I’ll begin by ‘fessing up. I have not been a Bears fan since birth. My young, formative years were spent as an avid Vikings fan.
WAIT! Don’t spit at your screen.
Understand that the combination of my Norwegian heritage (uff-da!), loving the color purple, seeing those helmets with the horns and having a head coach with the same moniker as my father (Bud) created a perfect storm that sucked an impressionable young sports fan into the abyss of Vikings-dom.
So how did such a perfect, purple storm subside and turn that lad into a Bears fan? First, my favorite Vikings were cast away on firey longboats. Well, they were released, traded or retired. At the top of the list were Bill “Boom-boom” Brown, 
Joe Kapp, and Gary Larsen,whom I still consider three of the toughest S.O.B.s to ever strap on a helmet (one bar face-mask in the case of Kapp). More of my favorites left the ranks through the next several years, but 1978-79 was the shot to the heart when the Purple People Eaters (coolest nickname for any unit of any team) were sent to Valhalla.
The players that were left were not MY Vikings. And I started to spend more time watching the Bears with my dad (who had sat fairly quietly the previous purple filled years) and following the hometown team. Then the final emotional ties were severed with the closing of the Met and the end of outdoor football in the land of the Vikings ended our relationship.
Since this was well before ESPN, cable and satellite, even as a Vikings fan, most of the games I watched were local Bears telecasts. I started listening to my dad more during the games and really got caught up in the history of the Bears. Though not as young, I was still as much a fan, and turned my attention into devouring as much information as I could about the Beloved. And what a great time to do that. Payton was finally getting a line in front of him and years of high draft choices built themselves into the 85 championship team.
Though there have been nothing but disappointments and blown opportunities since SB XX, my devotion has done nothing but grow. And little gives me more joy than watching a Bears – Vikings game with my two younger brothers…both Minny fans undoubtedly because their older brother raised them that way. We call the two meetings every year Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II. Whoever wins gets bragging rights and free beer.
And that’s the best part about being a fan of any team. But it’s just sweeter being a Bears fan.
So here’s the blog, all the poop I can muster about the Bears. Opinion, news, insight, some multimedia, pictures, noise, and anything else. Hope you enjoy the visits and make them often!
