Susan's Journey
Oh, it was ladies’ night and the Chicago Bears treat their ladies right. Picture this: More than 500 adoring female fans lined up in the Soldier Field parking lot donning orange and blue, heels and Ugg boots, and carrying photos and footballs from Walgreens that they hoped their favorite players would sign.
Fortunately we got there 20 minutes early, and after waiting in a line equivalent to the American Eagle rollercoaster line at Great America (next year, we will camp out on the field the night before), the doors flew open and we entered into a football wonderland.
Our first activity was a tour of the locker room and the field. Definitely the best part. And actually Lisa and I, along with our new friend Amy, lost our group and the group after that because we were having so much fun trying on helmets and sneaking into the showers!
A few lessons learned from Chicago Bears equipment manager Tony Medlin:
• Players bring two jerseys to each game so they have a back-up
• The players must wear uniforms and equipment displaying logos of their brand sponsor or they are fined $$ (it’s different for every team, Brian Urlacher, for example is sponsored by Nike)
• The Chicago Bears lockers are organized by position
• The players’ shoes have their own carrying case!
• And Lisa asked the question everyone wanted to know – “why do the players wear elbow pads?” The Answer: To make their arms look bigger…ha
Chicago Bears Equipment
Chicago Bears Locker Room
After the locker room extravaganza, we got to walk out by the field. The grass is sooo green and, from that vantage point, 10 yards doesn’t seem like that much space to cover! I know, I know – I need to walk a mile in their cleats before I say that….
Goofing Around at Soldier Field
So, all in all, Ladies Night got it right. In fact, my friend Mark was quite jealous. While having drinks on Saturday, he wanted to know why they don’t have a “Chicago Bears Guy’s Night.” Hmm…isn’t that every Sunday night?
this is genious