Football. One of my favorite sports. Not only have I been watching football for the majority of my life, I have liked and followed the Bears the entire time. This year, for my sixteenth birthday, my dad surprised me with tickets to a Monday Night Football game where the Chicago Bears played the Minnesota Vikings at the US Bank Stadium which is in Minneapolis, MN.

I was pretty excited about the fact that I was going to a football game; however, I wasn’t excited about the fact that it was on a Monday. Sure I would be able to watch a game in person, but I also have to drive for around three and a half hours to get there, and three and a half hours back. Also, because the Bears aren’t playing in Chicago, I would be surrounded by other Vikings fans and ultimately would most likely not win. I was still overall excited about going to a real NFL game.

When we got there, I realized that people forget how to drive in a city. Besides that, we were able to park and walk a little bit towards the stadium. Once we were in, we traversed through the sea of purple to our section and sat down. When I looked at the time it was 6:30, and the game was starting soon. We had some time to wander around and admire the stadium. The stadium itself was great and looked well put together. After walking around and taking some pictures, the game was about to start and we were ready.

I don’t remember much about the pre-game show, but I remember that when the fans started the “Skol” thing, I knew that the fans were hyped and expected to win as the Bears are one of the worst teams in the league. Throughout the game, it was clear that it wouldn’t be full of touchdowns, or a high-scoring game. After halftime, some fans started to get “hydrated” with certain liquids. The drunk hecklers started to emerge and shout their slurred insults toward other Bears fans and the Vikings, but I expected that.
The game was overall boring until the end when it started to get interesting. After the Vikings scored the first touchdown of the game, giving them a lead over the Bears 10-9, I was sure the Bears would score their first touchdown of the game however that did not happen. Justin Fields ended up fumbling the ball, and I was sure the game was over. I sat in denial as the roar of Vikings fans seemed to grow and barely cared about watching. After the Vikings’ drive was over, and the Bears had the ball I was sitting praying that the Bears would win by only scoring field goals. I prayed that the field goal scored, would hit the post, and still go in. Better yet, I prayed that the Bears would win.

I watched the Bears’ special teams line up and get ready for the 30-yard field goal. I watched as the Vikings fans used black magic to try and force the ball away. I watched Cairo Santos, the kicker, lineup and get ready to score. As the ball was snapped with 13 seconds on the clock and the ball kicked, I stood up. I stood up and clapped. I stood up with all the other Bears fans and celebrated. The Vikings were silent. The Bears had won 12-10 with only field goals, and I was there to watch it all.