Thursday Night Football: Saints at Bears

Last night was the second Thursday night football game I have attended. The first game I attended was the first NFL Kickoff Game on September 5, 2002 between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants.

Pre Game Dining
Before the game my friend, Sandeep Chunduri, took the train south towards my usual Soldier Field bars. However, it took us four tries to find a place:

1) As was the case with Sundays, Grace O’Malley’s pub, located at 1416 S. Michigan Ave., was packed. We arrived at 6 pm and they had a 45 minute wait for dinner (kickoff was at 7:15 pm). Needless to say, we left.
2) Next, we went to Weather Mark Tavern, located at 1503 S. Michigan Ave. Normally, the bar is empty. But, yesterday there was no place to sit. Even with a $15 for 5 beers special, we chose to move on.
3) We walked past South Coast Sushi Bar, located at 1700 S. Michigan Ave., but did not feel like a sit down meal.
4) We ended up at Kroll’s South Loop, located at 1736 S. Michigan Ave (or the corner of 18th St. and Michigan Ave.). This bar was also crowded, but since I had not been we decided to stay. However, we were unable to eat because of the crowd and had to eat at Soldier Field.

The Game
Earlier this season I attended my first regular season overtime game since November 24, 2002. Of course, last night’s game (in weather that felt colder than Sunday’s game) also went to OT. The Bears ended up defeating the New Orleans Saints 27-24 with a field goal at the end of the regulation and with 12:19 left in overtime.

Matt Forte broke the Chicago Bears record for most receptions by a rookie. He ended the game with 58 receptions breaking Mike Ditka’s previous record of 56.