How to date a Chicago Bears fan.

The truth is, friends and neighbors, that I am dating a wonderful young lady. She's smart, pretty, and is very fun to be with. We've got our similarities, and we've got some differences, but perhaps the biggest rift between us is our choice in football teams. She is a Chicago Bears fan. I am a Minnesota Vikings fan. We do not see even close to eye-to-eye on this, as should be expected from bitter rival teams. Honestly, I think it is more important to her than our differences in religions.

Yesterday, we did something we haven't done yet(get your mind out of the gutters, people). We sat down to watch a football game together. Some friends of hers were gathering for brunch at a place called McGee's, an overcrowded, over priced and very loud bar by DePaul. The atmosphere was lively, especially when the Bears scored, when the TV audio would be turned off and the Bears fight song would be played, a confetti bomb would go off, and for some reason, after each score and fight song, they would play Thunderstruck by AC/DC. I used to like that song. I used to play it before meets in high school to get the team pumped up.

Now, I can't stand it at all.

Not because they played it when the Bears scored, but because they didn't seem to realize that there's a whole catalog of music to be played, not just the same damn song over and over and over. Anyways, enough about the bar. I'm sure you all want to hear about the woman, right?

She's a big fan of the Bears. She knows the mechanics of football inside and out. She can quote stats and gets tense when the team isn't performing well. She spent quite a bit of time looking exasperated yesterday, during their loss. At one point she looked me dead in the face and said "I'm going to look at you- you don't make me nauseous, but they certainly do." She even had to have a glass of seltzer water to calm her stomach. It was rather strange, yet rewarding to watch, as I got to see a side of her that I wasn't likely to see otherwise.

I was patient and supportive, although not supportive enough to actually root for my team's arch-rival. I let her bury her face in my body when she just couldn't watch it anymore, and I held her hand when she hoped and prayed for a miracle. I even, once or twice, argued when calls went against her team, but I was doing so because I am objective.

Anyone want to buy a tract of land in Florida off me? I'll give you a great price.