Thursday, November 10, 2011

Underground Kingz

You know that feeling when you've been a die-hard fan of an underground band before they blow up and everyone jumps on their bandwagon? Even though these people are appreciating something that you really like, for some strange reason you feel resentment because this exclusive club was just taken away from you. Like you're a bigger fan than everybody else be cause you've been down from day one. I'm not really sure why it happens, we just can't help it. My absolute favorite rap group -- favorite musical act of any kind -- is UGK, or the Underground Kingz. When I tell people that, they usually don't know who I'm talking about and even though I love putting new people on to them, I get this selfish feeling like I appreciate UGK more than anybody else possibly could. It doesn't make sense.

And the same thing happens with sports. Of course the general public loves Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers and, very recently, Jay Cutler. Those are the big names so it's easy to just say "that's my favorite player." But me personally, I've always been drawn to the players who don't get the shine that I think they deserve. When I'm at the bar watching the Bears or tailgating at a road game in Cincinnati I like to be wearing a jersey that nobody else in the place has on.

The first Bears jersey I ever got was a blue Nate Vasher and boy, did I rock the shit out of that jersey the year that he went All Pro. The next season comes around and a lot of people had gone out and bought Vasher jerseys during training camp, so my beloved #31 jersey was starting to fall out of favor with me. I couldn't really help it, Vasher was still one of my favorite players at the time, but it just didn't feel the same when everyone else had the same jersey. So I moved on.

The next jersey I copped was even hotter than the first one. I got a blue Devin Hester jersey for Christmas his rookie year, before the Bears got to the Super Bowl. We went to an incredible Super Bowl party in the Gold Coast with 100+ people at this condo. I was literally the only person in the place with a Devin Hester jersey, so you could imagine how buck I was going while he was watching himself make history. The next season? Everybody and their kid was wearing a Devin Hester jersey. So I got an Olsen. Of course the same thing eventually happened, which brings us to today.

Ever since the Bears drafted Earl Bennett, he's been one of my favorite players on the team. Even though the analysts claimed he didn't have a ton of speed, this dude was the all time leader in receptions in SEC history, so I figured he could bring a lot to the table. Even though he didn't see the field on offense his rookie year, I was looking for him to break out in 2009. I even named one of my fantasy football teams "Earl Bennett" that year. And since then, I realized how good of a WR he could become so I've liked him even more. I even get a huge kick out of the Bears playing on Sunday Night Football when he gets to introduce himself with that country ass twang, "Ear' Bennett." Listen for it the next time the Bears play on NBC.

For 2 years now I've been wanting a blue #80 jersey, especially since I can't wear my Olsen anymore, but up to this point, you couldn't find an Earl B jersey anywhere unless you custom made one. Now that Earl had what many are calling a "breakout game" (even though he was really just doing what he does) I will never get a chance to buy one because he's now become this overnight sensation. He was doing his weekly hour with Jeff Dickerson on ESPN 1000 the other night talking about how he's blowing up on Twitter, since he was trending all throughout Monday night and the followers came rushing.

And I'm happy for him; of course I'm happy for him. He's by far the Bears best WR and he deserves all of the attention he's getting, and hopefully this buzz will help him get a little bit extra on the contract extension that's imminent. But now the selfish side in me is bitter that he's gonna be another one of those Bears who even the most ignorant fan talks about. Mostly I'm pissed because this means it's way too late to grab that Earl Bennett jersey, because I guarantee it's gonna be the hot new jersey when training camp 2012 opens. But Earl deserves it because he's a hard worker, a down to earth guy and most importantly, a good ass football player. I hope you enjoy the limelight, Earl, because the Earl Bennett Fan Club just became a movement.

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