Why I Oughta...

Thanks to our good friends who have Chicago Bears season tickets, I'm now the proud owner of this Red Grange - the Galloping Ghost - Bobblehead courtesy of United Airlines.  This is the first in what the Bears are billing as a season-long program of bobbleheads that will be released at every one of their 10 home games. The full list of this year's Bobbleheads : Red Grange Bill George Coach Ditka (with his sunglasses) Bronco Nagurski (with a sweet uniform) Sweetness - Walter Payton Brian Urlacher Sid Luckman Gayle Sayers AND Dick Butkus (they put both on one statue???) Mike Singletary Devin Hester Some of them are way more attractive (to me) than others.  Of course, the top on the list - Red Grange - is the one that I'm most interested in (not just saying that because that's the one I am in possession of right now!).  But, Da Coach Ditka one is awesome, too.  Those would rank highest.  The dual Gayle Sayers/Dick Butkus one is weird to me.  I mean...

Back in 2011, I posted here on the blog about how the University of Illinois Athletic Department was rolling out a limited number (just 77 of them.  Get it?  Grange was #77??) mini replica statues of the famous (and massive) Red Grange statue that sits on the west side of Memorial Stadium . But they were $4800.  Wowsa.  Obviously, I passed. Fast forward to this fall and the Athletic Department announced that for Homecoming they were going to give away smaller replica statues to the first 5000 fans who entered Memorial Stadium for the game against the Minnesota Gophers.   We weren't heading to Homecoming, so I figured I would have to hop on Ebay to find one of these to sit on my desk.  Welp, the first few weeks after the giveaway, there were a few statues popping up on Ebay, but the auctions were driving the prices pretty high (at least for me!) and I just stayed on the sidelines.   But, I kept 'watching' auctions and I finally found one that looked like

A few days ago, I posted a couple of photos from our visit to the Legacy Lounge in the Northwest corner terrace of Memorial Stadium down in Champaign that included finding one of the team photos that I was in from my days on the Fighting Illini squad in the late 90's.  But, this was our first trip down that we were able to enjoy the *kinda* new Grange Grove. The Athletic Department christened the Grange Grove for last year's season and it has been a big hit.   From FightingIllini.com : Grange Grove has transformed what was previously Lot 36, the parking lot directly west of Memorial Stadium, into a free, high-energy tailgating area, which Fighting Illini fans of all ages can enjoy. When we arrived a few hours before kickoff, the place was jumping!  There was a band playing on one side and the beer garden was loaded with alums and students.  It was Dad's day, so it appeared that a few Fraternities had their "Football Block" on site in the Grange Grove and

Could there be a better Block I Card Stunt than this one at Homecoming this past weekend? Home is right. ( They did a cute Red Grange one , too.)

  Last week, the University of Illinois Athletic department sent out an email to fans/alums/supporters/donors hawking this 24" Red Grange sculpture that is an exact replica of the spectacular statue that they put up a few years back at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.  The idea is great, but the price is crazy.  $4800 for one.  I understand that they're limiting the production to just 77 pieces (get it?  Red Grange's number was 77), but they should make something more affordable.   A few years back, I bought a bronze(ish) statue of Chief Illiniwek.  I'm not certain what it is made out of, but it wasn't crazy expensive.  Probably a few hundred bucks.  I would like nothing more than to add this Grange statue to my Chief statue.  But,  until they make a ton of them out of something other than bronze, I have a feeling that I won't be able to explain a $4800 charge to our credit card to Nat.   As a side note....have you checked out the Grange statue in person