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St. Cloud State University
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Commentary
Fair-weather fan, I think not
By Cassie Swanson
Published:
Thursday, October 2, 2003
Cassie Swanson -- Staff Essay
If you happen to walk by the Stateview apartments Sunday afternoons and some Monday nights, prepare yourself for some commotion.
Coming to Minnesota from Illinois is rough enough. I pay out-of-state tuition, am endlessly taunted for being a FIB (if you don't know what that means, ask any Wisconsin native and they will gladly inform you that it is not some crazy way to spell FBI) but then I had to go and add something to it - I am a Bears fan.
I know, it's shocking, but living in a city neighboring Chicago, there just wasn't any way around it. Lucky for me this year, I have had the opportunity to watch most of the games. Did I say lucky? I don't think I meant that. It is comforting though. Despite their wretched stink this season, it is nice to be able to turn on the game and watch them run the wrong way for a touchdown for the other team or clobber one another for their own loose ball. Last year I only had the opportunity to watch when they played the Packers or Vikings, and frankly, no one wants to see the Packers kick them around like mice at dinnertime for the family cat. However (even though they beat us in Monday's game), the Packers are sharing a seat with the Bears in the "Man, we really stink this year" chair. I mean, they are not the team that they were the last couple of years and I think I find way more comfort in that than I should.
I had some hope in winning some games with the Vikings last year, but my hopes were dashed as the Vikings hold to their 4-0 record this season. I wonder if I should save myself the stress and just become a tennis fan. There really isn't any stress in watching tennis, except for the possibility of giving myself whiplash from the constant back and forth head turning. I could go the easy route and jump on the Twins' bandwagon, but since it will be Twins against the CUBS in the World Series, I'll have to pass. Yes, that's right, the Twins and the Cubs are playing in the World Series this year. Why you ask? Because I said so (won't I be a good mom!) I hear something, it's coming from the spirit world. Oh, CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN (I'm going to pay for that one, I'm sure - write your letters now!) Thanks Harry Caray.
Maybe I'll stick to football: At least injuries sustained from watching this game can be controlled by pushing one of my roommates out the window instead of banging my head against the wall when we trip over our own feet on the way to a two-yard touchdown. Sounds like a plan to me, my roommates may not be too keen on it, but it's all in the name of football.
One of my friends claims that he is a fan, and justifies dogging the team by saying that he is a realist. Maybe I'll take on his philosophy. It's true, the Bears really are playing poorly and I shouldn't have any hopes of them ever winning a game this season - I mean, we are 0-3. But that is too depressing for me, I like to hold on to the hope that eventually we will snap out of our little funk and kick some butt in the next game. What can I say, I'm a dreamer.
So, being that this is my last year here, I am going to continue to hold a candle for the Bears. I will not succumb to the pressures of being out-of-state, I will not let my light fade, I will not become a fair-weather fan! What I will do is cheer loudly every game, scream at the television screen and keep on wishing.
When you see the Bears on TV, think of me cheering (more realistically, crying) because, to me, even in 2003, the Bears are still the champions they were in the '80s - they're just a little rusty.
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