2006 NFC Championship: Postgame Celebration

            The clock is winding down for the New Orleans Saints. As the final seconds are ticking away, everybody is cheering, clapping, giving high fives and absolutely ecstatic that the Bears are headed to the Super Bowl. “3…2…1…FINAL” The entire room goes ballistic! Me & my cousins Leo, Kiki, Ione & siblings Justin & Jezzeca are jumping up & down celebrating the victory. As we celebrated in our little huddle, the rest of my family were enjoying themselves too. My dad played the Bears fight song & began passing out victory cigars to my uncles. It was absolutely hilarious to see my Uncles Venom, Viking, Pepé, & my dad swaying back & forth, with their cigars in their mouths while singing “Bear Dowwwwn, Chicago Bearrrs…” In the corner, I could see all my younger cousins laughing & jumping around since that’s what everyone else was doing; that made me laugh. Perhaps the funniest thing that occurred was amidst all the commotion, my brother managed to sneak away & steal the remaining slices of pizza! This turned out to be for the best for I was able to steal a few slices from him myself! As the celebration was subsiding, one of my older cousins, Orlando, shouted “Who’s ready for some football in the snow?!” while raising a football in one hand. We all rushed for our coats & hurried outside. As I opened the door, I was greeted with a rush of cool January night air. All I could think about was how awesome this night was about to get. As my dad was getting the teams situated, my two oldest cousins (they’re brothers) were having a friendly wrestling match in the knee-deep snow. The entire time they had the biggest smiles on their face, arms on each other’s shoulders but because of all the snow, they kept falling & slipping & there was no clear victor. When they’re “brawl” finally ended, all my aunts & uncles had come outside to watch us play. My dad was official quarterback for both teams. It was 8 on 8, first one to score 3 would be the winner…and it was tackle football! To start the game, my dad threw the ball to simulate the kick return. Ione, whom was to the left of me, caught it. I ran with her to provide protection. I had to fight to stay up for the crunching snow beneath me would give way with each step I took. My cousin was taken down & the ball got loose! Next thing I knew, I was face down in the snow with at least 3 people on top of me. I was not able to recover the ball. My aunts & uncles were cheering as Orlando picked up the ball & scored. We scored quickly on our next possession & it was tied 1-1. My dad threw a perfect bomb over the heads of the other team to me. I was running with my brother but he disappeared in the snow; he took down my older cousin to making a key block allowing me to score. We each failed to score on our next possessions & then we each scored on the possession after that. So it was now 2-2, they’re ball. On 4^th down, my dad once more executed one of his perfectly placed bombs. But the receiver dropped it!! I knew I could count on Leo to have butter fingers! So with the endzone a mere 3 yards away, we scored easily with a short pass to my sister. By game’s end, EVERYONE was covered with a thin layer of white on their bodies from all the fumbling in the snow. We all shook hands & showed good sportsmanship saying “good game” & giving “man hugs” (man hugs being the best way I can describe what athletes do). But that wasn’t the end. We came up with a mini game. With me being the strongest of my cousins/siblings my age, I was given the challenge of making it to the front of the house with the football, from the garage way, a good 50yards. The idea came from my dad who said to think of it as the punt/kick returns Devin Hester of the Bears would return for Touchdowns! It was me versus Kiki, Ione, Justin & Leo (Jezzeca decided to take advantage of the hot chocolate inside which we weren’t aware of). My dad shouted “Go!” and I was off! After about 25 yards, I was met by them. I easily broke away from Kiki & Ione. They tried to tackle me by getting low; as they neared me I just pushed them into the ground! Leo was the easiest. I didn’t have to do anything! He’s known to be clumsy which he proved. When I got to about the 35yd mark, where he & my brother waited for me, he started to run after me. As he ran he lost his footing & the wheels just fell off as he crashed into the snow leaving a puff of whiteness after he fell. My brother got to me at the 40 & was holding his grown. I slowly would gain grown, for he could not bring me to the ground. Then my cousins finally caught up and helped him! Together, they all brought me down a few feet shy of the end. We all laid there in the snow laughing & tired. That was happiest I ever was after being defeated. We all then trotted inside, leaving wet footprints with each step. We then joined my sister & the 6 of us drank the night away with hot chocolate. As Leo finished his, he laid back and said aloud, “Man, the Bears need to win more NFC Championships so we can do this.” We all laughed & agreed. That night we all slept with the thoughts of Super Champions on our mind.