoffs with Kyle as our starting quarterback and that alone has to count for something. If you remember, Kyle was a mere Rookie who was thrown into the starting quarterback position when Rex got injured.

All I can say for now is that I will be saying a lot of prayers this weekend, because we are in for one heck of a fight on Sunday to keep control of the NFC North Division Title and if you think the Vikings are going to take it lying down and let us just walk into their house and walk out with another "W" in our column, think again. You can bet they're going to come at us with all they have, because in past years the Bears were known as a team that could be taken lightly, but now that we have already shut out two teams in our division, word is spreading that the Bears are a team you shouldn't over look anymore. Our Defense, Offense and Special Teams are all good, strong players who want to gain back the reputation of being the "Monsters of the Midway" instead of the "Bad News Bears." I'm still sticking with my prediction of Bears 27 - Vikings 10.

GO BEARS

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan

Congrats to Rex and Tommie for being recognized and honored this week. Also, good work to Danieal, and hang in there to Chris. The No Fly Zone will still be well represented. Hope Patrick feels well enough to play, too.

It's finally Friday...what a long week. Kathee, sorry I haven't mailed anything yet. How was the newspaper article?

Did all of you notice on the Bears website that Roberto Garza and several teammates will host a "Bowling with the Bears" fundraiser Monday night from 6-9 p.m. at Lakeside Lanes in Mundelein? $30.00 at the door. This includes bowling, a raffle drawing, pizza, soda, cash bar and prizes for best and worst bowlers. Proceeds benefit Children's Memorial Hospital. It sounds like a good time for a good cause.

Also on the website are some pictures of Glenn. Just click on the Staples photo contest.

We're getting ready for our third win. In spite of the noise factor, Bears will win 31-6. And Green Bay will beat Detroit.

GO BEARS!!

Kenneth Sothman, Bears Super Fan

My favorite Brian Urlacher quote (I'm not sure if this is the exact quote, but he said something like it) was when he was asked what he likes about the NFL compared to college football: "It's nice, there's no homework". I really wish I knew what it felt like to have no homework...

Some random Bears stuff, because it's almost Thursday, and there's only so much you can talk about how we destroyed the Lions to pieces:

- I'm really considering printing out the Rex Grossman QB rating and putting it in a picture frame. I'd imagine it being like when a parent puts a picture of their child at work. Sure it's early, but a 128.7 for a Chicago quarterback is something unheard of.
- Speaking of Rex, vote for him for the FedEx Player of the Week! It's between him and the two Mannings, here's the link: http://football.fedex.com/ag_home.php
- Do you guys think Brian Urlacher even talks to anybody when he's at home? I just imagine him walking around in his full uniform all week, carrying around a football, tackling random strangers at the mall that are wearing Favre jerseys...
- Next time you get a chance, take a good look at the standings under the PF and PA section, it sends shivers down my spine. It's outrageous.
- Rumor on the street was the Bears game wasn't shown down here in the Indy area because of the Colts/Texans game. Luckily I'll be back in the Chi-town area this weekend, but it sorta scares me for future dates.
- Do you think last year when the Bears made the playoffs they shot a Super-Bowl Shuffle video, and then destroyed the evidence after the Panthers game? Hey Marcus, what's the chance the crew can shoot one sometime in December?
- Ever wonder what's going to happen when Glenn runs out of areas for his tattoos?
- Congrats to Tommy Harris for picking up the NFC Defensive Player of the week award, and to Daniel Manning for receiving the starting line-up spot at free safety.
- I won't lie, I'm very baffled by why the Chicago Bears "Inspiration" collection is so expensive. Check it out at http://www.chicagobears.com/tradition/BearsInspirations.asp, but I'm going to have to call you crazy if you shell out $229.00 for a non-autoraphed picture. With that kind of money, you could pitch in to the buy Ken a Grossman jersey fund!
- Shout outs to my family, especially my Aunt Deb and Uncle Rob, who are sadly having to cheer on the Buccaneers...

Glenn Timmermann, Bears super fan

Boy am I looking forward to Sundays game against the Vikings. I really think our defence will be all over Brad Johnson, being on astro turf I think our line is going be much quicker in getting to him in the pocket. I also see Berrian having a great game for the same reason, his speed will spread the field for the running game. If the defence can keep them to 10 or less points we should be 3-0 come Sunday night. And Gail I already have both Glen and Nathan on my back, but I do need Hunter Hillenmeyer so I'll be at the Jewel in Fox Lake this Tuesday. And to explain what I do for those that are wondering, I have the Bears players (past & present) to sign my body then I have it tattoo'ed on you can see pictures and read about their reactions on my website www.biggestbearfan.com I also have an event page that lets everyone know where the players will be for autograph signings. I hope to see you all at some of their signings. Go BEARS!!!!

Lisa Schmidt, Bears Super Fan

Ahh, Wednesday. I have been looking at various sites all week, and the Bears keep popping up as what good plays were made, how great Rex is doing, etc. It's so nice to finally see them getting some respect from the media, because usually they just seem to focus on the negative aspects of our Bears. I guess that is harder to do when there really aren't any negative aspects!!

The game is Sunday is going to be great. Playing Minnesota will prove that we are not just lucky, we are a talented and determined football team. I have complete confidence the offense will continue to perform well, and the defense will continue to hold opponents to single digits. Another shut out would be spectacular, but I will be just as happy with a single digit score. Because there will OF COURSE be a Bears win.

Go BEARS!

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan

It looks like most of us took the two days off with the Team! Guess we've all been recouperating and enjoying the past win. Last night I went to the Nathan Vasher and Glenn Kozlowski appearance at Jewel in Mount Prospect. There was a fairly good size crowd, although many people went back through the line for a second time. It's like a reunion checking out how many people you know in line--the sellers and the fans. Pretty many of both. Our Glenn didn't make it but he seems to be very busy. Jewel was selling lots of Bears merchandise, including a new bracelet made to look like football material. I had seen it on the internet before but never at a store. Nice.

GO BEARS!

Sue Rhein, Bears Super Fan


Sue Rhein, Bears Super Fan. Good Afternoon fellow Bloggers. It was such a wonderful day on Sunday to meet and greet all of you in person rather than just talking with you on line. Lisa where did you disappear too?? I was looking for you so we could share a cab together to the stadium and when I turned around, you were gone. Oh well maybe next time. Yes, the game was absolutely positively wonderful. Our Bears are Super Bears. It was as if they could do nothing wrong and even when Rex did throw that one awful pass, Detroit helped us to make sure that Rex's bad throw was erased. Every throw by Rex was right on target and I too held my breath when I would see him throw to a man in double coverage but, when you would see the receiver catch the ball and turn for yardage, you just knew that everything was going to go our way and that there was no stopping the Bears.

I have to admit it that I was quite saddened by the overzealous expression by the fans when they put Griese in at the end of the 4th quarter. I thought to myself how inappreciative that was of those fans. Here Grossman takes us through an awesome game for the entire day and just because the Bears coaches/management decided to rest Grossman at the end of the 4th quarter and put Griese in how could those fans be so disloyal like that. Oh well at least we know who the real Super Star of the game was for that day, it was Grossman.

GO BEARS.

Ricardo Quiroz Jr., Bears Super Fan

Hello everyone,

First i just want to let everyone know me and my girlfriend Hollie had a great time on sunday! it was nice meeting all of you!! everyone was just sooo friendly, it was awesome!
Im pretty sure all you feel the same! it was a pretty cool experience! hopefully we can all get together again.
Glenn, i must say by far you're the biggest Bears Fan ive ever met!! it was pretty cool meeting you!!! keep them Tats going!! Da Bears!!

Me and my g/f ended up at ESPN zone to watch the Bears kick some butt! D-fence, Special teams, Offense!! Wow Grossman makes it happen again!! with a huge help of our "Tight Ends" Clark, Gilmore! I'm really glad the Bears are using Tight Ends!! Finally!! wow yeah, the last time the Bears score 3 TD's by tight ends was back in December of 75' against New Orleans!
Berrians TD was amazing!! Grossmans last 2 games has compled 71 percent of his passes w/5 TD's 1 Int, and yeahh a 128.7 QB rating!! just great Stats!!
i have no time left c yall laters!!

One game at a time! Minnesota here we come!

Glenn Timmermann, Super Fan

What a weekend I had, I don't have the time to tell you everything but I'll give you some of the Highlights. ESPN is filming a new series called "FAN" In which they will going to all the different teams cities and pick out that teams Super fan. And the pilot will be about our Bears, they contacted me about being the "FAN" for the Bears. So on Friday afternoon I was to meet them at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, after a short meet and greet they said they had a surprise for me. So we went down the street to an office building were I was greeted by The MVP of superbowl XX Richard Dent, now he is one nice guy he signed my arm and game me a signed poster. Then the ESPN crew spent saturday morning filming at my house, then we did some filming at the Home of the Bears fan club that i'm the President of (Kristofs Entertainment Center) we finished up a about 9pm. then on game day they met me at Soldier field (31st st. lot) and taped us tailgaiting. I had to take an hour off of filming to jump in a cab to meet my fellow Super bloggers at NBC5 , and meeting you guys was great and funny knowing I have either met or at least seen half of them before in certain autograph sessions for Bear players. And no Kathee when I went inside NBC5 it wasn't to be interviewed, but to get Jimbo Covert to sign me. He was in a big hurry to catch a plane, if not he would have came out to say Hi to you guys. So he told me to let everybody know that he wished he could have met you in person. OK i have to go I promised a Dj friend of mine from 102.3 that I would make an apperance at the Buffalo Wild Wings resturant that is hosting his show for Monday night football. And all I really want to do is go to sleep, but I must represent our Bears with 110%. I'll check back in tomorrow

Kenneth Sothman, Bears Superfan



Sadly I'll admit, I wasn't able to catch our 34-7 victory yesterday (only small parts) due to some fun road-trips, but I'll try to comment on what I could tell from highlights/recaps:

- The Chicago Bears can be good. Scary good. Grossman's offense (Marcus was right, it feels GREAT to score some points) is running on full cylinders already, and with three legit receivers along with a pretty good Rashied Davis, our passing game is going to sit well over the season. I also love the fact we're running the play-action also... if that kind of offense can make Jake Plummer look good, then it should work great for us.

- Our defense of course held up great, but did it scare anybody else that Kitna was 20-23 for completions one point of the game? That worries me a bit.

- Roy Williams confidence should be at a rather low point right now. Starting off 0-2 doesn't help much either...

- And don't worry everybody, even though you're all great, I'll have no problem arguing back and forth... =)

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan

Hi Everyone. You know, going to Training Camp everyday for years (except that one day), making Bears On Court Basketball games, the Convention, signings and personal appearances near and far...it's easy to get to know the players. Even one of the reporters at Training Camp this year was introduced to me and my friend and said, "Oh, you're Marty's fans!!" Justin told us that they had bets with Marty his last camp here on whose jersey would be worn most often. Marty knew he would win.
BEARS CARE and Ruben Brown had a bowling fundraiser two years ago. It was fantastic. The players actually bowled with the fans, rotating from lane to lane. The players that we bowled with included Brian, Steve Edwards, Bobby Gray, Ruben, Tommie, Patrick..I'm sure there were more actually bowling. Todd McMillon, Jerry, R.W., Gabe, Bryan Johnson, Rob Droege, Aaron Gibson, Joe Odom, Terrance, these are just a few of the players that attended. Marc Colombo's band played. Ahmad Merritt showed up (he was off the team by then) That's when I really got to know John. At the last convention John and his wife stopped by the room to visit with all of us, then met the group again in the bar later that night. We all keep in touch by e-mail. They're a special couple.

My birthday falls the last week of Training Camp. Two years ago we went to TJ Donlins in Bourbonnais to celebrate. The players and coaches that were there all came over one at a time to wish me a Happy Birthday. This included a pitcher from R.W. and a kiss from Mike Brown. It was an evening I'll never forget. Part of the advantages of probably being older that the players' parents.

It's a great bunch of fellows...now plus the ones that no longer play for the Bears. They always make a point to let you know how much they appreciate their fans.

GO BEARS!!

Eileen Firstenberger, Bears Super Fan

YAY! BEARS WIN!

What a game y’all! Not only did we win… but Sexy Rexy looked SO good out there. He rocked it out! I am just so sad that I wasn’t there in person. The only silver lining on the cloud that was the fact that I didn’t get to go to the game was seeing that catch that Berrian made in the end zone on instant replay over and over and over again. PHENOMENAL! The boy must have glue on those fingers—that catch was amazing. And Rexy passed to almost every one of our receivers… for COMPLETIONS! Gilmore was totally off my radar (I admit it, I am a defense gal and I am loving the whole NO FLY ZONE thing)—and not one, but two touchdowns from him?? (Gail, sounds like he is definitely on your radar: what’s the story there?)

And Lisa—you are SO right about the officiating. I think that the Berrian play one was actually a correct call though. He was stripped of the ball before his knee touched the ground. But that Lions fumble was DEFINITELY ours, and we would have had an extra special teams touchdown from it. I don’t understand why Lovie didn’t challenge that one. The crowd would have gone crazy over having another shutout, this time at home. And another officiating gripe, did you notice that the ref said “unfair celebration” after one of our defensive plays? They didn’t replay the celebrating… so maybe someone else got a good look at whatever this “unfair celebration” was about? And speaking of celebration—for every small gain that Roy Williams got, he sure hammed it up and strutted around. I’m surprised he wasn’t called for it.

I have to again commend Gould on an awesome game too. All of his kicks have been spot on. And they weren’t freebies, either. They were from some distance, and he is at 100% with six for six (I believe).

Finally, I am so sorry I missed out on meeting all of you—it sounds like you all had a great time on Sunday, and hopefully there will be another opportunity for us all to get together to cheer our Bears on.

Bear down, Chicago. Chicago, Bear down.

Kathee Meade, Bears Super Fan



Kathee Meade
Bears Super Fan

Yes, that was quite a game yesterday! I am nothing but extremely proud of our Bears! I love the fact that Roy Williams had to eat his words! Did you guys see the way he would motion first down with his arm once he completed a play? Now he is changing his story a little, saying that as long as The Lions play like their supposed to play, they will win. Oh brother!!!

It was great meeting most of you yesterday. My boys thought it was really cool and had a fun time. We had set the recorder before heading to NBC Tower so once the game was over, we sat down and watched all of us on Bears Game Day Live. We cracked up!!

Glenn: The last time I saw you, you were walking inside NBC Tower (I’m assuming to be interviewed). Can you tell us when that interview will be aired? You’re a real superstar!! Good for you!!! I like the way you have fun with it!

Your NWI Voice of The Chicago Bears

Lisa Schmidt, Bears Super Fan

Okay, I need to get the complaining out of the way before I commend our Bears. The officiating calls with the fumble and the Berrian catch were terrible. The Bears should have one 41-0. The Lions fumbled -- I don't know how they could say it was an incomplete pass, and why didn't Lovie challenge it??? And Berrian was down. But that's okay. I will get over.

What a terrific day. Grossman looked better than any Bears quarterback has looked in a long time. Who knew we had a tight end AND a fullback? Grossman is passing the ball around, so now instead of just focusing on Moose, other teams have to spread our their defense to cover Berrian, Gilmore, Clark and whoever else Rex feels like throwing to. We have scored 60 points in two games. We have only given up 7. Maybe someone should let Roy Williams know that 34 is only 6 away from 40, which is a little closer to 40 than 6 is. :-)

Our defense did great. Special teams was incredible. And watching the game from the north end zone yesterday was an experience like no other. Seeing Rex throw passes and not holding my breath is such a relief. Now I have confidence one of our many eligible receivers is going to catch the football and turn positive yards out of it.

It was great meeting most of you yesterday, and Staley too. We saw him cruising down Michigan Ave. on his scooter on his way to Soldier Field. Hysterical. Bring on the Vikings. I can't wait to go up 3-0, have the best record in our division.

BEARS!!!!

Game Day Live

The Bears must have followed the good Karma sent out by our Super Fan Bloggers on Game Day Live Sunday morning. Most of the bloggers came out to Studio 5 Sunday morning to participate in the show. Unfortunately, nobody won the tickets to the Miller Lite party deck. Some tourist from NY wearing Notre Dame nabbed them. At least ND won "something" this weekend.

Glenn did manage to get his body signed by Jimbo Colvert, so I imagine he's at the tatoo parlor right about now. Glenn may be getting too big for us Super Fans. He's got something going on with ESPN, but I'll let him tell it if he wants. I have a bunch of pics from Sunday morning that I'll make into a slideshow this week. Meanwhile, check out these clips from the morning show. -- Marcus


Game Day Live: Clip 1


Game Day Live: Clip 2


Game Day Live: Clip 3

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan



Paul, you are really fast. I think you entered BEARS WIN after the first quarter!Did you make it home on time for kick-off? Loved the Honey Bears. And Mrs. Bixby (not her real name) looked so familiar. Has she been attending Bears functions behind your back? My friend and I were going to ESPN ZONE at first but thought it would be a little less expensive to make it home. There seemed to be enough time...and it wasn't bad. Took the bus and the el for the first time in years. Made it to the car in the Rosemont parking lot in time to hear Tank stripped the ball. Then the touchdown for John Gilmore...a very special person to me..and what a day for him...and the BEARS.
This was a fantastic win.

It was great meeting most of my fellow bloggers and families this morning. Now it's going to be difficult to disagree..just remember, it's not personal Lisa and Kenneth. You are all so nice. Eileen, I thought for sure you would be there. Now Mark Bradley..well I guess your car was probably being checked under the stadium. Sorry you two didn't make it because is was really cool meeting everyone. Melissa and Ricardo...write more often. Sue, well I know Sue, she'll blog next week. Kathee already has a QB, RB and WR waiting in the wings. Bet Glenn never had his head photographed so much! Kenneth, please send me your address at Ball State so I can mail some training camp memorabilia to you. Hope you were able to see the game, not just listen to it.

Bernard...what a catch. And Desmond..props to you. Hunter....watch out for Brendon. I could go on and on because it was a total team effort. Congrats to Rex, too. But come on, can't Lance and Ricky celebrate a little? There were plenty of others taunting and not called for it.

What an exciting season. Bye Bye Roy. Bring on the Vikings. Get ready for your first loss. GO BEARS!!!

Paul Bixby , Bears Super Fan

BEARS WIN!!! BEARS WIN!!!



8 consecutive quarters with a Bears score, 7 out of 8 quarters without an opponent score! Complete blowout of two division rivals! This is going to be a GREAT season!

Paul Bixby , Bears Super Fan

Good morning, happy halftime!

So far, this is a perfect Bears Season. 6 quarters of football with no opponent score and a Bears score in EVERY quarter of the season!

Hope you saw us on Game Day Live. Nearly every person in the bump shots was a blogger for the Super Fan Blog. The little girl whose pigtails Staley was swinging around in her Honey Bear uniform was my elder daughter, Thing 1.

I would love a double shut-out to start the season. Let's keep it together in the second half!

Ricardo Quiroz Jr., Bears Super Fan

Good Morning' superfans

Sunday Football! so i take i will see some of you Bearfans @ the studio?! awesome.
So my prediction for todays match up againts the lions

Bears 17 Lions 6

Lisa Schmidt, Bears Super Fan

Oh it's game day!!! I am so excited. Thanks for all the tips on wear to get some Bears gear. People have bought me jerseys in the past, and when you ar 5'2, a Men's medium makes you look like you are a little kid playing dress up!

Paul, so sorry to hear about your dad. Hopefully all is well and a nice Bears victory today will cheer him up right. I hope we all find each other easily, although I somehow doubt that Glen will be hard to find! Let's hope it doesn't rain on our Lion whooping and I will see you all very soon!

Kenneth Sothman, Bears Superfan




Gameday #2, and as if the first one wasn't lop-sided enough, I'm pretty confident that this one will be heavily in the Bears favor also. I don't think Rex will come out firing like last weekend, but he'll manage the game well enough for the dub. Final score is...

Bears 20, Lions 10.

"I don't think anything is unrealistic if you believe you can do it."
- Mike Ditka

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan



Game Day!! Time to get up and ready...put on that gameday face, as Mike Brown once said in Platteville. I'm sorry to hear about your dad, Paul, and also about your sudden move. Hope everything will be all right. I was wondering where you were, and some of the other 11.

Don't worry about the Bears. You have to be confident and believe. They will be just fine. If Detroit's defense does keep us from scoring a touchdown (impossible), we still have Robbie, who won't let us down. And you know our defense will be putting some numbers on the board. Today is not just "any given Sunday", it's BEARS SUNDAY.

GO BEARS!!

Paul Bixby , Bears Super Fan

Wow, have my co-bloogers been active lately, or what? Normally, I blog a little more often, but sadly this has been a very hectic last two weeks. Unfortunately, on very short notice, my family must move by the end of the month, my father (MisterBixby Sr.) is in the hospital for tests, I've been trying to keep up with my obligations at Tube of the Day (my other blog - some content not appropriate for minors) and I have been slammed at work (plus I've been a little under the weather). All told, not a good last coupla weeks. Also, Mrs. Bixby (Not Her Real Name) and Thing 1 have started school so it has been very hectic.

Tonight we spent at the new place building new furniture, trying to figure out how we are going to fit 5 years of accumulated living flotsam that our old place acquired into a completely different location. It's as if one's furniture gradually builds a sort of inertia of having been in the same location or configuration for so long that it is nearly impossible to envision them in a different sized room.

It takes a leap of imagination to see how the same pieces can be combined differently to make a whole different puzzle. I hope Lovie and Ron Turner can make that leap too. The Bears defensive line has held nearly the same configuration for nearly Lovie's whole tenure. The offense was created around the kind of arm and speed that Rex Grossman can provide. When he was not available last year, they didn't come up with a new playbook for the same Offensive puzzle pieces to create a new puzzle, they just used fewer pieces to make a small portion of the overall picture. They didn't play to Kyle's strengths, so much as they just removed the plays that relied on Rex to be Rex and hoped Kyle could make do.

I know this may seem out of left field, but I am getting a little trepidatious as we move past one completed game for Rex. I am scared that he will get that dreaded Season-Ending Injury (tm) again and instead of developing plays that let Griese be Griese, they will simply drop Rex-reliant plays and hope Griese doesn't screw it up (not that he would).

I guess this post seems random, but it's what's on my mind. Maybe it's just my Kitten-loving buddy promising that his guys will break our guy that has me traveling such a sour train of thought. I'm sure everything will be fine, and the Boys in Blue have proven that they can use even a portion of their current game plan to succeed, regardless of who is at the helm. All QB issues aside though, I'm not concerned about the Bears chalking up another W tomorrow.

By the way, if you see two adorable little Honey Bears in the crowd tomorrow on NBC5's Bears Game Day Live, that's my little girls Thing 1 and Thing 2 (hopefully, we can get them to do their impression of Chris Farley's Superfan dance - minus the coconut bra and grass skirts). The stunner in the Orange Bears shirt with them will be Mrs. Bixby (Not Her Real Name).

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan



Kenneth, that's not shocking. It used to be a lot easier, and a lot less expensive to get a ticket to the Bears. I remember going down the first day they were available to the public and just walking right up to the ticket booth and buying tickets. Actually, I remember calling up during the season and still getting tickets. Not like now when they are released they're sold out in minutes. I was probably 15 years older than you are now before going to my first game. After that I was hooked. Out of town games are great...Dallas, Indianapolis, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia when the Spare Bears played (most of you are way too young to know about that). Sue can tell you some stories, too. Not about away games, but about Vacation in Bearadise with the players. Awesome. I was on the waiting list for 9 years for season tickets, beginning in 1985.

Lisa, check out Eastbay.com for deals, too. But you're right about the women's sizes running small. I bought an XL for my girlfriend who would normally wear a small. She does the same thing Eileen told you, buys in the Kids dept.

Looking forward to meeting all of you tomorrow.

GO BEARS!

Kathee Meade
Bears Super Fan

Thanks a bunch, Lisa, for providing me with some insight on the upcoming Bears vs Lions tomorrow. It’s surely appreciated.

Kenneth, yes, NWI stands for Northwest Indiana. How long ago was it that you resided in Hobart, IN? That’s right around the corner from me!

Eileen, I agree wholeheartedly about the whole Grossman thing. I’m glad you put your opinion on the blog, so now I don’t feel so alone. I thought about stating my dislikes and the fact that he hasn’t really been what The Bears have needed over the last several years, but I held back – this IS the Bears Super Fan Blog and I didn’t feel comfortable dissing the man, if you know what I mean – but I’m glad you did because now, I can join you!!!

I thought Griese should have gotten the #1 spot, myself. Let’s face it – the man has a heck of a lot more experience than Rex does. But I know how management thinks. You pay huge bucks on signing a player, you have got to put him out there (with your fingers crossed) so he can earn his pay. There’s nothing worse than paying big money for a player who ends up just sitting on the sideline each and every game. It’s simply not practical from a business and management standpoint because it’s wasted money. My feeling, however, is that if someone outplays a first-string player, they deserve the right to play first-string. If someone else comes in and plays better than that person, it’s time to make yet another change. We’re always telling our children, “It’s not about winning, dear. It’s about trying your very best to win – if you don’t win, it’s about learning how to lose gracefully, and of course, always play with great sportsmanship”. But when we’re talking about professional sports, I say it’s all about winning!! Geez! Management should always apply their players to the best of the team’s (and fans) interests. Very simple!

I’m totally happy with who plays the remaining of the positions on the team. It’s just the decisions surrounding the quarterback issue that worries me. I hope for the best, but I do have my fingers crossed for good luck because I’m a little bit worried. You can have the best players in the world, but if you don’t have a talented quarterback leading the offense, every game could end up being guesswork.

Lisa, thanks for filling me in on what the experts are saying about tomorrow’s game. Let’s hope the Bears defense can stick it to them the same way that the Lion’s last opponent did!

Can’t wait until tomorrow!

Kathee Meade
Your NWI Voice for The Chicago Bears

Lisa Schmidt, Bears Super Fan

The "No Fly Zone." I love it. LOVE IT! Target is a good idea. I got a couple things from Sears last year, but just went today and couldn't find anything small enough for me. I cannot wait to go to the game tomorrow. My first Bears game was last year against the Packers in December. What a great game for my first game. Seeing Favre get sacked twice. I am so fired up for tomorrow.

I think Rexy is going to be awesome tomorrow. I have a good feeling. He is going to get such a warm reception when he comes out on that field, and when the first touchdown is thrown it is going to be so loud in Soldier Field, we won't be able to hear ourselves talk.

Thanks for pointing out Gail, that you need to take your hat off and stand during our national anthem. It so angers me when people don't do that simple thing, if not only to honor the brave men and women who are fighting for us overseas. And another thing, the people who talk on cell phones during the game or text message, or whatever it is they are doing, drive me crazy. There are plenty of fans who should be taking that seat that actually CARE about the game.

I say again, Bears 27, Lions 3. I am a little partial to 27, as that is my favorite number. See you all tomorrow.

Kenneth Sothman, Bears Superfan




I'm going to say something that may shock the world... ready for it?

I've never been to a Chicago Bears game before. Hopefully this doesn't diminish the views of myself being a "Superfan", but truth be told, I just never really had the chance.

The closest I've been to a game was this past summer's training camp, which I'll have to admit, was a pretty cool experience. Being that up-close to the players for the first time was something else, especially when you get to catch all of their mannerisms. I mean I always knew Urlacher was always focused, but I've never seen an athlete inthat kind of a zone before. It's like he's a pitcher throwing a no-hitter... just stay away as far as possible.

Remember, I'm only 19 though, so hopefully sooner then later I'll get to experience a Sunday at Soldier Field.

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan



Eileen, you are a great writer! Chris Harris told the fans about the NO FLY ZONE during a seminar at the Convention. He and Mike are the NO FLY ZONE. As he stated, no opponnent will be able to enter the NO FLY ZONE. If you attempt to catch a pass in the NO FLY ZONE, you will be hit. If you manage to catch it or if you try but miss, you will be hit. That's the definition of the NO FLY ZONE. We had a NO FLY ZONE poster which we had laminated at Staples. It was on display at every training camp practice (except one which I had to miss). My friend and I had shirts made up for us, Chris and Mike, which we gave to them during training camp. Mike said, "Now that's what I'm talking about!" We had hats made up which we gave them on Family Night at Soldier Field. Chris wore his while giving autographs after the practice.

GO BEARS!

Eileen Firstenberger, Bears Super Fan

So, I hope y’all don’t mistake me. I like a little swagger in the step of any of our players. Especially when it’s merited. Downtown Mike Brown: definitely, TJ: again, SOLD, Urlacher’s quiet confidence: A-OK. And I’ll include our QB in that sentiment. But Grossman personally? I guess I just fail to see where that sense of complacency comes from. His performance in College ball is not enough for me to go on (I watched Hasselback in person for home games at BC and then watched as he has translated that to making a professional name for himself). BELIEVE me, I want to be on board with Rexy’s bravado and stand behind him 110%. But frankly, our preseason and his past (lack of) performance has left me with doubts (Sexy Rexy: please PLEEEASE prove me WRONG on this).

I dunno—But I DO know that I hope he steps into that swagger and throws the ball the way he did last week, and I will be thrilled to step back and cheer for him and the team that he leads in the same way that I always do. And maybe I’ll even cheer a little extra for Rexy because I’ll be so pleasantly surprised to see the boy can actually PLAY. And to take it a step further… play and NOT look like a rookie out there.

But I’ll put the Grossman thing aside for now, primarily because I am SO excited about the game on Sunday (tomorrow!). RIGHT? Who’s with me? I know all of my fellow bloggers are. I have to say, I am sad to report that I will not be there in person. I hope my Bears will forgive me that transgression as it is out of my realm of control.

So instead of being there in person, I will, like Lisa, be listening to the radio while watching the bears on the tube. I prefer radio announcers too (growing up, my mom would ALWAYS put the radio on in place of television announcers), although I totally watched/listened to the preseason games on TV because da Coach was one of the announcers. Speaking of Ditka, we saw him as we were leaving the second preseason game a few weeks ago. He is TALL! I am still angry that none of us had the sense to grab our cameras or run after him. Opportunities missed.

OK, before I sign off, a few other responses. Lisa: I buy normal Bears (non-girly pink stuff) from the Target or sports store kids section. It tends to be cheaper than adult Bears Gear, and often very cute. And Gail: Thank you so much for the warm welcome! And, I love the “NO FLY ZONE.” Why haven’t I heard of this before?!?

Detroit: tomorrow.

Bear down, Chicago. Chicago, Bear down.

Gail Freund, Bears Superfan

This is exciting...it's so close to opening day at Soldier Field. That is always great because the fans are so full of expectation...as well they should be. Of course, we know a win is certain. It's great to get there early and take in all that there is to offer. Tailgating is fun. arriving before 8:00 a.m. and staying until 6:30 p.m. to wait until the traffic subsides. Great times with friends enjoying lots of food and drinks. If you take part in Bears events regularly you end up with tons of friends who are in all different spots on game day. But there is also so much to experience at Soldier Field before the game.

Taking the bus from Schaumburg, my friends and I get there early to check out everything going on in and around the stadium. There's usually lots of giveaways, former players on hand to have your picture taken with either inside or outside the stadium, even an area set up where you have your picture taken "with Lovie on the Field". Be sure to see the Armed Services Wall outside the north entrance. There is plenty of interesting memorabilia to look at inside Soldier Field. We used to take the train but it never failed that you would get back to the station, running to catch your train, missing it by seconds and ending up sleeping for the next two hours waiting for the next train. Being a regular you even get to know all the professional scalpers.

We go into the stadium as soon as the gates open so we can watch the two teams practice on the field and take pictures. Now there are plenty of new ushers which made preseason a nightmare because they wouldn't let you anywhere near the field unless you had a ticket for that specific section. If you are going to your first game at Soldier Field be sure that you are familiar with all the rules on what you can and cannot bring into the stadium. Every game people have to leave strollers, umbrellas and oversized bags outside the entrance. These items will not be there waiting for you when you leave. Yes, you can bring your own food in, too...just not beverages. The best way to carry items into the stadium is in one of the see-through Chicago Bears bags from the gift shop or booths.

Remember to make lots of noise when our defense is on the field, but be quiet when our offense is out there. Steve McMichael will be on the big screen reminding you. Also, take off your hat during the singing of the National Anthem and sing the Bears' Fight Song after each score. If you don't know the words (hard to believe you don't) they make it simple enough by showing them. And don't be obnoxious to the opposing teams fans. They are just there for a good time, too, although many of them need to remember that, too. Particularly Vikings fans...but that's another blog. Have fun.

GO BEARS!