It's been nearly 25 year since the Bears won Super Bowl XX -- doesn't that make us feel old! -- but the Bears team that brought home the Lombardi Trophy has never received their customary visit to the White House. Back in 1986, the Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy resulted in their visit being postponed, and it was never rescheduled.
As Sunday's Super Bowl approaches, it's a good time to look back and reflect on some of the football legends that have come before Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger. Specifically, it's not hard to think about Wheaton's pride and joy, "The Galloping Ghost" Red Grange. A star athlete at Wheaton High School, Grange then took his skills to the University of Illinois where he further flourished under legendary coach Bob Zuppke. From there, Red went on to a stellar NFL career with both the Chicago Bears and the New York Yankees, who were Grange's team of his start-up American Football League, his challenge to the NFL. Grange's shadow is still cast over football today: ESPN recently named him the greatest college football player of all time. Grange was considered one of the great sports legends of the early twentieth century, along with Babe Ruth, Bobby Jones, and Jack Dempsey.
These days, the hype surround banned Super Bowl commercials is a big as the commercials that make it to air during the big games. This year is no different as PETA puts the "hump" in our Humpday Diversion courtesy of this racy ad that NBC has rejected because of, among other things, a woman "screwing herself with broccoli" and "asparagus on her lap appearing as if it is ready to be inserted into vagina." Read the NBC letter [PDF] and check out the video below.
Could Chicago have become a routine host of the Super Bowl and the Final Four? Crain's Ed Sherman seems to think so, saying the city should have built a new stadium with a retractable roof rather than renovating Soldier Field.
Instead of building the Space Ship by the Lake, the city should have constructed a domed (preferably retractable) stadium. A Super Bowl and a few Final Fours would have helped pay for the extra expense.Continue reading "Dept. Of Bad Ideas: A Domed Stadium For Bears?"
Perhaps the story of Super Bowl XLIII is the latest act for Kurt Warner, who's career has seen peaks and valleys unlike any player -- at least those who haven't harmed their own careers through crime or substance abuse. From the Arena Football League and stocking grocery store shelves; to league and Super Bowl MVP; to bench warming tutor for the next generation of quarterbacks; to Super Bowl starter once more. When the surprising NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals take the field on February 1, the unassuming Warner will be under center.
href="http://torontoist.com/2008/02/phototo_snowbal.php">photographing a big, organized snowball fight.
While John McCain spent Super Bowl Sunday in Massachusetts, Mitt Romney made his pitch to the most reliably conservative county in Illinois. At a packed rally of several hundred people at the College of DuPage yesterday, he tried to convince voters here that he is the true conservative standard bearer. Romney vowed that as president he would "stand up for the principles of the Republican Party and to live in the house that Ronald Reagan built."
With the race for the Democratic nomination showdown just days away, and polls showing Obama closing in on Clinton in key Super Duper Tuesday states, the Obama campaign made a huge ad buy during the Super Bowl in the Super Tuesday states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Washington, (but, alas, not Illinois)
The Super Bowl is coming on Sunday, like it or not, and with it comes analysis of the action on the field, the commercials, and what's sitting on the plate in front of you. You could go the classy route and cook up a feast for your football-watching friends. Or you could join your fellow Americans in helping to make Feb. 3 the most popular pizza ordering day of the year.
What's the best part about the Monday after the Super Bowl? Why it's heading into the office and listening to Mr. Hilarious Co-Worker re-enact all of his favorite Super Bowl ads of course.
We are now just days away from that day which rivals Thanksgiving as few can in the annals of American gluttony: Super Bowl Sunday. Whether we're parked on a couch in front of our friend's new 60 inch plasma TV or watching the game at a sports bar that's stumbling distance from home, the food and drink often take precedence over the game itself - especially when our Bears aren't in it this year.
Mike Ditka's red-faced this weekend, and not because of overindulging on his vanity wines. A report in yesterday's USA Today showed that a charity "Da Coach" founded three years ago to help retired Hall of Fame football players whose bodies are ravaged by the violent demands of the NFL has only doled out $57,000 in assistance. Federal and state tax records indicate that $715,000 of the $1.3 million raised by the Mike Ditka Hall of...
Let's keep the party going. The list continues! -That with Smoque, Honkey Tonk and relocated Honey1, we're finally getting some halfway decent BBQ in town within easy reach of the north side. - That we can know how most Chicago sports fans feel about a story simply by assuming it's the opposite of what Jay Mariotti thinks - That we won't be wasting more b-day money on Super Bowl t-shirts, Bears jerseys, etc. this...
Sure, we're all anxious and upset about the supposed cuts to the CTA service. However, there is one bus route we wouldn't mind see being cut. "We're a team that gets off the bus running the football,'' Bears coach Lovie Smith said Wednesday. ''I have it memorized, and that's what we are, period.'' Has he been watching the same offense we we've been watching this year? The only thing separating this team from a 1-6...
Thank you! It's about damn time. While Lovie Smith won't make the announcement official until later today, media everywhere are reporting that Brian Griese will take the field with the first team at practice on Wednesday because he is the Bears' new starting quarterback. Rex, you can grab a hat and clipboard right over there next to Kyle Orton. Chicagoist is by no means under the impression that this solves our quarterback problems. In the...
There are a lot of us who can be accused of taking our team spirit a bit too far. Some of us may spend a few paychecks to see our team play in the Super Bowl. Or maybe we name our dog after our favorite athlete. Then there those like Paul and Teri Fields of Michigan City, Ind., who crossed a line with their level of obsession with a certain Chicago baseball. When choosing a...
Bears fans finally got to witness Sunday night what a young QB taking it to the next level looks like. Unfortunately, it wasn't our QB. While at this time last year, Romo had yet to complete an NFL pass, last night he looked to be on his way to the Pro Bowl as he led the Cowboys to a 34-10 romp over the Bears. Grossman looked like he's on his way to the bench. At...
Chicagoist was left scratching our head when we heard the rumors than an extension to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's deal was in the works. With two years remaining on his current deal and his team with the worst record in baseball, the rumors should have been that he was about to get canned. But for some reason, Sox general manager Kenny Williams decided he needed to lock Guillen up until 2012. Five more years...
The Bears played their third preseason game Saturday night, hosting the San Francisco 49ers. With the Bears taking the field at home for the first time since last year's playoffs, all eyes in Soldier Field were squarely on Rex Grossman. Even before the game, camera crews and Chicagoist ourselves focused in on Rex's practice snaps. We wanted to see any signs of progress after Grossman's three fumbles against the Indianapolis Colts last Monday, of which...
The Bears and Colts met for a pre-season rematch of Super Bowl XLI on Monday night, with the Bears winning 27-24. Of greatest concern for Bears fans is the apparent return of Bad Rex last night. The Bears' quarterback fumbled the ball three times and threw an interception in his limited duty. Yikes! Even when Rex's stat lines look respectable -- 9 of 11 for 59 yards and scored a touchdown, his inconsistency strikes fear...
Sure, pre-season games don't mean very much. Any starter with so much as a hang nail remains on the sidelines and the starters who do play are in the showers before halftime. But it's still better when our team wins than loses. And fourth quarter comebacks are always exciting, whether pre-season or not. Robbie Gould's 47-yard field goal with 2:23 seconds left gave the Bears a 20-19 victory over the Houston Texans. For bears fans,...
For those of us whose baseball teams is hopelessly out of the playoff hunt, today is the day we've been waiting for since June -- the opening of Bears open training camp! Players arrived at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais yesterday ahead of today's first practice. The Bears enter camp as reigning NFC Champs, and with the expectations of winning the Super Bowl this season. Can they overcome the fate of the past five...
Remember when Bears linebacker Lance Briggs threatened to hold out — at least for the first ten games — because he took exception with the Bears tagging him with their "franchise" tag? Briggs was upset that the team's move prevented him from signing a long-term contract elsewhere after he and the Bears were unable to agree on long-term deal. Never mind that the franchise tag also guaranteed he'd make $7.2 million in 2007. Unable to...
With the Bears opening training camp on Friday, it's time to dust off the blue and orange, refresh our memories of last year's Super Bowl XLI appearance, and then start figuring out what to fret about come Week One. The Tribune points out their five areas of concern, while the Sun-Times gives us their ten things to watch for. 1. At the top of both lists is the quarterback situation. Can Rex Grossman be the...
The NFL held its annual draft this past weekend, and the Bears attempted to fill the holes on their roster in the hopes of building a team that can return to the Super Bowl next season. On Friday, we outlined what we felt were the biggest needs for the Bears. How'd they do in filling those areas? In the first round, with the 31st overall pick, the Bears filled their need for a tight end...
Just as the local sporting goods stores have finally moved out the last of their Bears NFC Champions merchandise, it's time for the Bears and the NFL teams to restock their roster during the NFL draft, which takes place Saturday and Sunday in New York. The draft begins at 11:00 am on Saturday, but there's no need to get up early to watch. The Bears don't draft until the 31st pick in the first round,...
The Bears may not have won the Super Bowl this year, but maybe fans can take some pride in being the home to the most perfectly fast man in the NFL, ever. The essential football video game, Madden '08, will feature the Bear's All-Pro Devin Hester as the first player to ever receive a perfect 100 in the speed category (maybe in any category, but we can't find any support for that). Deion Sanders,...
Did you know that the hat Brian Urlacher wore to the Super Bowl media day cost him $100,000? No, it wasn't some bling-encrusted, endangered-species-skin fashion statement. In fact, the hat itself was most likely given to him for free by VitaminWater. But his wearing of the hat cost him $100,000 because it violated the league's sponsorship rules. That's the largest non-suspension fine in league history! See, the NFL has a little deal with Gatorade that...
Foodie Rant - Properly Sauced? Try Properly Ripped Off.
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