The next two and a half months can be dreary and depressing for the die hard NFL football fan. For myself I’ll watch golf tournaments, including two majors and The Players. I’ll watch MLS matches and NASCAR races. I may even toss on an NBA or NHL playoff game or two as long as there isn’t a Seinfeld rerun airing at the same time. But there’s no football. None. Hell, even the coaches take vacations in June.
Today I am launching the BEARS FAN STORY PROJECT.
THE BREAKDOWN
In the early 1970s theatre director/choreographer Michael Bennett was given a sizable amount of money from Public Theatre founder Joe Papp to workshop a musical based upon the lives of Broadway dancers. Bennett gathered a collection of hoofers into a studio on Lafayette Street for a few months and they told stories. What emerged from those stories is the musical A Chorus Line – one of the most successful theatre pieces ever created.
Sports fans have great stories about their relationship to their favorite team. I’ve found Bears fans especially do. And now, because of technology, they are capable of sharing them to the world without having to gather in a studio at the Goodman Theatre.
I want to compile those tales. Will I ultimately turn them into an evening of theatre? Maybe. If I do your stories will receive all the credit they deserve. Will I simply post/air them on this website? Perhaps. That would certainly be the easiest way to share them. Will I compile them into a volume to share with the fans? It could happen if we receive enough tales of note.
WHAT DO YOU DO
Send me your stories. You can send them in one of three forms: written, audio, video. There are no restrictions or limitations on the stories. They can be as long or short as you want them to be. The only rule is they must involve the Chicago Bears and you.
Email me the stories – jeff@dabearsblog.com.
GET THE OLDER FOLKS INVOLVED
We don’t want these stories to be limited to folks under forty. You know, the ones who spend times on Twitter and on blogs. We want it to be all-inclusive. So get your fathers and grandfathers involved. Go over to their house and record a story of theirs. Then send it my way.
My hope is that we can create something special here. Something truly unique. But there is only so much I can do. Now it is on you. The fans. I look forward to checking the inbox.
