They Say Jimbo Is Our Man

So the Bears are going to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1988! That is more than half my life ago. Just so we know, babies born in 1988 can drive a car and participate in free elections. These kids have never known a playoff-winning Bears team. Hell, they can’t even say they remember Walter Payton – at least Walter Payton the player (Walter Payton the person is certainly hard to forget).

There is an entire generation of kids who don’t remember getting their plastic Chicago Bears NFC Champs Mug from the local gas station; watching the game in their living room, wearing head-to-toe Bears gear; excitedly dragging their parents to Carson Pirie Scott to get the new Superbowl Champions shirts; playing the Superbowl Shuffle over and over and over again on our portable Fisher Price brown / white record player. Of course, it is the Superbowl Shuffle that we got from McDonald’s and it is the on our [now] infamous floppy 45. (Let’s be honest, there is an entire generation of kids who think 45 is a speed limit and not the number of revolutions per minute.

And yet they are now one game from Miami and 2 games from seeing Chicago like they have never seen it before. And if yesterday is any indication of the chaos to come…I might advise protective gear.

Sunday Fun Day – Recap and Review

· May have set the record for the fastest shower / getting ready in the history of man. May be an exaggeration, but I know that I was in the shower at 10:15 and out the door at 10:20. And maybe I left with all my make up and my hairbrush in my purse. And maybe my hair was dripping wet and knotted, because I hadn’t even combed it out yet. And maybe I was completely disheveled, but I was true to my word and I was at the coffee shop when I was supposed to be.

· Natalie in her great wisdom made us all get out of our nice comfy beds early, to go to a bar that was not open yet and get a spot of line. I say this right now—she is a genius. At 10:30 AM, we were the 3rd group in line. By 10:45, there were about 30 people in line. When the bar opened, it was a mad dash to the tables. Teiber grabbed 2. I grabbed 2 more and when I looked up, game over. There were no more tables. The 6 of us that ventured out to eke out seats accomplished our mission and settled ourselves in for the long haul.

· We got off to a rocky start with the waitress – it took 45 minutes to bring us our first round and contrary to her belief, the Bloody Mary’s were not a good drink at all. (Picture tomato / pickle juice and you have an idea of what the Bloody Mary tastes like). But we soon got into a good rhythm – we just accepted the fact that we would order every time we saw her.

· We had brought games (well, the girls did) to keep us entertained during the time before the game. We created a “fun pile,” which included LCR, cards, dice (actually Dave brought those), snuff (such a bad idea), Tums (so very necessary) and lotion.

· Right before the game started, we sang the Superbowl Shuffle. I know most of the words, but Nat is amazing – she knows them all and can sing them / and reenact the video. It is a sight to see.

· Game on as the Bears battled the Seahawks. Taking us all on the biggest up and down ride of our lives. We watched with a crazy intensity that required more than a roll of Tums. I have never cheered harder or louder. (I have the bruised hand and the laryngitis to prove it).

· When it was all said and done, the man who would be a carpenter kicked a 49-yard Field Goal and propelled the Chicago Bears to the NFC Championship game! All hell broke loose! We jumped, chest bumped, hugged, screamed, spilled beer, laughed, cried, and all around went crazy for the fun of it. I broke my shoe in the fray and could’ve cared less. (Thankfully, duct tape fixes just about everything).

· Never have I had more fun watching a game. Never have I been more tired at the end of it.

So, to all my game-watching-partners-in-crime, can’t wait until next week. (And wisely, I took next Monday off).

Best Quotes of the Day:

· Beer is coming out all my holes (This said after I made Natalie laugh while taking a sip of beer).

· Nobody touch anyone anymore! (This said after a handholding Kum Ba Yah moment did not rally the Bears as we thought it would).

· 2 ½ Minutes is a whole lot of time to score. (This after the Bears got the ball back in the 4th).

· Everybody touch themselves. (This said by a member of the group when someone reiterated the “no touching” rule).

· Snuff makes my mucous brown. (Sang to the tune of Camptown Races and once again a credit to Ms. Nat. Of course, those privy to the last night’s revelation regarding Red Bull will be thrilled to know that that statement can also be sung to this tune.)

· He was in the hole. (Sometimes, we are a bit juvenile =0)

Side Note - Wikipedia called the Superbowl Shuffle a rap song. Does anyone else think that is hillarious?