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piece of notoriety

By Adam Parkhouse, The News-Dispatch

Crystal Moore-Stupar displays the hat Brian Urlacher wore during media day at the Super Bowl. Adam Parkhouse/The News-Dispatch



Former Michigan City resident persuades radio show to give her linebacker's mistake

The last several months have been a whirlwind for former Michigan City resident Crystal Moore-Stupar.

She never thought the story produced by these events would help land her a pretty cool prize: A hat work by Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, which was recently a high-profile news item

Moore-Stupar was back in town this week, visiting from Fort Bragg, N.C., where she lives with her husband Michael, who's in the Army and currently deployed to Afghanistan.

She was listing to radio station B96 out of Chicago, when she heard the hosts talking about how they would give away piece of memorabilia from Urlacher, the Chicago Bears' middle linebacker.

Urlacher was recently fined $100,000 for wearing a vitaminwater hat during Super Bowl media day. Since Gatorade is an official sponsor of the NFL and vitaminwater is a competitor, Urlacher should not have been wearing the hat, the league said. It was the first fine levied for such an infraction.

Urlacher and his brother Casey brought the hat to B96 and gave it to them to do with as they pleased. The hosts decided to leave up to the listeners how the hat should be given away. Naturally, a flood of calls came in from people describing why they deserved the hat.

After 10 minutes of trying to get through, Moore-Stupar reached the station and pleaded her case: In November she married her husband, then found out a month later she was pregnant with their first child. A month after that, Michael - a big Bears and Urlacher fan - was deployed to Afghanistan, and recentl a hold was put on his unit. He'll now be there for a total of 15 months.

“It's hard with him not being here,” Moore-Stupar said. “Now he'll be there for 15 months. It's just been on thing after the other.”

The hosts were touched by Moore-Stupar's story, and awarded her the hat. The promotions person at B96 told Moore-Stupar the hat was a “golden ticket,” but she isn't sure yet what to do with it.

She figure it might fetch a good amount of money on eBay, but doesn't know if that's the route she'll take.

“I love the Bears,” Moore-Stupar said. “(The hat) means a lot to me.”

Moore-Stupar actually may receive a bit of national attention for acquiring the hat. She's been contacted by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and ESPN, and could appear on television in the near future.

Though she's glad to have the hat, Moore-Stupar isn't so sure it should even exist. The fine, after all, was probably a bit much.

“I heard about the fine before I even heard about the hat on the contest,” she said. “It's really excessive.”

Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.