Chicago Football Chili

It's been a hectic holiday season (as per usual), but finally some sanity is settling in.

Big on my mind today - my Fantasy Football season rests on tonight's game vs. the Vikings.  I have a one point lead over my gradeschool pal Mike "the Shield" R., and I have to somehow squeeze more points out of the Greg Olsen and Robbie Gould combo than he does out of Adrian Peterson (yes, the Minnesota one).

Gotta say I'm a little worried.

I haven't won the "Lamborghini Lightning" League (thanks to Lance Briggs for inspiring the title, by the way - try to take a cab this New Years, would you please, Lance?) since, gosh, was it 2007?  So the shame of failing two years in a row might be too much to bear.  So I go into the Monday Night game with more gusto then I could have otherwise anticipated, and am cheering for our Sasquatch Tight End with much zest. 

Team name, by the way, is "Brody Loves Chili", which honors both our Golden Retriever and a fine bowl of red, while at the same time harkening back to the "Happy Days" spinoff "Joanie Loves Chachi."  Not intentionally, of course, but there's just no denying the similarity.  For the record, I promise all of you that I never actually watched an episode of that Scott Baio / Erin Moran classic.  I swear.

One final note on this:  My opponent, "The Shield", was voted Most Likely to Succeed back in high school.  I finished 2nd.  This does not bode well for tonight's matchup.

At any rate, this is the final item on my Bears Fan Christmas List - the championship!

So, now more than ever - Go Bears!!

 CHILI DAN

Posted by dawn2 at 02:56 PM | Permalink

One of my many quirks is my love of Christmas music.  Much to Chili Dawn's dismay, I start playing with the pre-set radio stations in the Chilimobile every November looking for the first sign of Rudolph or one of the other out-of-control reindeer who did a hit-and-run on Grandma.

But even I have my limits.  For instance, there's a relatively modern Christmas tune called "My Grown-Up Christmas List" that has me reaching for the dial every time.  It's cloying.  Entirely too sappy for me to waste my time on. 

So it's back to sports radio and more Bears talk.

I've done this so many times now, that in my head I've connected the two things.  That's right - now I have a Bears fan Christmas list. 

It's a simple list from a simple man.  And if Santa is reading (we know he loves chili) here's what we're looking for:

A rabid tirade by Coach Lovie in which he verbally pummels his non-performing team.

A GPS system for our Quarterback that tracks ONLY our receivers.

A veteran receiver who is not flashy, but who has a reputation for being very very good at running his routes.

And one forward step for Greg Olsen, because he can't seem to find one after he makes a catch.

There is so much more I could ask for (there are several items on the Defensive side of the ball that come to mind), but 'tis not the season to be greedy.  Besides, I'm sure you have some items of your own that you'd like to see, and I want to be sure there's room in Santa's bag for them.

Tough game in Baltimore this week, but we're crossing our fingers and putting on the Orange and Blue.  GO BEARS!

 CHILI DAN

Posted by dawn2 at 11:46 PM | Permalink

"A dog, a log, a bog..."

If you aren't familiar with the movie "What About Bob?", you should look into it.  Very funny movie about a very anxious man (Bill Murray).  I find myself quoting it much more than is healthy.  Say for instance, while watching Sunday's game, I found myself repeating this mantra:

"I feel good.  I feel great.  I feel wonderful."

Sad to say, though, I didn't.  Not really.  You see, I want to be happy about the St. Louis win, but how happy can beating the Rams really make you?  There's a good chance that some 8A High School teams could give them a fight.  Maine South, Downers Grove, Lockport - THAT would be competition. 

Rams don't make me happy.  But really, what is the true meaning of happiness anyway?

Why, beating the Packers, of course!

"...if the craft is seaworthy..."

So the Rams merely serve as an opportunity to right the ship.  But the Bears aren't sailing just yet.  To be sailors, the Bears have to beat the Packers.  It would go a long way toward building some goodwill if QB Cutler can guide us to victory against the team we most want to beat.

Speaking of building goodwill (and yes, I'll stop with the movie references now), I don't take enough time here to thank the folks who support our site.  Chiliheads from around the country who pop in to visit us every week.  Thanks for taking an interest.  We have a lot of fun doing this, and it's always fun to hear from the folks who are looking in.

True story - my mother-in-law flags down a neighbor she doesn't really know to help her with something at her house.  Person is wearing a Bears shirt, so she tells the neighbor about the Chili site.  Neighbor says, "I know that site.  My son tailgates, and he's always trying out the new recipes!"

It's fun to hear stuff like that.

So this week, I just wanted to make sure to say thanks.  You'll notice on the front page that we've posted a couple of pictures from site visitors.  Rick L. and his wife Susan have made a lot of our chilies the past couple of years, and Rick supplied a lot of great photos for us this season from his sideline experience during week 2.  John D. and his family are former Chicago area residents who have moved South, but who have been following our Bears (and our site) faithfully.  Just wanted to say congratulations to their daughter and son-in-law on the new Bears fan in the family!

We're glad you check in every week.  All of you.  And if you stick around for a few more, you will have two full seasons of Bears chilies right there in your back pocket for your next neighborhood block party chili cook-off (talking to you, Cheryl L.), or your weekly Sunday game-watching parties (that's you, Ben E.).   

But before that, we have some games to play.

Now let's go beat the Pack!

 CHILI DAN

Posted by dawn2 at 10:27 PM | Permalink

So here in Chicago, sports radio is a-buzz with the Urlacher "dis" of current QB Rex, er, Jay Cutler.

First things first...I've been very unhappy with our starting Quarterback.  And no, it's not just because he's blocking the future of this franchise, a certain Mr. Caleb Hanie, who, yeah, I still have my man-crush on.  (Well have you seen him thread the needle during the pre-season - the guy hits his targets!).

I've been annoyed with Cutler's lack of accountability.  And I don't care if his receivers are inexperienced and running the wrong routes.  And I don't care if the O-Line is letting everything through.  What I care about is a Quarterback (and a Coach) with an inability to say "we're not playing well".  I've spoken about it before and I'll not belabor it.

But in another, altogether different case of a leader not being a leader, this week injured Linebacker Brian Urlacher took it on himself to make an unflattering, albeit indirect, comparison. 

"Kyle Orton might not be the flashiest quarterback," said our Captain, "but the guy is a winner..."

Now really, how are we SUPPOSED to read into that, Brian?  The front office made a mistake in trading Orton?  Cutler is all flash and no substance?  Cutler's a loser?

I mean, really - say what you will about Rex Grossman, Mr. Urlacher, but the guy was a winner.  Or, perhaps more correctly, the team he played on had a tendency to win. 

Think about Super Bowl champion QB Mark Rypien of the Redskins, about 20 years back.  He won a Super Bowl.  He was not, however, a winner. 

In one of life's great ironies, winning does not make you a winner.  It's a quality that is somehow separate from your actual results.  And to suggest we'd be better off with Orton is short-sighted at best (and then, only if you are not actually ON the team you're talking about), and at worst, well, at worst it would be proof that you are not, in fact, a "winner".

You're frustrated.  We get that.  We're frustrated too.  And you have the extra frustration of potentially having had the ability to fix some of it, had the injury not happened.

This doesn't help.  When Tank Johnson was in trouble, you stood by him.  You were a teammate.  Cutler, in his own way, is in trouble.  He's in a rough spot and trying to right the ship.  You HAVE to support him, because there are so many like me who will not.  Your team needs you. 

And Kyle Orton is not on your team.

 CHILI DAN

Posted by dawn2 at 08:51 PM | Permalink