The 2010 Bears Fan Expo: A Fan’s View
Published by Bryan Dietzler on May 2, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
My family and I attended the 2010 Chicago Bears Fan Expo at Soldier Field this past weekend in what has quickly become a regular family tradition. I have never gone to an Expo that I haven’t yet liked, but I felt that this year’s expo would be different since it was going on during the 2010 NFL Draft and the coaching staff and upper management would not be in attendance. I had grown accustom to listening to the head coach Lovie Smith and general manager talk about the team and I wasn’t sure just how good this expo would be.
Even without the coaching staff available, the Expo was a success in my eyes. Not only were there opportunities to meet the players (and get autographs) but there were also several seminars to listen to and hear draft analysis, some Chicago Bears history and a little insight into what some current Bears players think of the team.
Each year I go I try to sit through as many seminars as I possibly can and I had the chance to sit through three of them this year. With Bears play by play radio announcer Jeff Joniak emceeing the event, I started off by listening to some of the current Bears defensive players discuss the upcoming season. The guys at this seminar included linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, linebacker Nick Roach, defensive end Israel Idonije and the ever popular and newly acquired Julius Peppers.
The conversation that came out was very interesting, including a comment by Tinoisamoa about the Bears fans when he first came to Soldier Field with the Rams and heard the fans as the Bears were losing to the Rams (back when the Rams were much better). He mentioned that despite the fact Chicago was losing that game, the fans were still in the game, still loud and still cheering the Bears on. It was a great credit to the Bears and their fans.
Jay Cutler, Caleb Hanie and Chester Taylor were up next to talk about the offense and Cutler, as he did at last year’s expo, was all smiles and quite funny making comments to the fans. He is one of the most entertaining speakers I have ever seen and think that he has fast become a fan favorite. Hanie didn’t have much to say but Taylor said some good things and seems to be a guy who really has things put together.
Since the Expo took place during the 2010 NFL Draft, the guys from the Bears play by play booth (Joniak and former Chicago Bear Tom Thayer) gave us all an update towards the end of the Expo covering the Bears picks along with draft picks from the other teams in the NFC North. Getting the information from these guys, pretty much without bias, was interesting and I learned a lot about all five of the Bears picks from both Joniak and Thayer. It was great because I didn’t watch the last day of the draft on television so I didn’t have much of an idea what was going on.
Autographs were much easier to get this year as well and I didn’t have to stand in line too long to get autographs from some of the top players. Speaking of autographs, Cutler did a “kids only” autograph session limited to 150 kids which was very nice and it gave the kids a chance to talk personally with the Bears quarterback. The kids say that it was a great time and a moment that they won’t forget.
The Expo typically features a lot of other things on the side such as games for children and adults as well as vendors and sales. There appeared to be fewer vendors this year than in years past and that was somewhat disappointing. There were good vendors but not enough to have the variety that has been seen in years past.
The day ended with some discussion by Bears President Ted Phillips. Despite the fact that he receives a lot of criticism, he is a good speaker and does tell things like it is. It’s always nice to hear from some of the upper level executives of the organization and without Angelo or Smith present it was nice to hear from Phillips.
This is an event that I have attended on a regular basis and feel that every Bears fan should go to if they want to get a true sense of what it’s like to be inside the Bears. It’s nice to see the players and coaches up close and in person and listen to what they have to say. It’s very nice to have a chance to interact with the players as well.
If anyone else went to the Expo this past weekend please share your favorite experiences. It would be nice to hear what other people think of the Expo.
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