Bears Win! Bears Win! Bears Win!

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Well, the Saints are comin' because the Bears have won it!

Surely, there are less heart-attack inducing ways to win a game, but at this point in the NFL season, a win is a win is a win is a win.

And the Bears won.

Thirty-two teams began the season. Then there were four. The Seattle Seahawks were game, but fell in overtime 27-24. Rex clearly read and took heed of my comments last week and for that I am indeed grateful. He played like a champ!

The defense, however, needs to put in some practice on those delay/draws up the middle in long-yardage, passing situations. If I am New Orleans, and I am not, I would have taken note of how effective that play was against the Bears defense.

Now, as we fired up the Hitachi today for the glory of Bears HD-tini's, I wore the same unwashed Bears jersey that I wore for every game this season (except the game against that filthy team of cheaters from Wisconsin). I will NOT have it washed until after the Super Bowl.

And for the Super Bowl, should we be so lucky, my dream party would be at the beach. Put up the pop-up pavilion on the beach, fire up the portable black-and-white TV and let the Tiki punch flow!

Oh, and take Monday off and spend the day watching the replay over and over and over and ...

But, I am getting wa-a-a-a-ay ahead of myself and the Bears.

Ironically, we spent the weekend finishing the Bears-themed study in our new home. I really should open a Bears museum some day. Autographed balls from Payton, Urlacher, Grossman and Ditka. Team-signed balls from 1969, 1995 and 2000. Framed autographs from Sayers, Butkus, Singletary and Grange.

Unlike those many poser fans who try to glean their cred from, say, using corporate-sponsored tickets to attend games, my collection represents a lifetime of hard-earned Bears fandom.

My Dad won the 1969 ball at father-son night at St. Teresa's Catholic Church in Kankakee, Ill., when he correctly answered Dick Butkus' trivia question. It is our family's version of "a major award." We ran into Red Grange at the first-ever showdown between the Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when we were vacationing in Florida during the preseason in 1976. Walter signed my picture "To Mark..."

Ah, memories...

Every item has a story. I tracked down every player from Super Bowl XX who had an official football card issued before Super Bowl XX and had each sign one for a cool multi-card display. My parents kept running into Bears players at United Way events after Super Bowl XX and secretly carried a Bears yearbook to the events to gain signatures to surprise my brother and I for Christmas in 1986 (which also featured those shiny vinyl Bears jackets that Ditka always wore as presents). Not on display currently is an autographed Breckenridge beer bottle from Kevin Butler from a bar excursion during training camp in Platteville, Wis. back in the day. Through the years, I personally collected 11 autographs on the cover of my Super Bowl XX program.

And on and on it goes: I have thousands of original football cards of Bears players dating to 1956, dozens of action figures dating back to 1989 and a Mike McCaskey-signed letter noting I am an original member of the Chicago Bears Fan Club.

Perhaps the craziest collectible of all: I saved dozen of VHS tapes of Bears games dating to 1986. My Dad has volunteered to dub them all onto DVD.

Anyway, the Bears are hosting the NFC championship game next week and the sweetest thing about today's win for the fans is the ability to brag and dream and recall what was and hope for what is to come.

The season continues! Great job, Bears!

More later,


Mark