Tag: bo

The worst kind of sports fans. 

Disclaimer: I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. But I also don’t care much about your frown face. 

It is obvious that without sports fans there would be no sports. However, like our newly elected United States President Donald Trump would say, sports fans could use “extreme vetting”. We’ve all been at the bar before and have surveyed the crowd and seen people that make your eye twitch. It’s time to spread awareness so we can all acknowledge that if you are any of these people, please be advised, no one likes you. 

The Angry Hulk Guy

Oh. Ya know, the easily rattled roided out Brotato Chip that is fresh off of a gym selfie and a Facebook check in just for good measure. This guy is likely to bump into you at the bar rail and then look at you like it was your fault. This human also is very likely to scream at the television while banging on the bartop as if anyone on tv can actually hear them. Also. Never be around these types if your favorite team loses on a last second shot or field goal. They will likely be holding a beer mug or a rocks glass full of vodka Red Bull and could send said glass flying towards the ground in anger. Glass shards don’t feel very good being pulled out of your shins. 

The Leads Chants and Whistles Guy

Though this one is listed second, might be my least favorite. Your team is currently down in the 4th quarter and things are looking desperate and morale is low. Then to make things even worse, the sports gods continue to shit on you by inserting this guy. This human has an unlimited supply of school/team pride and will do anything to help his team win. This guy will whistle after every good play and point at the TV like he will receive a point back from their favorite player. After finishing his 5th Mountain Dew of the second half he leads a chant that gives me the same feeling of when I first heard Rebecca Black sing “FRIDAY, FRIDAY, GOTTA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY!” A song that still haunts me to this day. I get it. You want your team to win. But my friend, I’ll rebuttal with an old high school chant of my own, “THEY. CANT. HEAR. YOU. 👏🏾👏🏾,👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾”. Go back to your mothers basement. 

The girl who just points out the obvious

Look, I appreciate girls who take an interest in sports. And I understand completely that you wanna be, “one of the guys”. I’ve never understood this desire from the much prettier sex due to the fact that us guys aren’t very interesting and outside of sports and the occasional laugh, we don’t really offer you much. However, we all know this type. The one who will see Jay Cutler throw his third interception of the day into triple coverage and let the bar rail know that wasn’t a good play or when Kris Bryant hits a grand slam looks me dead in the eyes and says “he hit the ball good there”. Now this kind of commentary would be perfectly fine if I didn’t have eyes. But fortunately, I do. But again. I appreciate a girl who will at least take an interest in sports. 

The “I have always loved this team” hipster/bandwagon fan guy

And yes I’m looking at you Chicago Blackhawks and Golden State Warriors fans. These fans likely have amazon prime accounts with the “buy with 1 click” feature programmed and ready to buy whatever apparel comes out for the hot and trendy team. This fan has been a “Blackhawks fan” their whole lives yet thinks the name “Chelios” is a type of Hot Sauce. This fan will also show up to the bar with a brand new Steph Curry jersey proclaiming their long time love for the warriors and hate for Lebron James but upon further Facebook investigation, discover a picture of them in a Lebron James Miami Heat jersey. You’re not slick friend. Lebron knows you love him. 

The “I Could Be a Coach” Guy

This guy is up there with chant guy as the worst type of sports fan. This guy is a pro Madden and 2K player and figures his video game sports knowledge translates into the real world. Well. It doesn’t. This guy will wonder why they don’t throw a streak route on 3rd and inches and doesn’t understand why shooting the 3 is never not an option. This guy also is in your ear guessing pitches during a baseball game and thinks that a 3-0 curveball in the dirt is always coming. Trust me, if you were supposed to be hired as a head coach, you wouldn’t be reading this. 

Again, I love sports fans as a whole. The before mentioned people are a necessary evil in making sports great. But, if you do see these creatures out and about, do the world a favor, and let them know they need to chiiiiiiiillllll. And then Donald Trump might not temporarily ban you. 

– Bo 

Twitter: @botilly

Being a Chicago Bears fan living in Wisconsin….

Leaving Illinois….and my love for cheese

August 1st, 2014 I became a resident of Madison Wisconsin. It was weird moving out of Illinois because I’ve spent much of my time on earth living in Rockford and Chicago. I fell in love with the city of Madison because the size of it was a happy medium between my two previous homes and the fact it’s a major sports town. Also you add the fact that people love beer and cheese here it was like god created a city specifically for me. A quick story about me to understand my love for cheese: I once got in trouble with my step mother because in the middle of the night I would sneak to the kitchen and steal Kraft singles out of my refrigerator and hide the wrappers under my mattress. Solid plan Bo. However when my step mother changed my bedsheets, probably 50 cheese wrappers spilled out onto the floor. Quite embarrassing Bo. 

A warm welcome….

I knew moving to a different state I’d meet a lot of different people with different views and ideas on things. Being the type of person I am, I welcome conversation from anyone because I love learning new things. I unfortunately didn’t take into account that moving 76.2 miles north would bring an infinite amount of hate towards everything Chicago sports. I live on the west side near the mall and my first weekend here I figured I’d go ahead and check out the new mall I would be frequenting. Being a fat kid at heart, I honestly was really interested in the foot court. I nonchalantly throw on a Chicago Bears pullover and walk out of the door. I’m now walking through the mall and the first few people I meet are wearing local Wisconsin Badgers gear and though I’m donning the Blue and Orange, acknowledge my presence with a wave and smile. “Wow! Madison has some really nice people!” I thought. Until this old lady with a walker shows up….

The crusty middle finger….

Ever inching closer towards the food court I can smell pizza, Chinese food and tacos. Anyone who knows me knows these are a few of my favorite things. I also know you just read that last sentence and thought of the song “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. Only thing separating me from delicious food is this old lady with a walker. In my time on earth I feel old people are generally nice humans. They don’t really have any more stress because well, they are old. This lady did not fall into that category. She looked stressed as if she was trying to run away from the Italian mafia chasing her for her social security money. Yet I’ve seen sloths with more agility and quickness than her. I could sense the devastation in her eyes as teenagers and booger eating 4 year olds passed her with ease. Then, she saw me. Getting closer, I noticed under her fur jacket was a faded Brett Favre jersey. She realized my attire and was instantly so appalled I might as well have had an image of Donald Trump stabbing a cat on my chest. She then pressed paused on her race against the grim reaper, locked eyes with me, and delivered the most blind sided middle finger in the history of middle fingers. Her crusty finger had the texture of a school bus seat and looked like a pruned finger that was submerged in water for many months. Either way I was so rattled I didn’t even get food that day and just went home…are all packer fans like this?

The sit-in…

It’s now Bear/Packer week the Chicago Bears are 2-1 at this point and are on a two game winning streak. The packers were 1-2 coming off a loss to the hapless Detroit Lions. I had a good feeling about the Bears winning their third in a row. I was ready for my first Bear/Packer game in Wisconsin. So I thought anyway. 

Just like most fall sundays I threw on my Bears jersey and headed to a bar to watch the game with friends. I walked in to the bar and was disgusted by all the green and yellow inside one building. My eyes were not ready for this. As I walked they started to notice what I was wearing and I felt everyone in the bar was watching me. I sat near the front of the bar and could just feel everyones eyes behind me full of judgement. I felt like I was apart of the Greensboro sit-ins of 1960 except the people here didn’t hate the color of my skin, but the color of the clothes I was wearing. I definitely felt like I didn’t belong. I was just hoping the Bears could escape with a win. 

Of course they didn’t….

The entire game I was waiting for the Bears to win the game so I could run out of the bar screaming “Bear Down” and laughing in the faces of the Green and Yellow faithful. But the Bears didn’t have my back like I had theirs. Though is was close for the first half, the game was never in doubt and I was bombarded with chants of “Go Pack Go” and grown men fangirling everytime Wisconsin’s lord and savior Aaron Rodgers completed the simplest of passes. 

After the game finished it was as if the state of Wisconsin turned off the switch and my fellow Wisconsinites became normal humans again. People ordering drinks near me at the bar rail offered their condolences for my horrid Bears team and even offered me a few shots. Being the low-level alchi that I am, I’ve never met a shot I didn’t like. Though it’s different watching games where you’re the only Bears fan within miles, at least the people are nice here. 

…….after all, at least I have the Cubs. #FlyTheW

– Bo

Twitter: @botilly

Fred Van Vleet: A New Pride Of The 815

There is an undeniably different dynamic between the East side and West side of Rockford. 

Now that I live in Madison, Wisconsin, I am naturally often asked by people where I come from. When I say Rockford, Illinois I am often greeted with a look likened to when someone takes a bite into a lime after taking down their 5th tequila shot in an hour. If you’re not a tequila fan, simply google a sour face and now we’re on the same page. It seems that people outside of Rockford have a certain negative ideology of what the city is like and that has always been frustrating to me. In order to explain in children’s terms of what Rockford is actually like I’ve frequently used my favorite Disney movie, “The Lion King” as a reference. With the pride land where Simba and Mufasa lived being the East Side and Elephant Graveyard where Scar and the Hyenas lived being the small part of the west side of Rockford everyone seems to only hear about.

I had an hour bus ride to school everyday…

I grew up on the east side of Rockford and in 8th grade moved even farther east. Unfortunately since I went to high school on the far west side of Rockford, I had almost an hour bus ride to school everyday. On my bus rides I would look out the window and see the bus travel from the constantly growing east side to the tough run down west side. As soon as we crossed the river it was as if we had traveled to a different city. The beautiful neighborhoods soon turned into old houses with boarded up doors and windows. New restaurants turned into your local liquor stores. A side of town full of promise vs a side of town who feels like the step child left behind. This shouldn’t be. I loved going to school on the west side. My father grew up on that side of town. The Waterfront festival used to be on that side of town. The Rockford Lightning were on that side of town. The last two used to be highlights of the city but have since come and gone. Leaving the west side and Rockford searching for the next big thing to believe in.

“Insert Fred Van Vleet”

Fred and I went to Auburn High School.  I graduated in 2007 and Van Vleet in 2012. Though we walked the same hallways our Auburn Knights sports teams during our tenures there couldn’t have been more different. My football teams were consistently in the bottom of the conference. Our state championship was always the annual Auburn vs East showdown of 0-9 teams fighting for the title of “not the worst in the conference”. My basketball teams were always competitive and full of talent and arguably the best coach in the conference but couldn’t quite get over the hump. My baseball team finished 6th in conference my senior year and was told that was the best finish for a Knights baseball team in decades. Then Fred walked through those front double doors facing Auburn St and with his help, the culture of Auburn athletics slowly began to change. The 2007 basketball team led by Kwan Waller, Darryl Watkins and DeAuntae Tatum finished with a 17-11 record and a heartbreaking loss in the regional finals. That team opened the door for something greater. I talked with Coach Bryan Ott last week and he told me that team started the transition, and the Vanvleet/Danforth family grabbed the torch to finish what the ’07 team started. Fred’s brothers Darnell Van Vleet and JD Danforth continued to lay the foundation for a state championship run through their excellence on the basketball court. When both of them graduated and moved on, it was Fred’s turn to take them over the hump. I’ll never forget the super sectional game in 2012 at Northern Illinois University against Warren. No starter on that Knights team was over six feet tall yet faced a Warren team with only one player under 6’4”. Though I have much pride in my alma mater I figured even this was too much of a test for these scrappy Knights. Fred and Company didn’t share my same thoughts. The Knights were down late in the second half and when all hope seemed lost, Fred Van Vleet gave us something to believe in. Everyone in the arena knew where the ball was going in every late game possession, and Warren still couldn’t stop him. He willed that Auburn team to victory that day, a game that serves as a metaphor for his athletic career. Since that game Auburn has become a perennial powerhouse in basketball and football. The baseball team is still improving but has since won a regional title. Coach Ott told me since Fred was a freshman the basketball team has won at least 24 games a year. Winning has become an expectation at Auburn, and Fred was one the pioneers of that.

A new hope… 

Van Vleet eventually went on to Wichita State University and unless you’ve been living under a rock the past four and a half years, know that story already. As a freshman he played meaningful minutes on a team who made a Cinderella trip to the final four. Though everyone outside of Wichita, Kansas and Rockford, Illinois was shocked by the Wheat Shockers magical run to the final four, anyone who had seen Fred touch a basketball, was not surprised. His aura of winning not only translated to victories at Wichita State which included a perfect regular season, but a new sense of hope in Rockford.

Van Vleet, now in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors (also makes appearances with the Raptors 905 D-League team) has now given Rockford, Illinois something to look forward to and a sense of pride in their city. All over social media I’ve never seen so much city pride the virtual beating of their chest about the 815. Endless tweets and statuses on twitter and Facebook, all about how we believe in him. Groups of people of all demographics gathered to watch his games. It in a sense has started to bring the city together.

He made an appearance in Hoffman Estates last week with the D-League team as they played the Windy City Bulls, the Chicago Bulls D-League affiliate. Though it was technically a home game for the Bulls, it was more of home game for Van Vleet. The Sears Center was flooded with fans, including my parents and I, wearing his jersey t-shirt and Raptors jersey. It wasn’t just Auburn alumni or people from the west side of Rockford there to support, it was ALL of Rockford there to support. Every time he touched the ball, everyone stopped and watched. Every time he took a shot, everyone held their breath. The Windy City Bulls hit a 3 pointer to tie the game with 10 seconds left. Again, here comes Fred Van Vleet. Everyone in that arena and everyone watching on TV knew the last possession was going through Van Vleet. Just like he did much of the game and throughout his basketball career, attacked the rim without fear of defenders bigger than him and drew a foul with a second remaining. Calm and collected like he’s been all his life, knocked down both free throws and the Raptors went home with a 102-100 victory. I checked Facebook and twitter after the game was done and throughout my timeline was statuses and tweets about Fred and how Rockford is back on the map.

But it’s always been on the map….

I use Fred Van Vleet and his family as an example here in this blog because they are a example of a family that has always done things the right way and a family everyone needs to root for, because knowing them, they already root for you whether you know them personally or not. But Rockford isn’t just him and his family. Rockford has so many beautiful layers no one talks about. We have famous musicians like Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child and The Hall of Fame music group Cheap Trick. We consistently have athletes dominating their respective college sports and now have an athlete in the NBA, MLB and the NFL. We have Corey Anderson who is making waves in the UFC, the fastest growing televised sport in America. The downtown area is forever growing with new bars and restaurants. We have the Rockford Ice Hogs, the Chicago Blackhawks affiliate in town. We’ve had many of our own featured on national TV shows, “The Bachelor”, “Shark Tank”, “America’s best dance crew”, “American Idol” and others. There is much to be proud of in this city and there is much to believe in. I love where I came from. I’m excited to see the 815 continue to thrive and become a destination spot where people want to be. And whenever I tell people in Madison where I come from, instead of a sour look, I’ll receive a look of interest and want to know about my hometown.

– Bo

Twitter: @botilly

First Episode of “Bo knows…nothing” 

Best/Worst of 2016. Why people still hate Lebron James. Athletes and social issues. Rockford athletes and why we don’t talk about them more. College Football/NFL playoff picks.  

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