Final Thoughts on Sven Day (and Weekend…)

The "Svengoolie/Rich Koz Day" went by fairly quickly, but was , actually, quite a long day- that began with me arriving at the station before 7 am, to suit up for my appearance with the ladies of "You and Me This Morning"- our WCIU morning program in Chicago. I entered the studio for the final hour of the show, with our hostesses Jeanne Sparrow and Melissa Forman already dressed in their Sven costumes that they wore for the entire show! Jeanne and Melissa are always so sweet  and very kind to me (you might  have noticed that when they interviewed me at the Museum of Broadcast Communications at the Sven exhibit unveiling on Oct. 10th), and we had a great time winding up their Halloween show.

From there, we headed over to the West Side Landmark, the Palace Grill, to visit with George Lemperis, the owner and manager. I've been to the Palace before (a favorite place not just for breakfast and lunch, but  often a stop for dinner before Bulls and Hawks games on the way to the United Center) and have visited with George's daughter Christina, but had never been there when George was- so I was glad to finally remedy that, and meet the man himself- a warm and funny guy beloved by all the restaurant's patrons. I know my picture is already on the wall there somewhere amidst the Bulls and Hawks memorabilia and the celebrity photos- but I'm guessing the new shot of George and I , with me tending the grill, will be added along the way!

Back at our broadcast home, we actually got some work done,while taking pictures with  many of my costumed co-workers, and joined them in a nice gathering  to commemorate my day -that included a formation of cupcakes in the shape of my top hat! I had to bail out of the party to go do a phone interview with WBEZ, our public radio outlet, and then-we fought traffic in the cold and , yes, snowy weather and nasty traffic to hit the WGN radio studio for what has become the traditional Halloween visit with Bill Leff and Wendy Snyder- always a fun time, and a pleasure to share some laughs with Bill and Wendy.

Next , we managed to make our way to the United Center, where events manager Todd Abbott welcomed us and set us on our path for the night, walking the concourses and taking photos with  Chicago Bulls fans before the start of the home opener against Cleveland. We met up with Benny the Bull, the Luvabulls, and the Incredi-Bulls who help stage special fan contests- and, yes, I took part in a game of "Musical Chairs" with some fans out on the floor ( no cracks about my dribbling!) I also later showed up in a gag on the scoreboard, when they showed fans in Halloween costumes- and I had to point out that it was actually the REAL me! We had a great time, thanks to the fans and the Bulls organization (only a Bulls win would have made it better!) and it was a great ending to my official day in the city and state!

We  had some additional fun the next day, attending the final performance of the Chicago Street Theater's adaptation of "Frankenstein" in Valparaiso- signing autographs and presenting the winners of their day-after-Halloween costume contest, and introducing the play. We wound up our visit with a trip to a nearby park to take a picture with the statue of popcorn icon Orville Reddenbacher, a native son of Valparaiso!

I'll try to post some of the photos in the next Svengoolie newsletter- due out around December 1st. Many thanks, again, to everyone who helped make it a memorable day in my life.

Check back here  soon for the info on this week's Sven show for Saturday!