Live from Lancaster: Postcards with Lauren Screeden | Monday, Dec. 1
As told to Gabby Hajduk
Bears sideline reporter Lauren Screeden traveled across the pond to Lancaster, England, last week to be a part of the club's collaboration with the NFL and UNiDAYS for the Black Friday game against the Eagles. Before Screeden heads back to Chicago, check out her postcard to find out what Thanksgiving traditions she brought to the UK, how she celebrated the Bears' win at the watch party and more.
Hey Bears fans, it's Lauren Screeden here checking in from Lancaster. I'm wrapping up my first ever trip to the UK, believe it or not, and honestly, I had the best time.
We flew in the day before Thanksgiving, so on Thursday I made sure to work in some classic traditions. I was born into a turkey trot family, so when I found out I'd be here for Thanksgiving, I thought what better way to see the sights of Lancaster than with a little jog. So I did my own turkey trot in the morning and visited Lancaster Castle, where the original witch trials were. The city has so much history. I think the coolest thing is walking down the street and seeing a sign that reads, "This building was a hospital in 1720."
Obviously, Thanksgiving isn't really celebrated here, so it was already Christmas season on Thursday. Instead of a turkey dinner, we had cheeseburgers and went ice skating at a market. I mean, ice skating in a European Christmas market — what a great way to spend Thanksgiving.
Friday was, of course, the main event, with NFL and UNiDAYS hosting a Bears-Eagles watch party for students at Lancaster University. We had a great turnout. Basically, the entire Lancaster American football team came, and then the other half of the attendees were their friends and other students. It was really cool to see the variety of fandoms.
There was a Chris Zorich jersey, a Walter Payton jersey and a Brian Urlacher jersey, so some big Bears fans. But then some people had on jerseys of other NFL teams because they're just getting into the sport. I loved hearing people say that they were a Bears fan for the day or that they found a new fandom to be a part of. We obviously brought some Bears swag over, so by the end of the party, everyone was decked out in navy and orange.
The energy was just incredible both during the game and breaks. We raffled off a couple of Tremaine Edmunds and Rome Odunze jerseys and mini helmets, and any time somebody won, the whole place went crazy. They were hyping each other up and just genuinely excited to be there. We also made sure to bring some Chicago vibes to Lancaster with tailgate games, Chicago-style hot dogs and even a Thanksgiving-style hot dog.
Some of the Lancaster football players were telling me about their plans for a future in football, whether it was through playing or working in the sports industry. One of the students was saying he's interested in statistics and plans to spend his gap year in the States to try and work with a team. Another one said he loved football, but didn't like the amount of physicality, so he went from playing to being the team photographer.
It really felt awesome to be a part of the Bears traveling over here expanding to a new market within the UK. I've been around Bears fans for a really long time and they always talk about the fandom being a generational thing — how they've been fans since the '85 Bears or they were born into it. What's really cool, though, is being in a new culture that is not only embracing American football, but truly embracing the Bears, too.
Obviously, we love our die-hard Bears fans back in Chicago and around the United States, but it's really fun to see our fandom expanding as well. When you think about the Bears being this global brand and influencing so many people, including kids, outside of Chicago, it's really exciting.
Bear Down!
- Lauren
