Hello everyone! Thank you all for taking a look at my newly made website, "Bears and Company." As I am assuming pretty much anyone who reads this knows, my name is Nolan, and I must say you are fantastic for actually taking a moment to check this site out. I am a 20-year-old Sports Communication major at Bradley University. Ever since I was around six or seven years old, I've had an intense dream of hopefully becoming involved in the sports media field. Whether it may be as an analyst, writer, reporter, or commentator, there has never been any field I ever had an interest in other than the sports media field. Like anyone, I have been heavily encouraged and supported by friends and loved ones to chase my dream and try to reach my full potential. I am forever grateful for their support, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to achieve my future goals.
Me Interviewing Then-OT John Tait @ Halas Hall (And yes, I am cringing just as hard as you are when looking at eight-year-old Nolan) I have been surrounded by sports my entire life. For starters, I played baseball for three years in local leagues as a kid and played basketball for five years in local leagues and in middle school. I have also been working as a salesman at a sports memorabilia store in my local mall since October 2016. Most importantly, I am a die-hard fan of (you guessed it) the Chicago Bears, Bulls, Cubs, and Blackhawks. I have also been a fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football squad my whole life, as well. I have a deep, loyal love to my teams and their respective sport, and I owe that to my family's influence on me. They, too, are die-hard fans of those same teams. However, if we all had to choose our favorite sport (as tough as it would be), it would be football. Football is my religion; it is the sport that my family and I easily treasure the most; how can we not? Compared to other sports, the seasons are the shortest, the offseasons are the longest, and there is one game a week during the season. When football season is around, it is a holiday every week to me. Even during each offseason, free agency is always something to monitor. Of course, I would be re-missed if I did not mention the amazement and chaos of my favorite day of the year: Draft Day.
So unless you live under a rock and have not dealt with my annoying love for them, I am an avid Bears fan. They were the first team in any sport that I ever fully watched and paid attention to. Before my brother and I left for college, my family and I would host Bears watch parties in our basement for majority of the games in our lives. In fact, I can recall my first memory with the Bears. It was at an old sports bar and arcade called Buds (was located on Harlem Ave. in Tinley Park, IL), where I saw my first game back in 2006. The restaurant had a small TV at every table, and my family and I watched an exhibition game vs. the Arizona Cardinals that night. From the marvelous 2006 NFC Championship season and on, my love and passion towards the team and the sport of football never looked back.
Me In 2006, Foreshadowing The Sad # Of How Many Playoff Appearances Jay Cutler Would Have With The Bears
Being a life-long Bears fan has had its ups and (more-so) downs for me. The good? Well, they're my team through thick and thin, I love them more than life itself. The bad? They have a decent tendency to break my heart. Such examples include Chris Conte's blown coverage to eventually lose us the division vs. Green Bay in 2013, the 2014 regular season collapse, the John Fox era, did I mention the (gulp) "Double Doink"? Yes, it could be worse, I could be a Lions or Browns fan, but Bears fans have not had it easy in recent memory. It is also tough having to watch your most hated rival having back to back legendary quarterbacks while bringing them consistent success. It also sucks having close friends who are not Bears fans (whether they are genuine fans of their teams or just bandwagon's) ridicule the Bears while we sit there watching our team fail to succeed. But like most Chicago fans, loyalty is in our blood, and I bleed navy blue and orange. If I am still fortunate enough to be alive if they win a Super Bowl, the pay off will be extraordinary. As I pray to be there with my family crying tears of joy.
Me @ Soldier Field In August 2019, Taking A Photo With An Object That Has Aged Poorly.
So at this point, you must be asking, "Okay, we get it, Nolan, you're a big Bears fan, we get it. But why are you making this website?" Well, if you somehow were wondering that, I'm so glad you asked! As I previously mentioned, I have aspirations of entering the sports media field, and one profession that I have interest in is becoming a writer. I love the Bears, and I love to write, so why not finally mix both? I watch every game that I possibly can; I pay attention to them 24/7 as far as news, social media, transactions, etc. I always love talking about sports in general to anyone who wants to. Of course, there are not many things I am confident in with myself, but I am confident in my knowledge, awareness, and opinions of the team and the sport of football. Unless it is for something significant (family matters, job, etc.), I never miss a single game. I am always there with a jersey on watching the action unfold in front of me. My point is that I am eagerly willing to journal and share my experience and opinions with the Bears towards my audience, regardless of how big or small it is.
Me With My Fantastic Idol, David Kaplan, In 2020 Before A Bradley vs. Illinois State Basketball game With this website, I plan on writing blogs that deal with certain team news and transactions throughout the calendar year. As far as the regular season is concerned, I plan on writing my weekly previews and predictions of each game, post-game reactions of each game, and more team news and transactions throughout the season. It's worth noting that the reason why I call my website "Bears and Company" is that not only will I be discussing the Bears, but I will also discuss and feature all remaining 31 teams throughout the year. While I will not cover and write about other teams as much as I will for the Bears, I will try to throw in as many thoughts and predictions of different teams throughout the year, as well. Who knows? Maybe I'll throw in a couple of Bulls and Cubs content here and there, too. I cannot stress enough that this whole thing is an experiment for me. While I am not new to writing and talking about football, I am new to creating a website and its content. I will do my very best to make this website look spiff and carry on as time passes. What I can promise my audience is that you will be getting passionate, realistic, genuine, and honest opinions and overall content from an avid Bears fan, himself. I cannot wait to get things started here and give this whole website a shot. I look forward for you all to not only see my thoughts and coverage with the Bears, but get to know me more with this, as I hope to get to know any of you more, as well. Please feel free to check out my "about me" page and stay tuned for more articles!
If you read this whole page, pat yourself on the back because you are a complete gem.
Thank you, and Bear Down!