The Big Cat

Division opponent. Nothing is certain in division games.

Totally fair assessment. First time head coach, rookie and/or Kolb playing QB vs. Reigning Super Bowl champs.

Were you close enough to Wrigleyville last night to get a taste of the madness? I had to bike through it on my way home, but was through it before the police barricades were broken.

You're talking about the Goo Goo Dolls, right? I'm pretty sure you're talking about the Goo Goo Dolls.

You would know...

I guess that's fair. But as you may recall, when you're young and a little strapped for cash (like my wife and I are), giving and receiving money can be a touchy issue, particularly when givers and receives have significantly more of it than you and aren't as generous. I'm not proud that I got a little judgy when making our gift list, but I'm not completely ashamed, either. Oh, so you got married in Evanston.

I have a very robust pencil collection from my boyhood...fingers crossed.

That sounds pretty stressful. We're in Chicago, my folks are in Erie, hers Philadelphia, wedding was in Lewisburg, PA. But we had Google docs and Skype. Where did you get married in Chicago? Spoiled isn't the right word and I think you're overstating the "importance" tremendously, or else I've done a poor job of communicating. As I said before, it's frustrating because you think everyone's playing by the same formalities, then someone blatantly disregards what you thought we all knew to be true. It's not "my" or my wife's standard, it's a standard developed based on observations, talking to others, reading and just having a general awareness for what is and what isn't "preferred" when it comes to getting someone a wedding gift. We didn't decree it thusly. Again, 3-5 weddings a summer for the last 5 years. I've had plenty of exposure to customs and formalities involved with being invited to, participating in and having ones own wedding here in the 21st century (no offense, Old Balls.)

They still pay for most. Also, I didn't marry into money, I'm an only child and we wanted to contribute. So, to take your question a step further, her parents contributed the same amount as my wife and I (10K) and my parents picked up the tab for everything else. It's common these days to look at what you want, what you have and then work together to keep everyone happy. Our biggest expense was the band (7,500), but it was money well spent because the most important thing for us was the enjoyment of everyone who came. Everyone had a blast, thanks largely to the band. My wife and I didn't even eat and I had a single drink during the reception. Our sole intent was to talk to and thank everyone who came. As I alluded to before, the biggest eyebrow raiser for me (since my wife and I don't make a ton of money, but still set $100 as our base) was the people we knew came from a very solid means, means that are/were significantly more than my wife and I have, but they still didn't see fit to match our own standard.

Do you recall how much you and your wife spent on the wedding itself?

God I hate finding out what people on this site actually look like. It's a cool shot of the buffalo, though!

Too rigid...I'm told.

Ha, well, I guess you and your wife are just better than us.

Count me among the late 80's early 90's kids whose parents promised us cards would be worth a fortune. You know who else got that message? Fleer, Upper Deck, Tops et al., they flooded the market, and now all my cards are worthless. My Shaq card that was $50 out of the pack in 1994 is now worth $15. YUP.

He also has multiple personalities, including a seven-year-old girl.

It was disappointing/confusing in that if we're not all playing by the same rule book, why play at all. Guilt from "well, we were very grateful they traveled to be with us in the first place." I do believe being present is the best present (long, self-satisfied Carollaesque sniff). But c'mon. You open the gifts. You receive them. And some make you go "hmm."

I don't understand. So I'm wrong to feel guilty whenever I raised an eyebrow at a very small number of our gifts? Fasle is any assumption that my wife and I (particularly my wife) weren't over-the-moon thankful for everything and everyone who traveled for our wedding too.

You know, I saw this and I was really troubled by the lack of other kids there...

The cheapest gifts my wife and I got were from our and our parents' wealthiest friends. Husband worked for Milcreek Township his entire career, wife was a secretary/receptionist, three sons: $250 Husband and wife, both attorneys, zero kids: $50 My cousin who makes north of $400K as an attorney in DC, who made a fuss about bringing her (step) kids after we specifically requested no kids: no gift at all. ' So yeah. No rhyme. No reason. But it's really hard not to judge/question what some people were thinking, I will admit.

Which team did we want him for? Our football team? Or is the NFL a big fitness contest now?

I got married last October. There's no rhyme or reason to what people give or how much they spend. I think $100 is standard, and it's what I've given (turn 29 in three weeks, I've had 3-5 weddings each summer for the last five years).

Is it too late to toss my hat in for Space Hog? They had that song.

This is great.

You mean people like Bill Cartwright, Luke Longley and Bill Wennington? Those powerhouses?

Like when he made the do or die three pointer to send game 6 into OT?