For the Love of the Game
By PAT STEMPER VOITA
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| Maureen Hart of Marengo holds a running pose with a pre-game meal. (Photos by SCOTT GRAHAM) |
Football is more than a game to Maureen Hart — it’s a family tradition.
The third-grade teacher at Locust Elementary School in Marengo hurries through her chores on the morning of a Chicago Bears game day, making sure that her work is done well before kickoff.
“Whether it’s shopping or finishing school work, she plans her day around the game,” says her husband, Jeff.
Every Sunday is treated like Super Bowl Sunday at the Hart house, as Hart prepares what she calls “game day” food, such as a baked potato bar, taco bar and chili – foods her family can eat in front of the TV, she says.
“She really makes it fun for everybody,” Jeff Hart says.
Even before sitting down to a game, Hart family members pull out their favorite Bears clothing. Hart wears her authentic Walter Payton jersey; her husband dons a Devin Hester jeresy; her son Adam, 20, puts on a well-worn Bears T-shirt; and son Jacob, 17, wears a Brian Urlacher jersey.
“I really do like Brian Urlacher for the way he competes and because he’s a good role model for the kids,” Hart says, noting that she still remains loyal to her favorite athlete, Walter Payton.
While Hart says her daughters Amanda, 19, and Bethany, 16, usually prefer not to wear any special clothing, they’re still part of the experience.
And that experience includes the Hart family gathering into the living room of their Marengo home of 21 years.
“Sundays during football season is family time, all of us sitting in the same room sharing a meal and watching the game,” Adam Hart says.
“We’re all in there, hootin’ and hollerin’,” Hart says. “It’s a fun time for the family to be together.”
A long history
Hart learned the game of football from her dad, Steve Tremmel. She recalls an image of her dad sitting in his black recliner down in the family room.
“I could only stay up until halftime because I had to go to bed for school,” Hart says. “I don’t know if my dad was really a Bears fan, but he was a Walter Payton fan.”
“Football is part of my life; it’s just such a family tradition,” Hart continues. “I’ve already decided when I’m a grandma, that we’ll have the whole family over for football Sundays.”
“She really is a huge fan of the Bears and is very emotional about it,” Jeff Hart says. “She does understand the game, and she’s into the game the whole time.”
Hart’s favorite football memory takes her back to when the Bears won the Super Bowl during the 1985-86 season. Her mantra since that time has been the same.
“There’s always next year,” she says.
Hart has only gone to one football game – an experience she shared five years ago with her sister, Chris – and she maintains it’s easier to watch football on TV.
“But the environment at a game, you can’t beat that,” she says.
The off-season
When the football season is over for the Bears, Hart stays an avid sports fan – she roots for the Chicago Cubs.
“I really make it Cubsville here,” she says of her school classroom, which she decorates with Cubs banners, flags, window clings and a coffee mug on her desk. After a Cubs win, she plays “Go, Cubs, Go!” as her students walk into the room.
A battery-operated clock donning the Cubs logo hangs on a wall in her classroom, too. The clock stopped working years ago, but Hart says she won’t replace the batteries because the hands of the clock stopped at 1 p.m.
“It’s always game time,” she says.
Hart says her family’s love of sports also spans watching the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, professional bowling, college sports and even the Little League Baseball World Series.
“We’re crazy sports people,” she says.
Hart also recalls spending many hours watching her children play school sports. Her daughters were involved in volleyball, basketball and softball, while her sons played basketball, baseball and ran cross country and track.
“My mom was always watching us compete, and I was grateful for that,” Adam Hart says.
“It would tear me apart to miss something,” Hart says.
Sports have had a large impact on her family, Hart says.
“What my husband and I have tried to instill in the kids is to win or lose like a champion, saying, ‘I did the best that I could.’”
