The Chicago Bears

For years I have been a Chicago Bears fan. On the weekends my kids and I do the house chores early so we don’t miss the afternoon kickoff. Whoever would have thought my kids and I would share some of our greatest bonding moments watching football. I must say this is not just football. This is the Chicago Bears.

At first I began to use the weekend games as an excuse to indulge on pizza, hot wings, or my homemade chili. I always thought my kids liked the games because they looked forward to the phone calls I make during the games. Since I have been traveling for many years now, it is not too difficult for me to think of a friend from the rival city to taunt. Although these are good reasons to look forward to over the weekend, my kids and I really developed a passion for the game. Between games I follow up on my favorite players by watching the news as my boys imitate their favorite players in the backyard. Every year I find myself making the same promise to my family. That promise was to buy tickets to a game just like the spectators we see on the television.

Last week, a friend of my family helped me with this promise. I was given four tickets to our first game. When I received the tickets from my friend I was told the only problem is that the seats are in an inaccessible section of the stadium. This is not a problem, I replied. I can take the tickets to customer service and they will seat me in an accessible spot.
We were soon on our way and drove in the never ending traffic jam to the game. The traffic did not bother us at all. We were excited as we noticed everybody traveling in our direction was wearing blue and orange, the colors of the Chicago Bears. As we got out of our black minivan, we began to throw a football around as we became apart of this blue and orange river of people entering the stadium. This was great!!! This is what we have been watching on the television for the past few years!!!

All this excitement soon came to an end as I began to ask for accessible seating. I was told there was no more room for disabled people. I was told they had room for only one disabled person in the accessible section and they would place my family a few rows in front of me. I tried my best to not spoil the excitement, so I accepted these conditions. As I watched the game, I began to feel all alone. Every time the crowd got excited I would watch my family get excited. But, I was watching from the distance. I soon began to shed tears. Afraid of my kids seeing me cry I decided to roll around the stadium. Once I got the sadness out of my system I returned to my assigned spot. I began to look from side to side and noticed that I was the only one in a wheelchair. This made me very angry. The game was more than half over, and my two boys were having a great time. Due to this fact, I kept my feelings to myself as I watched kids enjoy the game.

Time and time again, non-disabled people are abusing some of the benefits and privileges that are provided for the disabled population. Anyone who reads this blog, please share it with others. Some might view disabled parking spots, bathroom stalls, and disabled seating at a game as a luxury. Many disabled people like myself find these accommodations a necessity. The people who were at this game and misusing the disabled seating took away a special day from my family and I. GO BEARS!!!!!!!!!