Best Fan Sign of the Year

Posted on December 26, 2011 by brvanlanen

Seems someone at last night’s Packers game got the last laugh on a cheater.

The Packers are the heart and soul of Green Bay. Fans own “stock” in the team, and season tickets are a valuable commodity. That made tickets to the Christmas night game with archrival Chicago either the best gift a fan could find under the tree, or (if her sign is to be believed) a perfect way to get back at a cheating boyfriend.

Well played, Packer fan. For your use of tickets to get back at the ex and a clearly-written sign that let fans across the country know you were smart enough to move on, you win the Shutdown Corner sign of the year.

Ouch.

Police report 20 arrests at Bears-Packers game (mysanantonio.com)
Spurned Green Bay Packers Fan Gets Back At ‘Cheating Ex-Boyfriend’ On National TV (mediaite.com)
Packers Fan Uses Christmas Stage to Zing Cheating Boyfriend (thebiglead.com)

Vikings final home game to be outdoors

Posted on December 15, 2010 by brvanlanen

The field at TCF Bank Stadium is frozen and blanketed by 5-foot snowdrifts. The concession stands weren’t built to withstand temperatures below 30 degrees. There are no beer taps.

But determined to play their final 2010 home game in Minneapolis, the nomadic Minnesota Vikings said on Tuesday that they will face the Chicago Bears on Monday night at the University of Minnesota’s 2-year-old stadium. The game will be played 29 years to the day since the Vikings’ last outdoor home contest, a 10-6 loss to Kansas City at Met Stadium in 1981.

“They love outdoor football in Minnesota,” said Scott Ellison, the university’s associate athletic director.

Many issues to deal with …

For one night, Vikings fans will learn to love it without their usual seats, luxury suites and parking spots. And, possibly, without their favorite brew: Alcohol is not sold at TCF Bank Stadium during Gophers games. “That’s one of a myriad of issues on the table,” Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley said of the possibility of selling beer on Monday night.

the biggest one being perhaps 13,000 fewer seats.

Also to be discussed, he said, was the problem of having sold 63,000-plus tickets to a game being played in a stadium that can seat only 50,000. Bagley said the Vikings will discuss adding temporary seats to the stadium with university officials. (Source: Star Tribune)

Check the source for the rest. The Vikings in a home game played outdoors. Now that should be interesting.

Big question is does an outdoor night game in December give the Bears the advantage?

Report: Bears-Vikings heading outdoors (profootballtalk.nbcsports.com)
Vikings to play at U of Minnesota stadium Monday (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

R.I.P. Gaines Adams

Posted on January 17, 2010 by brvanlanen

Stunning.

Chicago Bears defensive lineman Gaines Adams died Sunday from cardiac arrest due to an enlarged heart, the Greenwood County coroner’s office told Fox News.

The autopsy on Adams, 26, was performed in Anderson, S.C. The toxicology test will be performed by South Carolina‘s law enforcement division and results are expected to be returned in the next two to three months.

“We are stunned and saddened by the news of Gaines’ passing,” the team said in a statement Sunday. “Our prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

Adams was selected fourth overall in the 2007 NFL draft by Tampa Bay, but was traded to the Chicago Bears in October 2009. He had not been able to live up to expectations that he would revive the Buccaneers’ once-feared pass rush, having just 17 tackles and one sack in 15 games this season.

The 6-foot-5, 258-pound defensive end was well-known among Clemson fans for breaking up Wake Forest‘s field goal try and returning it for a touchdown in 2006 to defeat the Demon Deacons. (Source: Fox News)