When we heard there was a launch party at Bevy night club for Jay Cutler’s new ESPN 1000 radio show, we were sold. After all, in Chicago, where our athletes are our celebs (and thank God for that) this was the closest thing to a red-carpet hoopla we were going to get. The open-to-the-public invite where proceeds went to the Jay Cutler Foundation for childhood diabetes, touted “open bar, Chicago athletes and local celebs” (we’re not quite sure who qualifies for ‘local’ celebs in Chicago), but we bit and SDI’s Bull’s correspondent Brittany Marques and I headed out for a night with few expectations.
The event began at 7:30PM, but we rolled in right around 8. A true red-carpet with velvet ropes sprawled the entrance of the club that lies right on Ontario west of LaSalle (a.k.a club alley). NBC Chicago’s, Peggy Kizinski was at the front entrance with camera crews who were shooting b-roll of the tastefully dressed and attractive line of Cutler-seeking attendees.
Brittany Marques & Monica Murphy-Vargas
As expected, the event was a chick-fest, with what seemed to be a 70/30 split of girls to guys. Makes sense, how many men do you know that would pay $80-$125 (depending where you scored your tix) to get a glimpse of Cutler? I’m guessing with all the lovely ladies in form-fitting dresses, there were some ulterior motives for attending. But what the hell, we looked the part as well.
Having never been to Bevy before, I must admit, the club is gorgeous inside. A DJ spun on an elevated stage while VIP tables lined the front and were occupied by what looked like sponsors, execs and their WAGS. We did a lap around the joint before we finally spotted Cutler - who was heavily guarded behind another red velvet rope by beefed-up club security. Culter looked good – leaner and better-looking than normal, and seemed to be busy signing autographs, shmoozing with people more important than us, staying out of the commoners section of the club. We looked for Kristin Cavallari – but no sight of her – and wrote it off that she is probably just too preggars to attend. (Later we learned that she was there).
Tom Waddle & Monica Murphy-Vargas
By far, the highlight of the night was meeting ESPN 1000′s morning hosts Tom Waddle and Sarah Spain and Nick Friedell, ESPN Chicago’s Bulls beat reporter.
Nick Friedell
We talked a little Bulls with Nick and asked his take on the news that the Bulls are letting CJ Watson and Ronnie Brewer go as well as the rumor that Kyle Korver could be traded as well.
Sarah Spain and Tom Waddle were just as cool in person as we had hoped, making us feel important in a room full of sports execs and aspiring athlete’s wives.
Sarah Spain
Around 9PM I started asking others when Cutler was going to get on stage and say something about his new show with Waddle & Silvy. That’s when I was told by a reliable source that Cutler had already left. Really?! Not even an honest plug for the new show or a inspirational “thanks for showing up – Go Bears” 2-minute speech? Disappointed, but not shocked, we headed back to the open bar for one more round before throwing in the towel around 10PM.
Overall, the event was mildly entertaining with excellent people-watching opportunities. I’m just still surprised that as the face of the Bears organization and as the leader of the team, Cutler didn’t make a peep at the event and opted to drop-out early.
I struggle with wanting to like Cutler more than I do because I love the Bears. Cutler is wildly known for being smug and tight-lipped with the media – and that’s fine I guess – as long as he performs on the field and wins games. I don’t need a chirpy QB with a mega-watt smile, I just need to know that with all the upgrades the Bears made in the off-season, Cutler will make the right decisions on the field and take the Bears into the Playoffs. Because charities, talk-shows and celebrity wives are great and all – but none of that matters to fans if the Bears aren’t winning.
