I'm a Bears fan living in Minneapolis. A few months ago, I bought two 5th row tickets to the Monday night Bears/Vikings game. I got them at silent auction to benefit a battered women's shelter.

It's not usually my style to splurge at an auction, but it was for a good cause, and I've never been to a "real" NFL game (only preseason). Most of the donated tickets were Wild or Twins, but there was one pair of Vikings tickets, and it was a Monday night game against my beloved Bears! I figured it was a Christmas present for my husband, last chance to see Favre, etc etc. Meant to be, right?

And now I find out that since the Souffledome disaster, our tickets are WORTHLESS. We have to go in first-come/first-serve, the GOPHERS season ticket holders get priority regardless of whether they have a ticket to this game, and if we can't get in, only the actual season ticket holder who donated the tickets we bought gets the refund (which is face value only)!!

To top it all off, the powers that be have decided that we will have NO BOOZE served at the game!! WHAT? That can only be a deliberate attempt to discourage attendance. After all, they already got their money, and they don't want anyone to make a scene. >:(

I know that replanning this game is a huge headache for the Vikes "organization", but it seems to me that they have made no effort whatsoever to try to help out ordinary ticket holders and to help us get seated. And liquored. You can't even claim that they are blowing off second-hand ticket purchases, now that they implement that on the NFL website.

I am beyond disappointed. We're going to try to attend. If we can't get in, I plan to take my tickets and get them matted and framed in midnight blue and orange under a photo of the collapsed Metrodome. It will hang in my Bears den as a memory of an expensive Christmas date gone awry, and of the apt metaphor that the Vikings 50th Anniversary season celebration became.

/end rant

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(Note: I posted this also at Stampede Blue, since Vinatieri is currently a Colt, but the short film is about the Patriots years & SB 36)

There's a new short film (online!) used by its writer/director to show how an arbitrary decision in one life can have a big effect generations later. Link.

The example he uses is of Felix Vinatieri, Col Custer's bandmaster, not being at Little Bighorn, and thus surviving to sire the Vinatieri line that directly led to Adam Vinatieri Then they manage to tie-in SB XXXVI in a semi-factual, semi-fantasy short flick. (Resulting movie poster is hilarlious.)

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There's a new short film (online!) used by its writer/director to show how an arbitrary decision in one life can have a big effect generations later. Link.

The example he uses is of Felix Vinatieri, Col Custer's bandmaster, not being at Little Bighorn, and thus surviving to sire the Vinatieri line that directly led to Adam Vinatieri. Then they manage to tie-in SB XXXVI in a semi-factual, semi-fantasy short flick. (Resulting movie poster is hilarlious.)

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This is an ESPN article about "How Can the Colts Avoid Superbowl Hangover?" but it pulls a few quotes from Bears about Superbowl XLI to make its point.

Says Urlacher:

 "You dream about it as a kid, you think about it all season long -- that's your goal coming in -- and you finally you get there," said Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, who played in Miami's Super Bowl XLI.

"So it was an all-time high getting there -- and an all-time low when we lost."

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My husband can now die a happy man. He has met his lifelong football hero, Dick Butkus, who was signing autographs at a sports memorabilia show in the Twin Cities.

Mr. Butkus was very friendly and easygoing, and really seemed to be having fun looking at the stuff people had brought him to sign. I have a video of him talking about how he taped up his forearms to prepare for a game, which he was prompted to discuss by the poster we brought him. He also really grinned at my husband's well-worn #51 jersey, and he was very friendly with all the kids in the line. At the show, the stars weren't supposed to "pose" for photos, but Dick did anyway.

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Hey, Vikes fans!

I am a Minneapolis-Based Bears fan who's going to be at the Earle Brown heritage center this Saturday to meet Dick Butkus, but I also wanted to make sure you Daily Norsemen knew that Percy Harvin and other legends will be there as well.  Twins, NHL-ers, and Vikes will all be there.

Here's a link to the particulars.

And the address:

April 9-11, 2010
  Earle Brown Heritage Center
  6155 Earle Brown Drive
  Brooklyn Center, MN.  55430

Hey, Twin Cities based Bears fans! There's going to be a sports collectibles event this Saturday in a Minneapolis suburb, featuring none other than the legendary Dick Butkus! My hubby and I (and one of the kids) are going to meet the greatest Linebacker everrrr.

More info and links after the jump.

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Admittedly, I usually participate in the NFL game open threads, but I figured that the Waggle Room would have an open thread for folks to comment while watching the Farmers Insurance tournament.

For example, right now, there's a demo going on TV about the new "grooves" rule. That would be a perfect topic for those of us who are watching TV with our laptops handy to "discuss" among ourselves what we think of the rules change.

And more to the point, we can root for our favorites, groan at the near misses, cheer for the great shots.

Whaddya think? Are you with me?

I don't mean the New Orleans kind of Saint. I mean, service-to-your-fellow-man kind of saint. Minnesota winters are long, cruel, and gray. Wendigo psychosis becomes a real threat. And we know that things won't thaw out until April at the earliest.

There's that eerie time in late August/ early September when we feel the chill starting in the air, the first Canada geese are heading South, and kids are back in school, and we realize, "That's it. Summer's over." To some residents of Northern states, that is a very depressing realization. I admit freely that it would be for me too, but accompanying the shorter days, there's the promise of Football. High school, college, and NFL. An embarrassment of football riches. Across the country football fans are getting revved up to see what this year will turn out to be. Which rookies will break out? Who will be underdogs? Who's on my fantasy team? Who's making the playoffs? Who's winning the whole thing?! You are united in giddy brotherhood with thousands of fans across the nation.

And suddenly having to fish around in the hall closet for your windbreaker doesn't suck any more, because it's a windbreaker with your favorite team's logo on the chest. Oh, yeah, baby. It's football season.

I am not exaggerating in the least bit. Football is the one thing that makes winter tolerable. I think I would have moved south years ago if there was not anything else to help get through Winter. After the Superbowl and Pro-bowl, there's a bit of a lull, but then we can play March Madness with our coworkers as a diversion, and then there's the draft buzz in April. By May, the disappointment of the end of the football season is tempered by the return of the sparrows and the lengthening days.

Thank you, football pioneers. Like central heat and electricity, you helped make the Frozen North suitable for human habitation. Even Green Bay. Or so I am told.

The latest issue of Pro Football Weekly just showed up in my mailbox (you know, that metal box on a stick at the end of the driveway, where according to legend, in the days before the internet written correspondence from people far away would magically materialize 3-5 days after being placed in a similar remote metal box by the sending party.)


So, on page 19 of this charming throwback papyrus, the odds for NFC and AFC championship winners are listed, as given by the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas. Smart money has the Pats taking the AFC at 8:5 odds, and the NFC list is headed by a three-way tie at 7:2, shared by the Giants, the Vikes, and, you guessed it, the Bears.

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I was a Colts fan for years. I hooked up with a Bears fan (now my husband) in 2006, the season leading up to Superbowl XLI.

He has been a Bears fan since his earliest childhood memories growing up in Illinois, whereas I have been a Colts fan only since 1999, when I returned to the US after a brief stint in football-less Sweden.

My Dear Hub has gently coaxed, invited, bribed, and otherwise attempted to convert me to Bears Fanhood for all the years I've known him, including the pre-dating acquaintanceship of 2004 to when we started dating in 2006. I was alsways happy to root for the Bears when the Colts weren't playing them, but I felt that true conversion would take its own time, like changing church denomination when marrying. Since upon marriage I also assumed the role of Stepmom to his sons, I have dutifully steeped myself in Bears history and paraphernalia for the good of all. Little did I know that the rich history of the Bears, good and bad, would grip me as it did.

This morning I had a dream. I dreamed I was at a shopping mall and passed by a Colts mascot who was waving at passersby. I waved back and smiled, pointing at my jersey, which I assumed (in my dream) was a Colts jersey. To my surprise, the Colts mascot exclaimed, friendly like, "Oh, you're a Bears fan!"  I looked down at my attire, and sure enough I was wearing a Bears jersey. I realized, in my dream, that I was proud and happy to be a Bears fan, and that I couldn't wait to tell MDH that I was now not only an official Bears fan and filled with warm pride about it, but that the transition had been blessed by a smiling Colts mascot.

I excitedly called my dear hub to tell him about the dream, and he actually teared up a little. So did I. 

Now that I am a ready and willing Bears fan convert, are there any special rituals I need to go through? Does anyone else have advice on loyalty shifting in the NFL?

Your anecdotes, philosophy, and advice are appreciated!!

PS: if you know anyone who wants an odd lot of Colts paraphernaila, I have a bunch available!!

I realize it's not NFL, but it's pretty sweet to see the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson trying to come from wayyyyy behind to catch the leaders.

Physically, way different from football. Mentally, there's something similar about a 4-day golf tournament and the countdown to an NFL postseason. You have to gamble a little--if you're too far behind, you have to take risks, and if you're ahead, you have to maintain your lead by doing the basics the right way---but when do you take risks anyway, just because they're gaining on you?

I'm lovin' every minute of it!

My apologies to anyone who's trying to stay the heck away from the Favre talk.

There's in interesting article in the Star Tribune this morning.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/26198379.html

The article includes this from Ryan Longwell, referring to the Marketing offer:

“Brett is one of the icons of the franchise, but at the same time I played with Reggie White, who was an icon of the Packers franchise, too, and they let him go. He played at Carolina his last year. So, totally big-name, big-icon guys and two totally different approaches to the end of their careers.”

And this from Darren Sharper:

“I still don’t think he’s going to do that,” Sharper said. “I think if he does it’s because it’s the only option. They are saying either you do this or you come back and you’re going to be a backup or you might not be able to play for us at all. I never knew you could hold a player hostage who just wants to play football, but I’m finding out something new.”

For those of us stuck at home watching football alone (NOT the way it's supposed to be), here's a spot to yapp about all the other games going on today.

Personally, I'm interested in what the 'Skins can pull out against the Vikings, because Maj. Dad raised me on the Redskins, even though I later defected to the Colts. I was in Washington last week watching the 'Skins hand Li'l Brudder's ass to him. Tee Hee.

The Bears sure put the whoop on the Packers today; they should have rested Brett Favre so they could've pretended "We MEANT to lose to the Bears." That win made my Chicago-bred hubby very happy, but both of us HATE the Cowboys, so the outcome of giving them homefield advantage was an unfortunate side-effect.

And so on...

Anyone going to watch the Pats and the Phins?

Well, it's not Jan 21 yet, but the Pats vs Colts game will be a preview of a not-so-unlikely AFC Championship 2008 game. I am bracing myself for the pregame hype and inevitable Brady/Manning comparisons--you know, all the super meaningful commentary with the, ahem, experts trying to sound balanced and hedging their predictions so that they come out sounding wise and prescient after the game no matter what they said before.

I get the feeling that the Patriots as an organization snapped last postseason when the Colts came out on top in the AFC game after Brady's comeback drive (granted, he is great at them) abruptly ended in an interception. It's as if the Pats felt completely entitled to go on and win the Superbowl, and everything that's taken place since is a reaction to that stinging defeat. Think about the Pats' actions since then: handing over flipping great wads of cash for Moss, the embarrassment of Videogate, the somewhat nasty trash-talking, unnecessary on-field viciousness whenever they can sneak it in, and so on. These are all things I wouldn't previously have thought of as being characteristic of the Patriots, but my, how things changed in the AFC Championship loss to the Colts.

Given the Patriots resentment of that loss to our beloved Colts, and the ends-justifies-the-means approach to this season, and I have a nervous feeling that the Pats will be after the Colts' blood, figuratively and literally. The Patriots don't want to have to be in a 4th QTR "comeback" position this time.

Here's my fantasy scenario for next week's game: Colts with a 4th QTR lead of 2 points, and the Pats have possession. Brady methodically moves the Pats into field goal range, which has won them an important game or two (with Mr Clutch Vinatieri). With 5 seconds left, Gostkowski takes aim, and it goes WIDE RIGHT!! Bwah-hahahahah! That would be sweet.

And if that doesn't happen next week, I'll settle for it being the outcome of the actual 2008 AFC Championship game.