I made a bet — one made in church, no less — and being the person I am, I will keep my end of the bargain.
Here’s the story: Jim Riedl is a weekly attendee at 8:30 am Mass at St. Mary’s, as am I. Jim has been a brave Green Bay Packers backer, even wearing his Packers jacket to church, which, of course, led me to start a friendly rivalry (he is also a Sox fan and I am a Cubs fan).
Why I said it I don’t know, but I suggested that we should have a bet on last week’s Packers-Bears game — silly me, and in church of all places. I don’t know what I would have received had I won, but since I didn’t, I had to write a column on the Packers and wear a small patch that states “The Pack is Back” until Friday.
While I didn’t watch much of the game since I was engrossed in the Riverside reality TV that was the village board meeting on Sept. 5, I did watch the sports on the TV news. I have to admit I was not surprised at the outcome. Green Bay, with 360,760 municipal stockholders and coached by Matt LaFleur, is led by veteran QB Aaron Rodgers. They won by a score of 10-3.
The Bears, led by QB Mitch Trubisky, still need to work on their offense with their only 3 points coming from a 51-yard field goal by Eddie Pineiro. Trubisky needs to find his receivers and not depend on the kicker to put the numbers on the board.
The kicker position still is not final but Pineiro seems to have a leg up in staying on the roster. Watching the game from her comfortable box was the matriarch of the McCaskey-Halas family, Virginia McCaskey, who has been known to make her feelings known. Wonder what she said this week?
For the Bears 2019 season, I predict they will be in the middle of the pack, while the Packers will be near the top, but I’m not going to bet on it. I think I learned my lesson and fulfilled my obligation. There you go, Jim, see you in church.
Congrats … to Landmark editor Bob Uphues on receiving an award from the Riverside American Legion Post #488 at their meeting on Sept. 6. The award was one of many presented by Post Commander Joe Topinka, recognizing those who have provided support for and dedication to the post through the years. Since Bob would not have put this in print about himself, I decided I would. Congratulations, Bob.
