Why I Oughta...

Earlier in March, posted a few pennants from my childhood including this 1984 Illini Rose Bowl beauty , this vintage totally 80's Epcot Center pennant and this pair of Chicago Sting ones from their time at the Rosemont Horizon. Today comes a pair of Chicago Bears pennants from 1984 and 1985:  both featuring NFC championships.  The first one is from 1984 - the year BEFORE THE YEAR - when they (apparently) won the 1984 NFC Central Division Championship.   Next up is this NFC Champions pennant that calls out Super Bowl XX in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on January 26, 1986.  But, I'm pretty sure that this one was printed AFTER they won the Conference Title game and BEFORE the Super Bowl. These totally remind me of my childhood.  And...of course, they remind me of my dad.  The original collector in my life. 

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...

I came across this vintage Chicago Bears helmet bank from All American Bank of Chicago up in Wisconsin at an Antique Mall.  There were a pair of them - this one and another one with a weird bird logo on the helmet.  Nat and I were puzzled by that one, so I only bought this one.  This is intended as a gift for one of my brother-in-laws.  Those of you who have kept up with the blog over the years might recall this sweet vintage White Sox bank that I posted back in 2014.  I gifted that bank to the same brother-in-law that this one is destined to be gifted to at some point.  Christmas is the likely time when I will give this, but maybe birthday season? This is from the All American Bank of Chicago, which appears to be a "failed bank" per the FDIC . As for the bank, you'll note that it has the all-white "C" on the sides.  According to this page, that logo was in use from 1962 to 1973 .     So this helmet was a give-away from the bank somewhere in the 1960'

My parents moved out of my childhood home a few years back.  I posted about it here on the blog in January of 2016 .  Right before they left, they had an Estate Sale that featured a bunch of their stuff, but mostly my Dad's collections.  Oil cans, automobilia, pottery, toasters, radios and plenty of junk.  There were also a few boxes that he had brought home from his office at Governor's State decades before that I didn't ever see or come across in digging through his stuff like up in Michigan and what-have-you.   In those boxes were a bunch of Chicago Bears memorabilia - pennants, glasses and this photo featuring my favorite player Dan Hampton and (in the background) Coach Mike Ditka (in a great pear of coaches shorts).   The writing on the matte say it is from August of 1986 in Platteville Wisconsin.   I've posted another Dan Hampton photo here on the blog from my childhood .   He was my favorite and I'm thinking he was my Dad's, too.   Ba

Consider this the second in the series of Snapple Chicago Bears "Real Facts".   Here's the first one on the blog that features a little nugget about their 2002 season that was spent down in Champaign at Memorial Stadium . Seems like a totally random campaign, doesn't it?  Are these 'facts' localized to the NFL markets?  Don't get me wrong...I love me some Diet Snapple Half/Half and Peach Tea, but this weird campaign?  Not so sure. But, back to the fact.  They moved into Soldier Field just back in 1971?  Hard to believe, right?   The Chicago Cardinals used it before the Bears it seems , while the Bears played at Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970 .  

This whole thing isn't just about the new coach.  It is about a new moment.  One where the Fighting Illini aren't being discussed in the news for scandals or embarrassing moments.  But for making a bold and decisive decision that is the first step in a long journey back to relevance.  Thanks, Josh Whitman. #WEWILLWIN pic.twitter.com/eIC379IiyD — Josh Whitman (@IlliniAD) March 7, 2016