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Opening Day! Sept. 8th, 2002 Bears v/s Vikings
And what a beautiful opening day it was! The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and the garage door was open! Yes, that's right, 'da Scoiety has new digs…thanks to the St. Joseph Young Men's Society. Tables were set up just inside the garage for the goodies, and 'da Treas had another outside for 'da register. While he had a time trying to find everyone's new card, he was once again in his glory, collecting 'da bucks and punching 'da cards. And he had quite a few to punch…we had a record breaking opener with 56 card carrying members present! The cooks were no slackers either, as the table staggered under the weight of the snacks. We had everything from polish-tician made Salsa to not quite cooked through thighs by 'da Commish, 'da Treas brought his usual cookies, while 'da Mary treated us again to her parmesan wings. No one could beat the feast supplied by 'da Bopper and 'da Miss Hamilton…in addition to the yummy dips, salads and deserts, at the half they had a Lobster Boil, complete with drawn butter! Welcome to tailgating! Please come again! We had a surprise drive-by by Fred Brown who donated a new banner to adorn our register table, and 'da Gambler and Postmistress donated a no-longer used set of flag poles and staffs from 'da girl scouts for our American and Team flags. Do we have or s**t together this year or what?? After stuffing ourselves and admiring all our new gadgets, it was soon game time, so we headed into the stadium for the first game of the season. Go Bears! Beat Vikings!

'Da Opener
No only do we have ourselves together this year, but the bartenders are getting wiser also. A beautiful Bloody-Mary bar was set up, $2.50 gets ya a glass of ice and vodka from the bartender, and the fixings were set up in an ice tub to create your own. You name it; they had it, from celery to sausage, olives to onions…along with a variety of mixers. It was heavenly! Once we all had beverages in hand it was time to get to the serious business of kicking Vikings butts!

'Da Play By Play www.chicagobears.com
Jim Miller threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to David Terrell with 28 seconds left as the Chicago Bears earned a typical victory, 27-23 over the Minnesota Vikings in the season opener for both teams. On 1st-and-goal from the 9-yard line, Miller stepped into a collapsing pocket and threw off-balance to a leaping Terrell in the back of the end zone to cap an eight-play, 51-yard drive. "Those are the things he's good at," said Miller, who completed 20-of-33 passes for 297 yards with an interception. "We want him in the end zone jumping up and making those catches." The Bears trailed 23-13 with just over six minutes left when Anthony Thomas scored from one yard out. Miller also threw a TD pass to Marty Booker and Paul Edinger kicked two 49-yard field goals for Chicago, which set an NFL record last year by going 8-0 in games decided by seven points or fewer. "I would say the experience helped today," said Chicago's Dick Jauron, the 2001 Coach of the Year. "We have a bunch of guys who never quit believing they can win the game, regardless of the situation." Daunte Culpepper scored on a two-yard run and threw a 33-yard TD pass to Randy Moss for the Vikings, who had the advantage in rushing yards and time of possession but committed three of the game's five turnovers. "I was shocked by the outcome," said Vikings tight end Jim Kleinsasser. "Winning teams do not let that happen. We obviously have a lot of work to do." Minnesota seemed to take control of the game late in the second quarter. Doug Brien kicked a 22-yard field goal 3 1/2 minutes before halftime and Culpepper found Moss 2:29 later for a 20-10 lead. Moss, one of the best receivers in the league who has been promised a bulk of the action by coach Mike Tice, was held to six catches for 58 yards, although he had a number of balls thrown his way. Edinger booted his first field goal 4:32 into the third quarter to get the Bears within 20-13, but Brien kicked a 42-yarder 5:53 into the fourth to restore Minnesota's 10-point lead. Chicago answered with a five-play, 78-yard drive, which was set up by a 54-yard connection between Miller and Marty Booker. Thomas had a hand in the final four plays, running the last three to the right side for 19 yards. Minnesota's final possession ended with an interception as Culpepper threw well over the head of Derrick Alexander and watched safety Mike Brown corral the ball and return it 16 yards to midfield. Faced with a 3rd-and-2 on their final drive, the Bears gave the ball to Leon Johnson, who rumbled 13 yards to Minnesota's 43. Thomas later converted on a 3rd-and-1, battling for two yards to the Vikings' 19. After a 10-yard pass to Davis, Miller hit Terrell with the winning score. And the Stadium went wild!!! The cardiac kids are at it again!

'Da Important Stuff…
The first half 50/50 drawing was won by new member Sandy for $29.00 and the second half 50/50 went to Gunter II. Thanks go out to our new 50/50 gal Nan 'da Boo-Bear. Leslie 'da Rose too away 'da St. Joe Shirts drawing while 'da Pinky hit the board for $50 big ones. During 'da second half, Miss Hamilton was re-christened 'da Tooter-mistress, and had her own troop of tooter-ettes in training, while 'da Commish was training us all in a little "frustration Management" with 'da Treas bookie sheet.

Public Service Announcements
Remember your Bartender!! Also, remember the rule…no beverages may be brought into or out of the stadium!

October 19, 2002 Support your Polish-tician Mark Yagelski at his AYCE Spaghetti Dinner starting at 4:00 upstairs of 'da Stadium. $5.00 a head. Show Mark your support on the November ballot and come and stuff yourself with pasta too! www.mwinfo.com/mark

HOBO STEW! September 29th!! Bring your veggies! Next Week…Atlanta Falcons!

Sept. 15th Newsletter