So at around 9 AM I decided I'd make today a Field Trip day and headed to Bourbanais, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Bears. For those who aren't football nuts, this is the time of year when teams prepare for the upcoming season. And since I hadn't attended a Bears practice since I was about 8 years old (I used to swim at Lake Forest College as a kid; former home of Bears regular season practice) I figured it'd be an interesting experience. I also thought it'd be kind of hypocritical to talk about doing something "different" during my last post if I wasn't taking my own advice.
I realize I write a lot to say what I want to get across, so I took a notebook with me and am going to be as concise as possible about observations during the day. I've also thrown a bunch of pictures towards the bottom if you want to see what training camp, Jay Cutler, Lovie Smith, and other Bears look like in person. You can go to Snapfish and see all of them here, some captions included.
Observation 1 (sitting in the car): I listened to sports talk radio on the drive to Bourbanais to get a sense for what's going on with the Bears. There wasn't Bears discussion, but there was an interesting topic being bantered about. It sounds like ESPN is planning a documentary on Steve Bartman, who had absolutely nothing to do with the Cubs collapse in the 03 playoffs. Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about, but the story isn't that interesting behind why he is relevant in Chicago sports lore. The hosts of the show were fielding calls for interesting documentaries to be made on other Chicago sports topics, and as a lifelong Chicago sports fan nut I thought a lot about it. I think a piece on the crazy athletes who have played in Chicago at some point in their careers would be interesting--Dennis Rodman, Bryan Cox, Theo Fluery, Bob Probert, the list could go on forever, but in Chicago folks seem to be OK with a little bit of craziness between the ears in exchange for success on the field.
Observation 2 (still in car): Training camp is essentially a hard core interview for guys battling for spots on the end of the roster, and it had me thinking a bit about my pursuit of work. The guys in camp are having every play scrutinized by fans, coaches, and media, and its gotta be brutal on a young guys' psyche. But I think I could deal with it for the salaries these guys pull down. Maybe I'll learn something from these guys today about poise. Probably not, though.
Observation 3 (walking out of my car towards practice field): A gal in her 20's sees me with my notebook in my hand (to keep notes of what I'm doing for you guys) and says, "autograph book, eh?" I chuckled at it, and gave her a smartass response like, "something like that." But it got me thinking about autographs, and I honestly can't think of a single human on the face of the planet whose autograph I'd want. I'm not "above" the idea of having role models or idols, I'd just rather spend time having a conversation than asking some random person for their signature.
Observation 4 (settling in to a spot on the grass): Everything here is free. Or at least the things I've come here for. There was no cost for parking, and no cost to watch the practice. And in today's world it was kind of a relief. I've become so conditioned to paying for everything, and it was nice to be able to do something without paying for it. Of course, there were tons of souveniers, but I took a pass on yet another Bears T-Shirt or Hat. And for a family that loves the Bears but can't afford a game/season tickets, this is a nice way to get close to the players.
Observation 5 (at practice): I don't have anything to compare it to, but watching real journalists do their work is pretty interesting. They are tweeting, writing, taking pictures, and I have no idea how they keep it all straight. But that's why I'm not a real journalist, just a pretend one in the world of make believe.
Observation 6 (at practice): I really have no idea what I'm watching. I played golf in high school, and at scrawny 140 lbs I doubt I would have had much of a career in football. But the purpose of mentioning this is that I have no idea what half of these guys are doing or why they do it. The defensive players are beating up blow up dolls (i think i could handle that part), the offensive players are running plays against an imaginery defense, and the special teams guys are sitting on their asses drinking water.
Observation 7: There's a term in my line of work referred to as "going to the gemba." Its a term coined by those in Lean Manufacturing settings to describe leaders spending time where the value-added work is taking place. In a factory, this means watching parts go together to understand where improvements can be made. On the football field at today's practice, I was surprised to see how lax and disinterested the Bears GM seemed to be in the work taking place on the field. He seemed more interested in chitchatting with media, VIPs, and fans; and although the practices are all being recorded, I'd think a guy with a payroll in excess of $150 M would want to know a bit more about how his guys are doing in their performance. But maybe that's the coaches job. And since money came up, it really is nuts if you think about how much football players get paid on a per unit of work basis. If you calculated the actual amount of time they are doing their job (playing in football games) it probably comes out to a ridiculous amount per rep in a real game. I'm not going to hunt down the stats on this one, unless someone asks me for it, but they're being paid a lot per unit of work.
Observation 8: It's been forever since the Bears had a legitimate quarterback, and its been a running joke amongst Bear fans. But now the complaint is that the ideal quarterback they've acquired (Jay Cutler) has no one to throw the ball to, and this will limit the team's success. The chit-chat I heard among fans about this topic drove me nuts; mainly because I think crazy fans (legitimate fanatics) are impossible to please. No matter the player, coach, opponent, or situation, the crazy fans find a way to worry about things not turning out perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see the Bears win every game (including the Super Bowl), but at some point doesn't this shtick (the constant whining) become annoying? Why not just take a perspective that its great to have a guy who can throw darts and have some faith it'll work out?
Anyhow, here's the photos and feel free to go to Snapfish for more:
Bourbanais, IL, summer home of Da Bears.
Jay Cutler
Defensive players swinging their arms at blow up dolls
Football players probably have the coolest uniforms compared to the other sports.
Get to work Angelo!
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