Recently, we had the chance to go to Soldier Field in Chicago for a cool event called Family Fest, where families can experience the Chicago Bears for a fraction of what an actual game costs.
It is very family friendly, with lots of fun things for kids to do.
Except there is beer.
Lots of beer.
And hot dogs, popcorn, nachos, cotton candy, etc.
This you need to know: where there is ballpark food, there is Kari.
So when the Bears reached out and sent me four tickets to see a scrimmage, I was excited. Because the last time I saw the Chicago Bears play inside Soldier Field was in 1994. It was raining sideways. I was wearing a garbage bag. And I was not drinking beer or eating a nacho chip.
In true Kari fashion, we totally missed all of the fun kids’ activities. Apparently, there were some amazing free events. We heard all about them on the jumbotron and, thanks to social media, I could see other bloggers and my employer, Chicago Parent, touting them. We could not find them to save our lives.
Next year, we will look at the website ahead of time like normal people.
Who knew Soldier Field was so damn big. But again, the last time I was here, Ace of Base was on the radio.
The girls did not mind missing the fun activities because they were awestruck the moment we sat down in the stadium.
My husband’s cousin, who shares his exact name, played for the Bears in 1974. So he brought us to a wall inside Soldier Field. It was fun watching the girls’ faces light up as they recognized a familiar name on this massive wall.
Dad??
Nooooo.
But seriously, how cool is that.
The Bears do not realize it does not take much to woo us. We had cotton candy, hot dogs, free foam thingies, and music. The sun was out, it was not too hot, and it was a perfect August day.
Then they blew up that big inflatable bear and it completely blew our minds.
It turns out our children love a good old-fashioned football game. One of them has been dragged to many high school football games in the past year, but there is nothing like going to the big game.
Here are my feet at an NFL football game. Pretty cool.
After the game/scrimmage, most people started filing out. We figured we would just be sitting in traffic anyway, so we decided to stay as long as we could, or until they kicked us out. Whichever came first.
We ate the remnants of our cotton candy, and while everyone pushed and shoved to get out of Soldier Field, we got a front row seat to some pretty cool stuff. We saw players come back out onto the field in regular clothes for a short time and just stand there.
Doing what, I have no clue.
Above is Anna watching Jay Cutler and his son walk across the field.
Honestly, I was more excited to see Lou Cannelis, the local sports newscaster, than I was to see the players. The mystery is revealed, friends. Your trusty news people are all a farce.
They do not wear pants when they read you the news.
Psst, Lou, the microphone is in your other hand.
I felt bad for the people who had to clean up after all the messy families. I can only imagine how bad this place looks after a regular NFL game.
It was such a great family day that we can’t wait to do it again. A little more nachos next time, a little less Jay Cutler, and a little more Lou Cannelis, because come on, who does not love Lou.
A big thank you to Gage over at the Chicago Bears for hooking us up with tickets to this event.
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