If you're going to see the Texans in Chicago this weekend, bundle up! The gameday high is 68 degrees, nighttime lows are in the 50s. Brrr.
Of course this pales in comparison to the Minus 8 wind-chill 'Texans Ice Bowl' game in '04 I talk too much about.
Two weeks ago the Bears played in a near monsoon as Soldier Field resembled a rice paddy. Sunday will be a glorious northern, autumn day. But we're not here to talk about the weather.
The first thing sports fans traveling to Chicago look up is the Cubs' schedule so they can get a chance at seeing Wrigley Field.
The Cubbies are at home and so are the White Sox, not that the latter matters. Wanting to sample Wrigley but ending up at the 'New Comiskey' is like going to Vegas and playing Bingo instead of Blackjack.
I asked Lovie Smith if Traveling Texans should take a river cruise and the answer was a resounding 'yes.' I'm glad he recommended this. Sometimes you're not sure how locals or former locals will react to tourist options. I also asked him about a gangster history tour. He was non-committal about that one.
Personally, I like seeing the canals. I still remember Bob Newhart walking those bridges in the opening sequence of his old show (I know, I know. Very dated reference).
Come to think of it, so much great entertainment has been based or shot in Chicago. Both Chicago Hope and ER were Chicago shows. Obviously Chicago Fire was. Even Hill Street Blues, from back in the day, was produced there. Plus, just about every John Hughes movie was filmed there.
There are a bunch of outfits that offer movie and TV tours. You can see where some of your favorite scenes were filmed. Sign me up to see all the sites we saw in Ferris Bueller. And Risky Business. And Home Alone. And…
OK, I'll stop.
But not until I tell you something that Lovie Smith alerted me to this week. We threw out a 'Windy City' reference to him and he paused and mentioned that the weather wasn't the reason for the nickname. I looked it up and it turns out the name was given in the 1800s, mostly by out-of-town newspaper writers implying that many Chicago politicians were full of hot air.
And you didn't think you'd learn anything new today!
This is a great American city and it's a terrific time of year to be there. Any colder and the only way I show up is on a gameday. Go Texans!
