Super Bowl

[Sgt. Pepper]

Who is gonna  watch?

Being a Raiders fan I loath the Chief's. Once again, Raiders fan, and I grew up loathing the other team in the Bay Area, the 9'ers. 

Now this year watching football me, and my wife have  been playing a game. Every time they mention or show Taylor Swift we take a toke. If they mention Tom Brady since he does not play anymore, and is irrelevant to any game, we take a toke. If she is not there we might have to invent a new S B toke game. Tom will be mentioned several times during the game and pre-game. 

Hopefully the commercials with be better this year. The game usually blows. 

Edited February 6 by Sgt. Pepper

[Larsongs]

I’ll be getting together with my family for SB Sunday.. Lots of food & libations.. Being from California I want to see a California team win… It will be a fun day!

[Murph]

23 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

 Every time they mention or show Taylor Swift we take a toke. 

That'll be an expensive game.

Is that legal weed, or are you funding the cartels?

[kidblast]

The wife wanted to do a super bowl party, even though we have no real affiliation to either team. 

(Pats fans, so yea  yuk it up!  We'll be back soon  orrrrrrrrrrrr maybe not..! LOL!  eeesh!)

so I guess a super bowl party we're havin...  what evah!

 

 

 

[Karloff]

I'll be watching.  I'm a Bears fan, so ... no dog in the hunt.  I don't understand the media's obsession with Ms. Swift

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, Murph said:

That'll be an expensive game.

Is that legal weed, or are you funding the cartels?

Don't you know how much legal weed costs? I just came back from Michigan, and its is not like smoking Mexican Rag Weed anymore, and it is really affordable. People with Botany degrees are growers now.

Edited February 6 by Sgt. Pepper

[SteveFord]

Of course I'll be watching.

This should be a really good game, the whole post season has been great.

[Karloff]

3 hours ago, SteveFord said:

Of course I'll be watching.

This should be a really good game, the whole post season has been great.

theres been some great games

[PrairieDog]

This bitter and disillusioned Minnesotan will be sitting out this thread….

[Murph]

22 minutes ago, PrairieDog said:

This bitter and disillusioned Minnesotan will be sitting out this thread….

You don't hear me bragging that the 85 Bears would clobber either of those teams.

But they would...

[Karloff]

3 minutes ago, Murph said:

You don't hear me bragging that the 85 Bears would clobber either of those teams.

But they would...

yes they would ...

[Sgt. Pepper]

26 minutes ago, Murph said:

You don't hear me bragging that the 85 Bears would clobber either of those teams.

But they would...

And they almost had an undefeated season, but Miami ruined that for them.

Edited February 7 by Sgt. Pepper

[Narwhal6]

Kinda lost interest once the Lions gave up a 17 point lead in the NFC championship game, thought for sure it would be their first appearance in the Superbowl.

Hard to pull for the 49ers as they eliminated my team, but tired of the media darling Chiefs and the additional attention due to Swift dating Kelce.

I'll have to give the nod to the young QB Purdy. When asked yesterday if he would feel bad about breaking Taylor Swift's heart if he and the 49ers defeat the Chiefs he simply replied; "No."

[Sgt. Pepper]

17 minutes ago, Narwhal6 said:

Kinda lost interest once the Lions gave up a 17 point lead in the NFC championship game, thought for sure it would be their first appearance in the Superbowl.

Hard to pull for the 49ers as they eliminated my team, but tired of the media darling Chiefs and the additional attention due to Swift dating Kelce.

I'll have to give the nod to the young QB Purdy. When asked yesterday if he would feel bad about breaking Taylor Swift's heart if he and the 49ers defeat the Chiefs he simply replied; "No."

I am sure Kelce's big helmet, and her millions will ease her right to sleep after the big game. Maybe if the Chef's lose, she can write one of her uplifting POP songs to make it all better. Men are playing football, and to make an extra buck they will take every angle they can to do so. Hey lets show Taylor as many times as we can, even  though she has no helmet on, and is totally irrelevant to the game. Go sing one of your c-rappy songs on tour that wow 14  year olds.

Edited February 7 by Sgt. Pepper

[saturn]

I think the Taylor Swift Derangement Syndrome is hilarious.  In the playoff game where the Chiefs beat my Ravens, the camera was on TS for like a total of 28 seconds. 

How many times did the camera used to show Jack Nicholson at Lakers games? I don't remember NBA fans losing their minds.  

[Sheepdog1969]

19 hours ago, Murph said:

You don't hear me bragging that the 85 Bears would clobber either of those teams.

 

19 hours ago, Karloff said:

yes they would ...

My Dad worked for A.E. Staley in Decatur, Il when I was little. Papa Bear bought the "team" from Staley's when they were called "The Decatur Staley's". My Dad was fortunate enough to meet George a few times because of that connection. (This may help those who wondered why the Bears mascot is named "Staley the Bear".)  Dad said being a Bears fan was in our blood.

When A.E.Staley's and Continental Food Products Company merged in the mid '80's, we moved up to Barrington Hills, Il, since my Dad was asked to run the new company's Pension/Benefit asset program. My family's Bears connections grew unexpectedly and exponentially in Barrington.

The Vice Principal of Barrington HS (when I attended) was Gary Fencik's Dad, and Gary's younger brother was my classmate. (I have so many great stories about Gary, BTW!) Sweetness, we found out, was our neighbor, and he and Connie, and the kids, lived down the street on Mundhank Drive.  Connie and my mom got to be friends and my brother would baby sit Jarrett when Connie had her hands full with newborn Brittney. Mike Singletary moved into that same neighborhood, just east of Walter's place, around that time. We got to know  Mike and Kim through the Payton's, and I think Kim was preggo with Kristen around then. She was the first of their 7 kids. Kristen's birthday is one day before mine, and she was born about a year or so after Brittney Payton.  Beyond talk of our family's Bears connection via Staley's, my Dad and Mike spent a lot of time talking about their hearing issues. My father is profoundly "hard of hearing", and he did not know that Mike was nearly deaf until I told him just before he met Mike for the first time at the Payton's. Mike's speech was extremely affected by his hearing loss, and with my dad's hearing issues, Kim and I had to translate quite a bit, mostly so my dad could understand Mike. Quality hearing aids were becoming available at that time, but were very expensive, and were only being prescribed by a handful of audiologists back then. I will be forever thankful for Mike and Kim's efforts that connected my dad with their audiologist who was able to allow my dad to regain a bit of his hearing. Mike was very private about his hearing issues and his speech limitations. I remember he and Kim very discretely signing to each other in ASL at get togethers.  Although Walter did not mind when my mom continually referred to him as "Sweetness", (Jeff and I always called him Mr. Payton or Sir), I never heard anyone call Mike "Samurai" except when I heard Hilgy call him that once. (That's an interesting story for another time that includes Butthead and beers.) Steve Fuller moved in a few houses up from the Singletary's around when Mike and Kim moved in, as I remember it. I only met him a few times, but he was very nice, always smiling, and was a towering man (6'4"), who made Sweetness and Singletary (5'10" & 5'11" respectively) look tiny! 

About 2 years later while I was attending the University of Iowa and working as the Assistant manager/Bartender at The Sports Column Bar & Grill, (owned by Don Stockfleet), I was again fortunate enough to spend more time with a group of '85 Bears, a few of which I already knew. Don Stockfleet had been Iowa's 2nd string center behind Jay Hilgenberg. Both of them were born in Iowa City, and they had grown up together, played ball together, and were inseparable until they graduated Iowa. After graduation, Donny stayed in Iowa City and opened a sports bar and Hilgy went to Chicago to play for the Bears in '81. Every year during the off season, Hilgy would come back to Iowa City and spend a few days with his brother Joel, (who also was a starting center at Iowa until '84 when he was drafted by New Orleans), his family, and his best friend Donny. Hilgy loved to drag a few of his Bears teammates to Iowa City each year for his visit, and Hilgy's status/history in Iowa City insured him and his crew the royal treatment. Donny's bar was "home base", and it was walking distance from the hotel suites, (at the nicest hotel Iowa City had to offer), where Hilgy and his boys would stay while in town.  Donny would assign his most trusted bartender to the group each year as a concierge/personal valet during their stay. This person  needed to know the town, the other bar and restaurant owners/managers in town, the local cops, the hotel management team, and be intelligent, resourceful, and confident enough to control the reigns of Hilgy's motley crew. He had to keep them all fed, happy, and entertained without letting them get to drunk, or getting into fights, or knocking up some freshmen girl, or getting arrested or hurt, etc.. Basically keeping them from doing anything that could jeopardize their NFL careers. They needed to be driven anywhere they wanted to go, no cabs or rides with anyone else, nor were any of them to go off alone. They were to never wait in line or wait for a table, nor were they to pay any tabs or have any tabs in their names. (All tabs/bills were to be set up and collected by the "concierge", and then given to Donny each night so he could pay and tip the appropriate business(') the next day.)This "job" got exponentially more difficult after '85. In '89, after working for him for 6 months or so, Donny assigned me the task. Other than knowing that my parents lived in the suburbs of Chicago, he had no idea of my Bears connections, (nor did he know my actual age. At the time, as I was using an altered ID to bartend). When he told me what he wanted me to do, (a week before Hilgy and crew were to arrive), I had never heard of this annual ritual, nor did I know that Donny was Iowa's center behind Hilgy, nor did I know about their Iowa City history and friendship. Since Donny loved to give orders and talk more than he liked to listen, I never got the chance to tell him about my family's relationship with the Bears, prior to Hilgy's arrival. When Hilgy, Joel, Butthead, Tom Thayer, and Dan Hampton arrived a week later, I greeted them as their airport shuttle arrived at the hotel. Their suites were ready for them, and I introduced myself as I escorted them to the top floor of the hotel. I then gave a brief history of my family's relationship with the Bears, from Staley's to Sweetness, Singletary, Fuller, and that I had met Hilgy and Butthead at Singletary's house a few years before. Any hint of uncomfortableness these adult professional athletes may have had with a teenaged college student being their valet/nanny for the next few days, evaporated immediately. Apparently, if Connie Payton and Kim Singletary liked me, they had no choice but to treat me well or face Connie and Kim's wrath. It was a fun 4 days and 3 nights, and I got to do it all over again with them a year later, (except for Hampton who couldn't come back for what ever reason. A kid named Cap Boso came instead, and I happened to know his uncle who lived in Barrington Hills, so we got along quite well too.) 

I was blessed with getting to know, and making friends with some of the greatest Chicago Bears ever to play the game, and with some of their family members too. Connie graciously reached out to us when she heard about my mother's passing, just as we were there for her and the kids in '99 when Walter died. Hilgy's dad Jerry, who was also an all American center for Iowa, an Air Force Veteran, and then an assistant coach at Iowa, died 1/14/24 at 92. Dad and I braved the cold and went to Iowa City on 1/28/24 for the informal memorial at Kinnick Stadium. Unfortunately, I did not get to speak to Hilgy, Joel or Donny.

Sadly, Mike McCaskey destroyed the proud GSH legacy of the Chicago Bears, and nearly 4 years after his death, the Bears have yet to recover. They are nearly impossible to watch and it's quite hard to remain a fan. After my mom passed, nearly a year ago, we decided to give up our season tickets. That kinda says it all. 

Edited February 8 by Sheepdog1969
typo

[Murph]

Damn, Dog, that's a helluva lotta Bear provenance.

It's amazing to me that no other team since has ever figured out how they could kill the quarterback so quickly, and make it look so easy.

It truly was a joy to watch.

[Sgt. Pepper]

13 minutes ago, Murph said:

Damn, Dog, that's a helluva lotta Bear provenance.

It's amazing to me that no other team since has ever figured out how they could kill the quarterback so quickly, and make it look so easy.

It truly was a joy to watch.

Now if you breath near the QB its a 15 yard penalty.  Don't men play this game? Its tackle football and you can't tackle the QB?

And the Pro Bowl is flag football. Not joking about that. 

Edited February 8 by Sgt. Pepper

[Karloff]

3 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said:

 

My Dad worked for A.E. Staley in Decatur, Il when I was little. Papa Bear bought the "team" from Staley's when they were called "The Decatur Staley's". My Dad was fortunate enough to meet George a few times because of that connection. (This may help those who wondered why the Bears mascot is named "Staley the Bear".)  Dad said being a Bears fan was in our blood.

When A.E.Staley's and Continental Food Products Company merged in the mid '80's, we moved up to Barrington Hills, Il, since my Dad was asked to run the new company's Pension/Benefit asset program. My family's Bears connections grew unexpectedly and exponentially in Barrington.

The Vice Principal of Barrington HS (when I attended) was Gary Fencik's Dad, and Gary's younger brother was my classmate. (I have so many great stories about Gary, BTW!) Sweetness, we found out, was our neighbor, and he and Connie, and the kids, lived down the street on Mundhank Drive.  Connie and my mom got to be friends and my brother would baby sit Jarrett when Connie had her hands full with newborn Brittney. Mike Singletary moved into that same neighborhood, just east of Walter's place, around that time. We got to know  Mike and Kim through the Payton's, and I think Kim was preggo with Kristen around then. She was the first of their 7 kids. Kristen's birthday is one day before mine, and she was born about a year or so after Brittney Payton.  Beyond talk of our family's Bears connection via Staley's, my Dad and Mike spent a lot of time talking about their hearing issues. My father is profoundly "hard of hearing", and he did not know that Mike was nearly deaf until I told him just before he met Mike for the first time at the Payton's. Mike's speech was extremely affected by his hearing loss, and with my dad's hearing issues, Kim and I had to translate quite a bit, mostly so my dad could understand Mike. Quality hearing aids were becoming available at that time, but were very expensive, and were only being prescribed by a handful of audiologists back then. I will be forever thankful for Mike and Kim's efforts that connected my dad with their audiologist who was able to allow my dad to regain a bit of his hearing. Mike was very private about his hearing issues and his speech limitations. I remember he and Kim very discretely signing to each other in ASL at get togethers.  Although Walter did not mind when my mom continually referred to him as "Sweetness", (Jeff and I always called him Mr. Payton or Sir), I never heard anyone call Mike "Samurai" except when I heard Hilgy call him that once. (That's an interesting story for another time that includes Butthead and beers.) Steve Fuller moved in a few houses up from the Singletary's around when Mike and Kim moved in, as I remember it. I only met him a few times, but he was very nice, always smiling, and was a towering man (6'4"), who made Sweetness and Singletary (5'10" & 5'11" respectively) look tiny! 

About 2 years later while I was attending the University of Iowa and working as the Assistant manager/Bartender at The Sports Column Bar & Grill, (owned by Don Stockfleet), I was again fortunate enough to spend more time with a group of '85 Bears, a few of which I already knew. Don Stockfleet had been Iowa's 2nd string center behind Jay Hilgenberg. Both of them were born in Iowa City, and they had grown up together, played ball together, and were inseparable until they graduated Iowa. After graduation, Donny stayed in Iowa City and opened a sports bar and Hilgy went to Chicago to play for the Bears in '81. Every year during the off season, Hilgy would come back to Iowa City and spend a few days with his brother Joel, (who also was a starting center at Iowa until '84 when he was drafted by New Orleans), his family, and his best friend Donny. Hilgy loved to drag a few of his Bears teammates to Iowa City each year for his visit, and Hilgy's status/history in Iowa City insured him and his crew the royal treatment. Donny's bar was "home base", and it was walking distance from the hotel suites, (at the nicest hotel Iowa City had to offer), where Hilgy and his boys would stay while in town.  Donny would assign his most trusted bartender to the group each year as a concierge/personal valet during their stay. This person  needed to know the town, the other bar and restaurant owners/managers in town, the local cops, the hotel management team, and be intelligent, resourceful, and confident enough to control the reigns of Hilgy's motley crew. He had to keep them all fed, happy, and entertained without letting them get to drunk, or getting into fights, or knocking up some freshmen girl, or getting arrested or hurt, etc.. Basically keeping them from doing anything that could jeopardize their NFL careers. They needed to be driven anywhere they wanted to go, no cabs or rides with anyone else, nor were any of them to go off alone. They were to never wait in line or wait for a table, nor were they to pay any tabs or have any tabs in their names. (All tabs/bills were to be set up and collected by the "concierge", and then given to Donny each night so he could pay and tip the appropriate business(') the next day.)This "job" got exponentially more difficult after '85. In '89, after working for him for 6 months or so, Donny assigned me the task. Other than knowing that my parents lived in the suburbs of Chicago, he had no idea of my Bears connections, (nor did he know my actual age. At the time, as I was using an altered ID to bartend). When he told me what he wanted me to do, (a week before Hilgy and crew were to arrive), I had never heard of this annual ritual, nor did I know that Donny was Iowa's center behind Hilgy, nor did I know about their Iowa City history and friendship. Since Donny loved to give orders and talk more than he liked to listen, I never got the chance to tell him about my family's relationship with the Bears, prior to Hilgy's arrival. When Hilgy, Joel, Butthead, Tom Thayer, and Dan Hampton arrived a week later, I greeted them as their airport shuttle arrived at the hotel. Their suites were ready for them, and I introduced myself as I escorted them to the top floor of the hotel. I then gave a brief history of my family's relationship with the Bears, from Staley's to Sweetness, Singletary, Fuller, and that I had met Hilgy and Butthead at Singletary's house a few years before. Any hint of uncomfortableness these adult professional athletes may have had with a teenaged college student being their valet/nanny for the next few days, evaporated immediately. Apparently, if Connie Payton and Kim Singletary liked me, they had no choice but to treat me well or face Connie and Kim's wrath. It was a fun 4 days and 3 nights, and I got to do it all over again with them a year later, (except for Hampton who couldn't come back for what ever reason. A kid named Cap Boso came instead, and I happened to know his uncle who lived in Barrington Hills, so we got along quite well too.) 

I was blessed with getting to know, and making friends with some of the greatest Chicago Bears ever to play the game, and with some of their family members too. Connie graciously reached out to us when she heard about my mother's passing, just as we were there for her and the kids in '99 when Walter died. Hilgy's dad Jerry, who was also an all American center for Iowa, an Air Force Veteran, and then an assistant coach at Iowa, died 1/14/24 at 92. Dad and I braved the cold and went to Iowa City on 1/28/24 for the informal memorial at Kinnick Stadium. Unfortunately, I did not get to speak to Hilgy, Joel or Donny.

Sadly, Mike McCaskey destroyed the proud GSH legacy of the Chicago Bears, and nearly 4 years after his death, the Bears have yet to recover. They are nearly impossible to watch and it's quite hard to remain a fan. After my mom passed, nearly a year ago, we decided to give up our season tickets. That kinda says it all. 

great story ! thank you

1 hour ago, Murph said:

Damn, Dog, that's a helluva lotta Bear provenance.

It's amazing to me that no other team since has ever figured out how they could kill the quarterback so quickly, and make it look so easy.

It truly was a joy to watch.

absolutely. Singletary & the boys carried on where Butkus left off ...

I was 5 or 6 1st time I remember watching football on TV Sunday after church. it was snowing, couldn't even see the field. every other play it seemed the announcer said" 51, Butkus for the tackle. 51 Butkus for the sack". I've been a Bears fan since ...

[Sheepdog1969]

37 minutes ago, Karloff said:

every other play it seemed the announcer said" 51, Butkus for the tackle. 51 Butkus for the sack". I've been a Bears fan since ...

Unfortunately, **** passed in October of 2023.

My Dad was barely able to attend the University of Illinois because his family was so poor. They literally played music, as a family, at local bars when dad was quite young, just for tips and food. Dad had to work in the dorm cafeteria to earn a few bucks to help with expenses while attending The University of Illinois. He was allowed to eat his meals with the athletes, who ate before the non athlete students in the same dinning room, so he could work the lunch line as a cafeteria assistant when the regular students ate their meals, (there were far more non athlete students who ate there each day than scholarship athletes who were fed an hour earlier in that hall, so dad's help was far more necessary in the cafeteria during regular dinning hours.) Dad said that he noticed that no one would sit near **** when he ate. Dad said he was truly like an animal, and he would grunt the few words he would speak, (if he was ever spoken to), as he devoured his meals. Dad felt bad for him, and he saw **** as Illinois' next Red Grange. So, Dad sat with him every chance he got. He admitted it was quite terrifying, and he told me that he never actually had a single meaningful conversation with ****. Dad told me that after 6 months or so of being the only person willing to sit at the same table with him, Butkus occasionally would look up from inhaling his food and acknowledge Dad with a simple head nod and/or tiny smile.  Dad said **** actually gave Dad that same head nod a few times as they crossed paths on campus. "**** was a real a$$ hole" my Dad would say, "but his meanness was unequalled on the field. He was a guy who actually played like he lived. He was my favorite Neanderthal."  I never forgot that.

#50 with The University of Illinois and #51 with the Bears. Both numbers are now retired. 

 

NOTE:   **** =  Richard. Thanks censors... ...NOT!

Edited February 8 by Sheepdog1969

[Karloff]

23 minutes ago, Sheepdog1969 said:

Unfortunately, **** passed in October of 2023.

My Dad was barely able to attend the University of Illinois because his family was so poor. They literally played music, as a family, at local bars when dad was quite young, just for tips and food. Dad had to work in the dorm cafeteria to earn a few bucks to help with expenses while attending The University of Illinois. He was allowed to eat his meals with the athletes, who ate before the non athlete students in the same dinning room, so he could work the lunch line as a cafeteria assistant when the regular students ate their meals, (there were far more non athlete students who ate there each day than scholarship athletes who were fed an hour earlier in that hall, so dad's help was far more necessary in the cafeteria during regular dinning hours.) Dad said that he noticed that no one would sit near **** when he ate. Dad said he was truly like an animal, and he would grunt the few words he would speak, (if he was ever spoken to), as he devoured his meals. Dad felt bad for him, and he saw **** as Illinois' next Red Grange. So, Dad sat with him every chance he got. He admitted it was quite terrifying, and he told me that he never actually had a single meaningful conversation with ****. Dad told me that after 6 months or so of being the only person willing to sit at the same table with him, Butkus occasionally would look up from inhaling his food and acknowledge Dad with a simple head nod and/or tiny smile.  Dad said **** actually gave Dad that same head nod a few times as they crossed paths on campus. "**** was a real a$$ hole" my Dad would say, "but his meanness was unequalled on the field. He was a guy who actually played like he lived. He was my favorite Neanderthal."  I never forgot that.

#50 with The University of Illinois and #51 with the Bears. Both numbers are now retired. 

 

NOTE:   **** =  Richard. Thanks censors... ...NOT!

these stories are great.  it's a testament that after all these years he's still considered the toughest ever ... 

[Sheepdog1969]

6 minutes ago, Karloff said:

these stories are great.  it's a testament that after all these years he's still considered the toughest ever ... 

Until now, I have never told these stories in a public forum like this. Obviously, our close family friends were told these stories, and more, but we always respected the privacy of any of our family friends and we limited details of what we told, and what we told was focused on the positive. I defiantly have some non publicized stories that aren't so upbeat, but none of them are as sordid as what we all hear about athletes and public figures today.   Every person I talked about here are/were genuine God fearing Christians who, in my opinion, were better human beings than I could ever hope to be. Even Butkus matured into a well spoken professional actor, commentator and loving parent. It is said that, "You should never meet your heroes", presumably because they could never meet the expectations that you have of them. Sadly, I could never meet the few humans I may have considered as "heroes", because like my great uncle who died on a beach at Iwo Jima, my "heroes" were military folks who sacrificed their lives defending Freedom.  Let me amend that statement. Not all of my heroes perished in war. That was a pathetically short sighted and careless comment. My heroes defiantly include  every single service member who returned from their service "different", mentally and/or physically, because of what they experienced in the service of our country. So, I never considered any athlete a "hero", solely based on their athletic achievement, just to be clear. The guys I have talked about here were "Grabowski's", and every real Chicago Bears fan knows what that means. (And their family members, who I mentioned here, were/are "Grabowski's too.)  Each one of them that I "met", exceeded my expectations, and to a person, they treated me and my kin as if we were family. 

Lastly, I should mention something that  George Stanley Halas graciously did for my father, and a few other A.E. Staley management team members in March of 1983, each of whom had continued to support his alma mater, The University of Illinois, with their personal funds, in lieu of corporate donations from A.E. Staley to the University, which had been discontinued by Staley's Board of Directors in 1982.  Apparently, the large share holding descendants (family members) of Staley founder Augustus Eugene Staley had ceased to remain as active members of the Staley Corporation, and no family members held positions on it's Board of Directors in 1982. As such, Staley's management team chose to end the company's decades long tradition of donating corporate funds to the University of Illinois. My Father, and a few other Staley management team members chose to continue this tradition of giving by collectively from their personal funds, (albeit a lesser amount  of total funding), to the University in the Staley name. George got wind of this, and as a token of his appreciation, he and the team members of the '83-'84 Bears presented signed team footballs to my Dad and the other management team members at Staley who had selflessly continued to "anonymously" donate their personal funds to the U of I in the Staley name. Essentially, these signed balls contained nearly every player who played on the '85 Super Bowl Champion team, including Halas, "Da Coach" Ditka, Buddy Ryan, Payton, etc., save for "The Refrigerator" Perry and a few other player added to the '84-'85 team. George died on October 31st, 1983, only months after this generous gift. Little did we know that the '85 Bears would win the Super Bowl, sadly without GSH at the helm.  Having George's signature on that football, along with the '83-'84 Bears team members/coaching staff, means more to my family than a signed '85 Super Bowl Championship football ever could. Dear God, my brother and I may have to dual with live pistols at twenty paces to determine who gets that ball when Dad dies, (since my Dad's mom lived to 103, we will be waiting awhile. Plus, I've always been the better shot, so screw you Jeff, LOL).  

[Sheepdog1969]

PS - Till the day my mother died, (actually till the day Frontal Lobe Dementia stole her memories from her), she HATED "The refrigerator" Perry because she thought he stole the touchdown that Walter "Sweetness" Payton deserved in the Super Bowl. (Which he never got, btw.) 

Edited February 8 by Sheepdog1969

[Sgt. Pepper]

52 minutes ago, Sheepdog1969 said:

PS - Till the day my mother died, (actually till the day Frontal Lobe Dementia stole her memories from her), she HATED "The refrigerator" Perry because she thought he stole the touchdown that Walter "Sweetness" Payton deserved in the Super Bowl. (Which he never got, btw.) 

They beat the scum bag Patriot's in that S B. It was the pre Bill Bella-d-ouche and Tom "Tuck Rule" Brady era.

As a Raiders fan I get to see endlessly the time Tom tucked it in and the F-ing Immaculate Reception as highlights at lease once a year at some point. But hey all the Jets fans get to relive the Butt Fumble, and the Bills get to relive - Wide Right.

Edited February 8 by Sgt. Pepper

[tx-ogre]

Haven’t watched an NFL game since week 3 of the 2017 season and have no desire to start again now.