Here’s a shot of my brother, father, and me letting out a sign of relief after the Bears secured a spot in the NFC Championship. I have had the luxury of being able to attend a few ‘high profile’ sporting events in my life, but this is definitely not one I will soon forget. To make it even more enjoyable, our mom attended her first game of the season, sharing in all the emotional ups and downs a game of this caliber is likely to bring about. The good thing about having mom there though, is that she attempts to prepare you for the possible feelings of intense sadness and disappointment in the unlikely event that something might not go our way. I don’t necessarily think her nerves were properly conditioned for the circumstances, as she would frequently grab onto my dad as though the stadium was about to collapse, or cover her eyes during a clutch kick.

To the best of my recollection, I believe it was also her first time involved in a Dahl family pile up. This is our traditional celebration after a huge moment, in which all inhibitions are lost, and we immediately start jumping on each other and aggressively shoving. It doesn’t matter where we are, or who else is around. There is an unsaid element of, “HOLY SHIT! DID YOU SEE THAT!� which is easily read off each of our faces. For those few moments, there is nothing but pure excitement, adrenaline, and shock. These are the types of moments I remember most, as they involve not only the game, but my family as well. For example, I’ll never forget the look on Pat Dahl’s face as we turned to each other after Paul Konerko clubbed his grand slam in Game 2 of the World Series, immediately before our pile up. His jaw was on the floor, and his eyes were as wide as flying saucers. There aren't many things in life which lead to this kind of reaction, but sports are definitely one of them. I am lucky to have memories like these to store, and I do not take them for granted.