Speedy Willie

Week 10: Titans at Bears

The Chicago Bears played host for the third consecutive week in what must have been the NFL schedule maker's attempt to wear down the loyal Bear fan.  I'm sure they were laughing at us, because it worked.  The Week 10 festivities were made up of a series of minor disasters which earned the title of "The Worst Tailgate of the Year." 

The Saturday before the game was spent picking up new accessories for Speedy Willie: The Hitch Haul II & a propane powered dual heater.  Assembly of these items, unfortunately, was required and completed in the hallway outside of Anthony's condo.  It was a grueling hour filled with the type of frustration felt only by those accustomed to playing billiards on a boat.  Tools (and coordination) were needed that we didn't have, instructions were read and re-read, and pieces of metal had to be bent that required Anthony put on his Superman costume. 

Alas, the hitch basket provided tailgaters more room inside Speedy Willie, and the heater intermittently provided much needed warmth.  The heater "flamed out" once per quarter hour resulting in an overpowering propane fume cloud over the tailgate, which may explain some of the bizarre behavior that went on.  Additional bad things:  Blown out speaker, bad football game & ipod running out of battery. 

Silver linings include excellent offerings from the grill, a slightly better turn out than expected and tons of left over beer.  PLUS:  New indoor storage was acquired for Speedy Willie, and it's in a very convenient place, at a very reasonable price.  WELL DONE!

The next home game is Sunday, December 7th against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Long range weather estimates from the 2005 Farmers Almanac say it'll probably be in the mid- 50's with scattered clouds.  Let's do it.  

Week 9: Lions at Bears

Who knew former Minnesota Viking wide out Chris Carter also did some driving?  Mr. Carter was enlisted to drive Speedy Willie up to the city Sunday morning, and did a bang up job.  Literally.  Inspection of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of twelve separate raccoon face prints in and around the grill area. 

Admittedly, though, our raccoon expert's credentials left much to be desired.  The best we can tell is Christopher "The Driver" (using the parlance of our times,) took every forest preserve access road he could find in his route from Willowbrook to Chicago.  The good news is, raccoon faces are small, and little evidence remained once we finished with the rubber mallet. 

On to the festivities!  Uncle Jerry's birthday was celebrated by one and all while sharing in various beverages and Italian styled meats (supplied by Uncle Jerry & Aunt Ginny.) The weather was perfect, the new shelves were marveled at, and a new hitch was magically installed by Will at Sparky's.

SW's resident DJ had an excellent day.  Here's the new additions to the playlist:  Chelsae Dagger, A Milli, Baby Got Back, Staying Alive, Tootsie Roll, Hey Ladies, Hot N Cold, Angel, Just Lose It, Let it Rock, The Queen & I, Handlebars, Lollipop, and Staring Through My Rearview. The stereo broke down, but happened at an excellent time, which is right after everyone left for the game. 

Some of our party goers even watched the game inside the bus, which turned out great!  As day turned to night, Speedy Willie was packed up and headed out of the south lot.  Another successful tailgate completed.   

Next week, The Chicago Bears host the Tennessee Titans in a rematch of that terrific game from who knows when.  (Have they ever even played?)  Rex will be at the helm of the offense, and the bears defense is due to come out of it's slumber.  Should be another victory. 

What did I miss?  Why don't you take a moment of your precious time to share a story from your visit to Speedy Willie in the comments section?  It's about time someone did.

P.S., I had to use the group photo which actually contained all of Uncle Jerry, considering it was his birthday and all...  In that picture, you'll see on the t.v. screen that we were able to teleconference in Andy Samberg from TV's Saturday Night Live  (and movie's Hot Rod, which was hilarious).  This marks the first appearance of a celebrity to a Speedy Willie tailgate.