Ah, autumn. It spent the last week pissing down rain here in Chicago, and I must say I enjoyed every minute of it. The weather made an abrupt change today, however, and the sun is now shining and the thermometer has crept back up into the lower 70s. That isn't bad either. I wish that I had not busted out my leather jacket this morning, though. It was a sweaty bus ride home this afternoon.
More important than the weather (in spite of anything Al Gore might tell you) is the return of pro football. Huzzah! And also college football. Huzzah!! But mostly pro. Huzzah!!!
Yes indeed, the mighty Chicago Bears took the field last Sunday against their hated rivals, the lowly Green Bay Packers. The Bears freakin' destroyed 'em. The final score was 26-0. It was the first time the Packers had been shut out in over two hundred thirty games, and the first time Brett Favre had been shut out in his entire career. I would gloat more about that last bit, except it's really kinda sad. I mean, at his peak Brett Favre was not only the best quarterback playing, but possibly the best quarterback ever to play the game. And even on his bad days he could still beat the shit out of the Bears. His record against us is 21-8. Now, sadly, Favre's best days are behind him. When you add the fact that the rest of Green Bay's line-up is either inexperienced or a contusion away from retirement, and it is shaping up to be a sad end to an extraordinary career.
I can't believe that dude is only thirty-six. I am disconcerted by the fact that professional athletes approaching my age are considering retirement.
Anyway, next week the Bears play the Detroit Lions, who looked sharp on defense against the Seattle Seahawks in their season opener last week. If last week was any indication then our offense is in better shape than last year, but it should still be a challenge. The Lions' offense only managed six points last week, though, so I think our defense shouldn't have too much trouble keeping them in line. Plus, Detroit receiver Roy Williams had the balls to "guarantee" the Lions would win, and that never turns out well.
In other news, my brother Jonathan gets married tomorrow, so congrats to him and Cassandra. That should be a fun time.
Also, we are about six weeks out of the next National Novel Writing Month (see left side column). I have been getting up at 5:30 every morning just to get into the habit. Actually, I started getting up that early because I wanted to get in the habit of writing every morning anyway, but that extra time will come in handy when November rolls around.
