Speedy Willie

Speedy Willie is Beautiful... and Homeless.

Have you seen this?  It's racking up the "hits" on YouTube the likes of which hasn't been seen since the first Obama Girl videos. Thanks Art!

And on to new news:

Additional lettering & pin striping was applied to Speedy's exterior.  I even assisted with placing the blue pinstripes on (and numbering).  And for that reason, I'm going to have to ask you to enjoy them from a distance of at least 2 meters.  Any closer than that and you will see that they are not perfect.  I'm an amateur, what do you expect?

Additionally, while Dave was doing God's work (what's considered "God's work" again?  Doesn't matter...)  I was doing some work beneath the vehicle.  I care not to go into too much detail at this time as to what that consisted of... (napping.) 

Anyways, While we were working, regrettable events transpired that led to the eviction of Speedy Willie from his lair. Now I'm not saying it was a good idea for me and Dave to be blowing off roman candles four at a time, but they weren't going to blow themselves off!  

And while not much of the preceding paragraph was accurate, at the end of the day, the result is the same.  We need a new location to store the bus.  Perhaps you or someone you know is in possession of 160 spare square feet that you would like to share.  If so, please do not be bashful.

Countdown to the Chicago Bears home opener:  Uh, 3 weeks or so?

Preseason Week 3 Recap

... Is pending.  Pictures and summary will be posted as soon as Anthony finishes ironing his work shorts.

And, without further delay, here it is!

August 21st, 2008:  Game 3 of the pre-season v. San Fransisco. 

With menacing storms on the horizon, Speedy Willie was pulled into the South Lot loaded and ready for the second home preseason game of 2008 by a group of gentlemen, coincidentally, ready to get loaded.   New to the festivities were cousins Dave & Bruce, sadly missing was the tremendous wit, humor and huge head of cousin Dominic. 

While Dave was busy taking compliments on the paint job from anyone and everyone, new and old friends joined the rest of the crew in knocking out four cases of beer, two bottles of vodka, a bottle of whiskey, dozens of burger, brats, chicken taryiaki(sp?) kabobs, and hotdogs. 

Suffice to say, this type of indulgence hasn't been witnessed in Chicago since the roaring twenties.  And like the glorious flying airships of the time, Anthony crashed and burned by game time.  That didn't stop the local Fox affiliate from rousing the kid around half time to get his ironic take on Bears fans drinking too much at games.  I have a Freedom of Information Act request in for a copy of the video, but reports are that he conducted himself very well on air. 

As for the game itself, the Bears lost while showing a step forward on Offense and a step backwards on Defense.  Patrick Mannelly was out of the game with a stinger, but is expected to return for the start of the regular season. 

Meanwhile, back in the South lot, things broke bad by the end of the game as anything left in the bus that could possibly  be put into a persons mouth was, well, put into peoples mouths.  There were reports of lady wrestling, motorboating and over flagging.  Thank the Gods we've made it through the preseason without ending up in the police blotter.  Once the noon games begin, the hi jinx on and around Speedy Willie should calm down.

Additionally

In other Speedy Willie news, August 23rd was the first Annual D. Cassata Picnic in the Woods to celebrate the end of Summer and my birthday.  The day featured friends, heavy rain, a White Sox loss on the radio, good food, drink, babies, bean bag games, dogs (hot and regular) and some sort of ethnic drum banging in the distance. 

Speedy Willie elicited one "Go Bears!" shout from a passing car, and served as an oasis from torrential storms on a couple of occasions. 

Kyle Orton Era 8/21/08 - Present

Kyle Orton is going to be fine.  He's going to manage the game, make the safe play, and have you heard about how big his hands are?  No fumbling, ever, according to the paper from the other day.  Besides, there's no need to worry when he's being protected by our stellar offensive line.  Kreutz, Tait, Beekman (pictured left), Metcalf, & Garza. 

Beekman?  Beeker?  At the end of the day, I'm not sure there's that much of a difference.

What about the ongoing exterior work being done on Speedy Willie?  I'm glad you asked.  Please see the Flickr feed on the right side of the page for pictures from last night's marathon painting session.  Every thing's shaping up very well. 

Any fans of Speedy Willie can check it out for yourselves in the Soldier Field South lot today from 3:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. If you're not able navigate your way to the bus using the North Star, keep an eye out for the twin 25" flag poles.  They're the most glorious of all the south lot. 

Speedy Willie's official prediction for tonights game:  49ers 24, Bears 13. 

Preaseason Week 1 Recap

Week one of the preseason brought the Kansas City Chiefs to town and ushered in the beginning of a new tailgating Era. Speedy Willie was unveiled to the public, and drew rave reviews.

The afternoon started off a little shaky as Anthony drove the bus up to the city with the emergency brake on.  That doesn't say much for Anthony's driving, but it also doesn't say much about the emergency brake.*

Pulling into the lot, there was a couple minute delay as the attendant was having a hard time operating the new scanning equipment. 

Once we arrived I announced the boom box didn't work, only to find out I was plugging in the ipod into the wrong hole. 

Luckily, none of these issues proved to be anything that could not be dealt with and we were able to continue as planned. 

The food and beverage was kept simple with Italian sausage, burgers & hot dogs on the grill, and various lite beers in the cooler.  After the game, Anthony set up an impromptu bar inside Speedy Willie for mixed drinks. 

There were 20 or so revelers that attended Willie Fest Week 1, and since I'm not good with names, I won't try and list anyone.  If you were there, you know who you are. 

The game itself was forgettable, so lets not talk about it.  Chris Williams is out, which pretty much means the offensive line is shot, which means the quarterbacks (regardless of who is starting) are going to be in trouble.  Can't pass, which means we can't run, which means the defense is going to be on the field at least 40 minutes per game.  Hello 3 - 13. 

Check out all the photos on the flikr page. 

Update on Mid-Game Tailgating

Check out this link.

The Daily Herald actually talked to someone who knew something about the ban.  Here's the important stuff:

"We are in no way saying that people are not allowed to tailgate before or after the game, because we still want fans to enjoy their game day experiences," he said. "But, people will be asked to leave the parking lots if they are in the parking areas after the game starts and do not have a ticket for the game."

That answers some of the question, but this quote covers exactly what our concern is:

"Also, people who have RVs can go into them and watch the game on their televisions if they so choose," he said. "We just don't want people roaming the parking lots if they do not have tickets."

Done.  And done.  Nothing to worry about.  Go Bears!

Mid-Game Tailgating Banned.

On the way into work this morning, there was a report on The Score that the Chicago Bears have banned tailgating during the game. I'm hoping this is a deal where security does a sweep mid-way through the first quarter and not a whole-game enforcement plan.

I'm really tiring of the year-in and year-out new rules that put the squeeze on fans. Who is going to these games and complaining enough to get these laws on the books? Was tailgating during the game really leading to some kind of a problem?

What about when Anthony leaves after the first quarter? What's he supposed to do? Can he still take a nap in the porta-John? Or are those going to be padlocked?

This is just one more way that the NFL is turning honest people into criminals.

Preseason Week 1

Good Afternoon,

We are officially 3.5 days from the first game of the pre-season, and this should give us the opportunity to straighten out some of the tailgate play book before the regular season begins.  The paint and graphics that are up so far look incredible, and once it's completely finished, I think we'll have something to be really proud of. 

Cousins Dave, Dominic & Uncle Jerry spent Saturday morning at the Speedy lair.  We've got "Chicago Bears" and the helmet up on both the port and the stern, as well as "In Ditka We Trust" on the aft bumper, "Cassata" and the Chicago Bears bear head logo on the bow of the ship.  (i'm not 100% sure if I used port, stern, or aft correctly.)

I also removed one of the rear seats in order to fit the coffin cooler / table / other items in better.  The front and rear license plates are also up.  (Please forgive the poor quality of the pictures as they were taken with a cell phone.)

Anthony, let me know if you are going down there on Tuesday to do some work.  I think it'd be a good idea to see if we can get a car stereo installed as well as some speakers.  Otherwise we're back to using the boom box for the first week.  I'll come down whenever you go, because that's the type of guy I am.  

Speaking of audio, I've added a couple of songs to the playlist.  Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins, The Underdog by Spoon, C'mon Feel The Noise by Quiet Riot, Runnin With The Devil by Van Halen & Live and Let Die by GNR. 

We've had some requests through the website to join us in the south lot.  Here's who we've heard from:  Christian D., Mike M., and Brian R.  Unless we run into an unforeseen issue fitting Speedy Willie in the lot we normally are in, you'll be able to find us between the south parking garage and old McCormak center.

If you would like more information, please contact whichever Cassata you are most comfortable talking to, or click on the link under the E-mail heading, "Tailgate Invitation Request."

What else? 

***Update***  I dropped off the two new 25 foot flag poles at the bus today.  They're about 3 inches in circumference at the bottom, and appear to be as solid as it gets.  We'll use the two remaining poles from last year for the time being. Additionally, I've added a couple of new pictures to the post here, and 3 more on the right side flikr gallery.  Enjoy.