Colt-blooded
Former colts cheerleader in bears country
The Super Bowl battle line has been drawn in the Williams' Glenwood home.
On one side of the family room will be Arnee Williams, a former Indianapolis Colts cheerleader.
Her husband, Lonnie, who grew up on Michigan Avenue in the shadow of Soldier Field, will root for the orange and blue from the opposite end of the leather couch.
Alonna, 12, won't take sides, but her younger sister is torn between her parents' allegiances.
"I'll be standing in the middle," said Aleigha, 10, who plans to wear a Bears hat and a Colts T-shirt.
The trash talk gets loud and tense.
"All I know is the Bears are better," said Lonnie, an optometrist.
"You have no offense," Arnee snapped back, her voice rising. "You don't even know when your quarterback will show up to play."
Without missing a beat, Lonnie added: "Defense wins championships."
The jabs turn to laughter.
"It's all in fun," Arnee said. "The rivalry makes it better."
The eighth-grade social studies teacher at Parker Junior High in Flossmoor has been taunted at work for wearing her vintage Colts coat, but she refuses to hide her excitement.
"I won't be part of the secret Colts fan club," she said.
A native of Elkhart, Ind., Arnee cheered for Indiana University before trying out and making the Colts' fledgling squad in 1986.
"It was a lot of fun, and I made some great friends," she said. "But it's not all that it appears to be."
For three seasons, Arnee said, she endured a four-month audition, weekly weigh-ins and the measly pay of $50 per game. Fraternizing with the players was forbidden.
Hair and makeup decisions were out of her control, thus the blue eye shadow and teased locks. And the flashy cheerleading outfits -- sparkly blue leotards with fringe skirts, metallic armbands, leg warmers and cowboy boots -- were unforgiving and uncomfortable.
"It looked like a 'Jetsons' uniform," she said, giggling.
When Arnee and Lonnie, both 43 now, met in 1988 through a mutual friend, she was in her final year of cheering and he'd never been to a professional football game.
Lonnie, a native South Sider and avid Bears fan, gladly accepted Arnee's offer to see her perform at the RCA Dome. He never thought to screen Arnee more seriously based on her choice of football team.
"It wasn't a discussion then because the Colts weren't a threat," he said. "You could walk up and buy Colts tickets (on game day), but I couldn't get in to see the Bears."
The couple never imagined they'd be in this predicament now.
No matter the outcome of the Super Bowl, they've pledged to use bragging rights sparingly.
"He's a Bears fan, win or lose, and I'm a Colts fan, win or lose," Arnee said. "It hasn't come between us yet."
Courtney Greve may be reached at
cgreve@dailysouthtown.com
or (708) 633-5983.
