Your friendly neighborhood new WCG writer signing on for the first time. Proceed behind the curtain for some background information and possibly humorous content.
I'd like to thank Dane and the WCG staff for permitting my craziness to grace this wonderful site. I'm a relative newbie to the site, but I hope to bring you a steady diet of informed opinion and analysis coupled with random acts of absurdity. For those of you curious about the men and women who control our Bear-related destinies, here's a little sampling of what the interview process is like for a WCG writer (disclaimer: may or may not include actual facts).
- Submit writing samples to Dane with email gushing about how great he is
- Background check
- Provide incriminating photo from youth that may be held against me if I'm late on a submission
- Breathalyzer
- Answer "is Just Dave funny?" question (correct reply is "meh")
- Correctly spell Steven S.'s last name
Some fun facts about me:
My sports background includes a love of all things Chicago, except the Cubs because I'm not a masochist. I'm a father of a three-month old who dominates my life but makes each day fun and interesting. My last job was as a college women's volleyball coach - if being around fifteen college-aged women sounds like your dream job, then you sir are sadly mistaken. Since I have a coaching background, I have respect for all coaches simply for being in a profession that grinds your personal life to a halt and consumes every moment of your being, but I still can't believe Lovie Smith didn't throw the flag on Cutler's fumble against the Skins. Also, I believe Angelo is secretly controlled by a tribe of howler monkeys living off of Wisconsin cheese in the catacombs of the Metrodome.
Like fellow new contributor Sam, I never played football, but have consumed every great and miserable season the Bears have endured since I can remember. I grew up on Sweetness running over defenders, the eyes of Singletary barreling into my soul, and some bumpkin named Favre destroying many a chance we had at success. I loved the grit of Harbaugh, the hitting of Carrier, the corkscrew approach of Edinger, and cursed the existences of Salaam, McNown, Terrell, while still finding the time to laugh at Curtis Enis.
For many fans, the top Bear moments include championships or milestones, from the Fridge rumbling into the end zone to Papa Bear running the show back in the day. For me, the moments I remember are when I was a young buck in the late 80's and early 90's, back when we were still "da Bears" and had a good chance each season to make a playoff run. I remember swiping my parents portable 3" tv off the kitchen counter and watching a tiny black and white screen in my room under the covers as the Bears played Monday Night Football. I did that every time they were on MNF, watching in silence and constantly manipulating the stupid antennas in order to watch our team try and fight off the Montana and Young led 49ers (which we didn't). The team has given me a lot of grief and great moments over the years, but to this day nothing tops twelve-year-old me getting to watch the Bears on Monday Night Football on what I have to believe was the worst television in history. Feel free to throw in your best Bears' memories over the years in the comments section.
Lastly, I'd like to try and do a semi-regular mailbag post with you on a variety of topics, football or random. Think of it as a free-flowing Q-and-A slash b.s. session that still adheres to the rules of the land (by the way, my high school English teacher's head just exploded after I wrote that last sentence). If you're interested, email me and we'll see if the interest is there. Otherwise, I look forward to a great season of FOOTBALL!