[CBFF] Back from Houston

[Steve Behrens]

If nothing else, very entertaining..... which is everything, actually.

Good job.

-Behr


On 8/12/07, Matt Langschwager <matthewindc at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> OK, so I went to the game and saw the Bears win.  Woot.  Here's my account
> of what happened:
>
> Pregame:  Reliant Park is nice, and pretty easy to find if you're somewhat
> familiar with Houston.  Although all parking surrounding the stadium is
> prepaid passes only.  (Hmm, this might be what the Bears do too, only I
> wouldn't notice because I never drive to SF...)  I grabbed a spot in a
> nearby stripmall for 10 bucks.
>
> Found my seat.  Lo and behold, several Bears fans right behind me,
> including one really big loud one named Tony who spent his night harassing
> the section's Texans fans.  The Bears take the field in the blue unis...
> wait, what?  This prompts an argument between me and Tony about what color
> the Bears wear at home.  He was wrong, but it's hard to argue against a guy
> that big and that drunk.  I later comment that if the uniforms are the
> biggest thing we have to argue about, the Bears must be in good shape.
>
> So Houston was wearing white at home, like Arizona, Dallas and
> Washington.  Which would make sense, with the heat and all in August, except
> that Reliant's roof is closed, and the inside is air-conditioned.  Okay
> then.  Makes me wonder how often they actually play outdoors (I'm guessing
> around zero times.  Off-topic: Astros day games are AC'd too.  Houstonians
> are wimps.)
>
> Reliant is a nice Stadium for a dome.  Great sight lines, but a little
> reverb in the audio.  I was in the upper deck endzone because I'm
> cheap.  Binoculars might have helped, but their absence didn't hinder my
> enjoyment.
>
> Houston player intros are interesting.  The announcer says the first name,
> then the crowd is supposed to say the last name.  It's probably more
> impressive with a packed house during the regular season.  The participation
> continues when Houston gets a first down, too.
>
> Houston has cheerleaders.  Nuff said.
>
> First Quarter:
> Rex looks good.  Really good.  The first pass to Olsen, and especially the
> dump off to Benson while under pressure.  It's a shame they didn't let Rex
> go deep, but it's only a stupid preseason game.
>
> Benson looks good too.  The first tackler can't bring him down.  Although,
> the Texans fans got excited when Benson was popped good by a second
> defenseman on one play.
>
> I especially like the absence of three-and-outs.  Much better than last
> year's preseason opener.  One decent drive, and one "get out of your
> endzone" drive.  After the first strings leave, the Bears are beating the
> Texans in every stat except the score.
>
> There's a Niners fan behind me too.  We're discussing whether Rex is a
> hindrance to the Bears championship hopes when Griese throws the pick.
>
> Texans fans are realistic about their team.  The people on my right know
> that when Houston gets to the red zone, it's Kris Brown time.  It's fun
> watching the Bears stiffen up inside the five.  Brown nails his second: 6-0.
>
> Second Quarter:
> I'm still arguing with the Niners fan as the Bears somehow march down the
> field and score.  I missed almost the whole thing; I did see the Hester
> completion.  I'd find out at the end of the game that the TD pass was to
> Obafemi "Steroid" Ayanbedejo.
>
> Houston takes the kickoff back 70-odd yards.  THAT gets Reliant
> pumping.  All's for naught.  Kris Brown makes it 9-7.
>
> I go get another beer, some more football happens, and at halftime it's
> 12-7.
>
> Halftime:
> Houston's got cheerleaders, and a pep band.  Three kids did some obstacle
> course thing.  I don't think it can hold a candle to the frisbee dogs.
>
> Third Quarter:
> Reliant Stadium has some Really good chili cheese fries.  Man, these
> things are tasty.
>
> The forty-eight fluid ounces of Shiner Bock have officially settled in.  I
> was at the snack bar getting my fries, and chatting with Bears fans.  One
> asked me why Urlacher wasn't playing tonight, ie injury?  I stared back
> blankly.  Yeah, I didn't realize Urlacher hadn't played.  Love that
> Shiner!  (Although the height of my seats made uniform number recognition
> difficult, too.)
>
> Fourth Quarter:
> Looking back, I kind of stopped paying attention to game around the time
> Orton came in midway through the second quarter.  I kind of foresaw the rest
> of the game being Houston kicking more FGs: final score 24-7. The Houston QB
> fumble (note: Houston fans do not like Brad Van Pelt, their 3rd QB) perked
> me up, but I was too slow on the draw to capture on camera video the Bears
> TD on the first play of the fourth quarter as it happened right below
> me.  Okay, it's the beer's fault.  C'est va vie.
>
> With the Bears now within five points, the game became
> interesting.  Besides rooting on the Bears, I joined the folks next to me in
> calling for Jerod Zabransky to come in and save the day for Houston, even
> though they were still technically leading.
>
> Orton shook off the jitters and led the Bears to two FGs, and Brad Van
> Pelt occupied space on the playing field.  Calls for Zabransky were not
> returned.  I strolled back to my car, high-fiving other Bears fans I came
> across.  Then it was simply a matter of navigating post-game traffic until I
> could on the interstate, and back to Louisiana.  (I stopped drinking at
> halftime, and so was good to go for the four hour drive back.  No problem!)
>
> All in all, twas a worthwhile trip, and I look forward to going back again
> next year when the Bears play the Texans during the regular season.
>
> Preseason games are pretty fun to attend, as you don't get those stress
> levels as the game counts down, but you can still enjoy a victory!
>
> Pictures/videos will come later this week, when I finish installing my new
> camera's software.
>
> Matt
>
>
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