Chicago Bears | San Francisco 49ers - Top 10 49ers of all-time and Friday Feedback Friday

Summary

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered

Episode: Chicago Bears | San Francisco 49ers - Top 10 49ers of all-time and Friday Feedback Friday
Date: December 26, 2025
Host: Dan Bernstein with Matt Abbatacola

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Episode Overview

This episode features a lively, irreverent recap of the latest Chicago Bears game, a deep dive into fan feedback for “Friday Feedback Friday,” and a humorous, unusually historical “Top 10 49ers of all-time” list—focusing not on San Francisco football legends, but on real-life and pop-culture figures from the California Gold Rush era. Regular host Dan Bernstein and longtime producer Matt Abbatacola discuss the pains and joys of Chicago fandom, interact with sometimes-outraged listeners, and riff with their signature blend of sarcasm and warmth.

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Key Discussion Points

Bears Reaction & Listener Feedback

• Post-holiday football hangover: Bears fans struggle with optimism and frustration after another up-and-down game, exemplified by surly audio messages and emails (08:20).
• Listener “Mike” delivers a hilarious/angry rant about Dan and Matt’s take on the Bears’ cheese grater hats—a viral counter to the Packers' cheeseheads (11:03).
  • Dan (11:37): “What do you think? …I’m probably 70/30 that it’s real.”
  • Matt (12:08): “Yeah, that sounds about right. …The ‘fuck you’ was pretty aggressive, maybe. I leaned back in my chair…”
• Emailers wax poetic about cheese graters and Bears-Packers trauma, highlighting the deep fandom scars and the generational handoff of suffering and hope.
  • Warren’s email (15:21): “We are the boss of the cheese. The grater helps us to be greater.”
  • Joe’s family moment (23:38): His young son, unfazed by historical Bears disaster, says, “Dad, they’re going to win,” during the comeback.
  • Phil’s Wisconsin exile (26:47): Celebrates the rare taste of victory surrounded by Packers fans.
  • Dan (for Dr. J’s scenarios, 21:15): Reads inventive “cheese grater” trolling scenarios poking fun at Packers culture.

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Bears - Packers Rivalry & Fan Generational Experiences

• Longtime Bears fans reflect on decades of rivalry-induced angst, the rare win over Green Bay eliciting relief and hope for a new era.
  • Matt (28:23): “Just be competitive in this rivalry… what was Rodgers, 25 and 5 or something stupid? Let’s be competitive.”
  • Dan (29:33): Stories about experiencing the Super Bowl win with family; his daughter mimics all the emotions.
• Parents and kids: Touching anecdotes highlight how new, young Bears fans lack the “scar tissue,” and cynical dads appreciate their children’s innocence and optimism.

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League Notes: Playoff Picture, Fines, and Officiating

• Lions and Vikings debacle: Open mocking of the Lions’ body language, coaching, and inability to beat a QB-less Vikings (01:36–03:24).
  • Dan (03:20): “That guy Brosmer: Bad. Bad. …I’m going to change my TV settings to keep him off of it.”
• NFL fines and rules confusion:
  • Ongoing frustration over inconsistency with roughing/landing-on-QB calls, and awaited fines for dangerous hits (32:47–34:57).
  • Matt (34:19): Lays out the structure of fines and hopes for accountability after Packers’ infractions.

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Top 10 49ers of All-Time (Not What You Expect!)

Instead of ranking San Francisco football legends, the hosts (with “the committee”) create a tongue-in-cheek list of the most notable “49ers” from the 1849 Gold Rush era and pop culture, mixing historical figures with movie characters and mascots in classic DBU style.

Committee’s Notable “49ers” (35:52–50:01)

• James W. Marshall: Discoverer of gold at Sutter’s Mill—unanimous #1 pick.
  • Dan (36:47): “He is my number one 49er of all time.”
• Stinky Pete (Toy Story 2 antagonist, voiced by Kelsey Grammer).
• Gabby Johnson (Blazing Saddles prospector, played by Jack Starrett).
• Samuel Brannan: First gold rush millionaire, made fortune selling supplies.
• Henry Wells & William Fargo: Pioneers of banking and express service—Wells Fargo founders.
• Levi Strauss: Created jeans for miners; stadium namesake.
• John Studebaker: “Wheelbarrow Johnny,” made fortunes on wheelbarrows, later founded car company.
• Ah Toy: First famous Chinese-American sex worker and brothel owner in San Francisco.
• John Sutter: Owned the ill-fated land and mill; never profited from his role in the gold discovery.
• Grizzly Adams: Noted outdoorsman, trapper, and gold rush entrepreneur.
• Bonus: Black Bart (the polite bandit), Mark Twain, Leland Stanford, and the “Bucket of Blood Saloon.”

Actual Top 10 Countdown (50:11–64:31)

Dan’s official “Top 10 49ers” (with historical color commentary and runner-up stories):

1. James W. Marshall
2. John Sutter
3. Ah Toy
4. Levi Strauss
5. Grizzly Adams
6. John Studebaker
7. John Bidwell (survived steamboat explosion, lived with a hole in his head)
8. Thomas Gilman (freed himself from slavery using gold mining profits)
9. Joseph Folsom (founder of Folsom, as in Folsom Prison)
10. Henry Wells & William Fargo
    • Dan: Pauses to sing and reminisce about missing out on “The Music Man” role at summer camp (41:13).

Notable moment:

• Matt (61:01): “Dude, I knew you were going to bring up Ah Toy. I just knew you would.”

Mascot Tangents

• Explores the Denver Nuggets’ 1970s prospector mascot (“Maxi the Miner”) and the quirks of sports branding (65:11–67:22).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dan on listener feedback (08:50): “There were three, four, five of those, all angry, all resigned to the Bears fate before they came back and tied it and sent it to overtime and won it.”
• Mike’s Rant (11:03): “Am I seriously sitting here listening to you two completely suck the fun out of the cheese grater hat? …I look forward to the Bears winning the Super Bowl so I can tune in the next day and hear how you guys ruin that.”
• Warren’s cheese email (16:26): “We are the boss of the cheese. The grater helps us to be greater.”
• On generational fandom (24:38): “He has none of the scar tissue I’ve had for the last 40 years. …He doesn’t have the feelings of ‘here we go again.’ This made me enjoy the game so much more.”
• Dan on Bears heartbreak (25:01): “I have a picture of [my son] bawling at the Double Doink game.”
• Dan on Mark Twain’s prospector roots (45:09): “Did not know he started off as a miner.”
• Dan on John Bidwell (56:12): “This is not like, like in the back of his head or the side of his head. This is a massive hole above his left eye.”
• General Show Vibe: Lots of dry Chicago humor, warm teasing, pop culture contradictions, historical fun interludes, and layered sports fandom angst.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bears Fan Voicemails (“Friday Feedback Friday”): 08:20–11:57
• Cheese Grater Hat controversy & listener mail: 11:03–16:26
• Bears-Packers Rivalry: Intergenerational Scarring: 16:43–29:33
• NFL fines/officiating segment: 32:47–35:18
• Top 10 49ers of All-Time (Historical/Pop Culture List): 35:52–64:31
  • Committee’s picks & debate: 36:29–50:01
  • Dan’s top 10 countdown: 50:11–64:31
• Denver Nuggets Mascot Tangent: 64:31–67:22
• DBU Betting Picks: 68:00–70:41

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Tone, Style, & Takeaways

• This episode captures why “Dan Bernstein Unfiltered” stands out in Chicago sports media: brutal honesty, unapologetic humor, encyclopedic pop culture and historical references, plus a willingness to let the audience in on both the inside jokes and the emotional rollercoaster ride of lifelong fandom.
• Even with hyperlocal references and goofy historical ranking bits, the episode is welcoming to new listeners, as it captures universal sports-fan emotion—generational suffering, fleeting hope, and the catharsis of finally getting one over on your rivals.

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Transcript

[Dan Bernstein]

Despite wintry conditions and heavy traffic, the.

[Matt]

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[Dan Bernstein]

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[Dan Bernstein]

Dan Bernstein Unfiltered on 31 2Sports is brought to you in partnership with my bookie. And just a quick note before we get started with Friday feedback Friday and our top ten 49ers of all time. We did put out a couple of interesting DBUs over the last couple days. If you're just sort of getting back to joining the world. There is a Show with Jerry DiNardo, a deep dive on college football and there is a show with Jason Benetti that's kind of a deep dive on everything. It's just a couple of wide ranging conversations that I hope you like that we put out there for you that I'm, I'm pretty proud of both of them and they were really nice conversations and I think different than anything you're going to get anywhere else. How was your holiday, Matty?

[Matt]

It was great, buddy. We had a, we had a really good time. Just a very relaxing day yesterday. You know, all the festivities are like family stuff. The 23rd, the 24th and then the 25th. We kind of just, it's kids are out of the house early in the morning and then it's just the two of us to watch our movies. Watched a couple Christmas movies. We watched Lions, Vikings, which was an absolute train wreck of a game to watch. It was disgusting.

[Dan Bernstein]

I, I know there's a time we're going to talk about it, but I feel bad for Dan Campbell. That did not look like a Dan Campbell coached team.

[Matt]

No, not at all. It was very sloppy, Very, very sloppy run the football.

[Dan Bernstein]

It wasn't just sloppy and I kind of hate doing this. But you, there was some bad body language in that game. There was, there were some slumped shoulders. There was some kind of meandering back to the huddle. That did not look like a Dan Campbell coach team. He needs to get his nose out of that play card.

[Matt]

He needs.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I don't find a play caller.

[Matt]

I was looking at that and their points were up like less than a point since he's taken over. Their yards were up maybe 20 or 30 yards a game. But the point, the big thing, you look at it, the points and when they went from like 29 point something to 30.3. So it wasn't even like a whole point jump. So why he did it, I don't quite understand what the significance was.

[Dan Bernstein]

They need. They need him. He looks 30 years older. Yeah. When he has these, you know, the reading glasses on and he just. I don't know, it's like he aged overnight and he's got to get back to stomping around the sidelines.

[Matt]

Yeah. I have to look and see what their record was since he's taken over. Obviously, they lost their last two games. That Steelers game, which was ugly. The one yesterday was ugly. So I have to see what their record was with him calling the plays. But yeah, they certainly don't look like the same team. Just the simple fact. And I know they've had some injuries on the offensive line, but the simple fact that they can't. They haven't been able to run the ball very well, or at least they didn't yesterday, I should say.

[Dan Bernstein]

They couldn't beat a team. They didn't have a quarterback.

[Matt]

I know.

[Dan Bernstein]

That guy's horrible. Dan.

[Matt]

The Vikings had three passing yards for the game and they won. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. That. That. That. That guy. Brosmer bad. Bad. Yeah.

[Matt]

Max Brosmer bad. Maybe New Hampshire, I think they said. And then one year with Minnesota last.

[Dan Bernstein]

Year and no more years in the NFL. Like, that's enough. I don't. I don't. Not on my television anymore. I'm going to change my TV settings to keep him off of it.

[Matt]

Yeah. And I got to look at the. The numbers, too, but Drew Brees was talking about the Vikings pass rush being just one of the best in the league. And it's just. I know obviously yesterday they looked everything they were supposed to be against the Lions, but I don't. I don't. I don't know what games he saw this year to say that. One of the best in the league. They haven't been that impactful.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't think they were missing Grenard for some of it. And maybe when they're completely fully healthy and everybody's all right, they're. They're good. December.

[Matt]

Hang on a second, though. Hang on. How about Noah? Eagle.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt]

Does the game. His father did the first game of the day. How cool is that?

[Dan Bernstein]

That's really cool. It's really cool.

[Matt]

And that's amazing.

[Dan Bernstein]

I also, I love the fact that the son is more straight laced than the dad.

[Matt]

The father. Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Because, I mean, Ian is. Is a goof. And maybe he's just a little more comfortable in his own skin at this point. And Noah as a youngster is still trying to do everything by the book. A little bit on the up and up. I understand it, but it's just usually you think it's the opposite. You think the kid is the sillier one, but it's not. The dad is. It's, it's great. Yeah.

[Matt]

And I was really happy to see that. And it's like what a very cool moment for these two to be able to have and share. They do the two games on Netflix and it's just very cool. Very cool moment.

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[Dan Bernstein]

Your most expensive month of the year. If, if, if you're betting with my bookie, 12 Days of Christmas is here. We're in the middle of a daily offers dropping back to back across casino and sports. That means you've got profit boosts, you've got free spins, you got bet and gets, you got surprise drops. If you're using social or telegram. And December, as we know, there's not a lot left of it, but it's full of NFL and college bowls and college playoffs and college hoops and NBA. And I've got some DBU picks coming up, a little football, little NBA for you. So stay tuned. Go to my bookie. Now punch in the code DBU for Dan Bernstein unfiltered, and your first bet's covered up to 500. You go big, you miss on the first one, then you have a bet back bonus token and you can run it back. So bet on anything, anywhere, anytime. Only with my bookie on Fridays we bring your feedback and we call it Friday Feedback Friday. It's always fascinating to me to get a sense of what's important and I do this by the in. Sometimes the intensity of the reaction that comes in and sometimes just by the sheer numbers. So it's always interesting to see what, what sets you off or what's important to you when it comes to where the feedback comes from. And you can send your feedback via the app. Just so you know, when you say, how do, how do I send in all the things I think about things and say, you suck. How do I tell you you suck? Well, you can do that by email. That's dan312sports.com mat.com or via the app where you can send notes to our email or you can send recorded voice messages. And we get those in perfect digital form. By the way. We own all that content. Just so you know, once you send that, we can legally, I'm just letting you know, for full disclosure, we can do whatever we want with it. So get the app at the Google Play Store, Apple app store, just 312Sports. You search for it and then you have that, and it's on your phone and you can get registered and you can win all sorts of stuff with the rewards and all that that goes on. So with that said, I want to start with the voice messages. And I mentioned there were some receipts that were left during the Bears game, and almost all of them came in at the same time of the Bears game, and almost all of them sounded a little bit like, this is from Justin. I believe that we got. I believe that this was what Justin said it.

[Matt]

They're better. They're better with a backup quarterback. They're better with a backup running back. They're better. With only one tight end left. They're better. Doesn't matter. So frustrating. That Philly win was wonderful, but that's the highlight of the season because this team's not winning.

[Dan Bernstein]

Dick. There were three, four, five of those, all angry, all resigned to the Bears fate before they came back and tied it and sent it to overtime and won it.

[Matt]

Yeah, there was the one from Jeff Listener. Jeff. And we just. We couldn't get his audio in for whatever reason. But he was convinced that there was a mole, a Packers mole within the Bears organization that feeds them all the information. Why there was a step ahead. So that was pretty good, too. But, yeah, I heard several of them that at the point of the game where it was 16 to 6 that they were done with the season. They were done with Ben Johnson, they were done with Caleb Williams, that the season's over, they're done watching the Bears. Why do they waste their time with this team anymore? And then you had the final two minutes of the game.

[Dan Bernstein]

And the reason why some of These upload is MP4 and some upload as other kinds of files. I wish I could advise you on how to do that. I just know we got a more difficult time with things that load as like.m4a or something like that.

[Matt]

Yeah. So I don't. I don't Know what? I'll. I'll. I'll talk with Marcus about it, ask about it, what it is. But yeah, that was the issue with Jeff while we couldn't get it done.

[Dan Bernstein]

But, but okay, this. We're going to play a game for this one. And the question I have for you. This was sent in by Mike, and Mike is either doing a bit and I guess I'll set this up. Either it's a really well done, well acted bit, or this. This is real. And he actually means this. Either one is awesome.

[Matt]

Yep, either way is good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Either way is good. So listen to this. Either thinking that the guy is. Is. Is creating some really clever content, or it's just fun and it's done earnestly. Ladies and gentlemen, the thoughts regarding our thoughts on the cheese grater hat, which generated more feedback maybe than anything else we've done since we've gotten the app. But this, this. These are Mike's thoughts.

[Mike]

Am I seriously sitting here listening to you two completely suck the fun out of the cheese grater hat? This is why we can't have nice things in the Chicago area, because we got people with poles up their ass like you two, who have to completely shit on everything and Matt you for encouraging Dan's constant bullshit. I look forward to the Bears winning the super bowl so I can tune in the next day and hear how you guys ruin that.

[Dan Bernstein]

What do you think?

[Matt]

I can't tell. I honestly can't tell if he's. If he's doing a bit or if he. If he's being sincere. You know, I might lean towards the sincere part. The fuck you was pretty aggressive, maybe. Like, I leaned back in my chair a bit. I was like, whoa, expect. Didn't expect that, big shot. I'm just, you know, like, wow, that was aggressive.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I. I'm probably 70, 30, that it's real.

[Matt]

Yeah, that sounds about right. Maybe 60, 40, because there he's been a longtime listener and he's just really good at the bit. But I don't. Yeah, I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

He sounds a little older. I get a little bit of a Wisconsin sound to him. It's like an upper Midwest accent.

[Matt]

Yeah, a little bit. Definitely. Definitely older guy. Not a young guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, no, no, no. That guy, he probably has a grandchild to help him with the phone, but show me how to work this. Show me how to use an app.

[Matt]

Well, if he wasn't angry before, he will be now, so.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's right. Well, Mike.

[Matt]

We're gonna make sure Mike does hate us for real before this is over.

[Dan Bernstein]

The amount of stuff on the cheese grater had, the amount of quality stuff was excellent. Divided between people, in between people who get the bit and don't get the bit. And what we were saying was the cheese grater, my belief was it didn't accomplish its intent because while it looks like it's. Yeah, you got cheese. Well, we're going to grate your cheese. Watch this. We're going to one up you and grate it. And I'm thinking, well, all that does is optimize the cheese in a way that makes it more delicious. So it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's not necessarily an own of any kind to do that. We also found out that the company that manufactures the foam rubber cheese grater hats, they did so for righteous reasons. They had been manufacturing cheeseheads and they got a cease and desist letter from. Was it the packers or their official producer, manufacturer of the official cheeseheads? They were told to stop. And that was their response. All right, you don't like what we're doing. We're going to make these because it looks like they cost them nothing to make.

[Matt]

Yeah. And so their lawyer said that they could probably go to court and they wouldn't lose because they don't have the, you know, the IP for cheese. But they are also smaller company, don't have the funds to go and battle a big company like that. So they said, we're not going to do it. And so in turn they said, right, we're going to make cheese graters and then have sold more of the cheese grater hats than he did the cheese head hats. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just.

[Matt]

I still can't decide about Mike.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just can't.

[Matt]

I can't decide.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, like he just.

[Matt]

Yeah, I'm going to go a little more. I'll go with you that. The 70, 30 that he really is angry. I mean. Cause like the polls up our asses and the fuck you was pretty. Was pretty sincere.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I thought at the end, the way he brought it home with like, I'll show you. You don't like the bears. I can't wait to show you. And I go, what? But that's. That was kind of misguided enough to make me think it's real.

[Matt]

Yeah, it could be. But anyway, whoever it, whatever your intent was, thanks Mike, for sending in. Thanks for all the audio messages. And again, we've said this several times. I know it's hard to get to all of them. Please send them in. We listen to them all. We Read all the emails. It's just there's. There's limited opportunities to get everything in. But thanks for doing it and keep doing it, please.

[Dan Bernstein]

And to the emails. Now. This is from Warren. Warren says, I appreciate that you get that the purpose of a cheese grater is to enhance the flavors that cheese imparts to our culinary creations. But you're missing why that makes the cheese grater the perfect millinery riposte to the cheesehead hat. The cheese grater, writes Warren, is about power. It is a tool that we use to bend cheese to our will, to make it do our bidding. We use it to shred a block of cheddar that's otherwise content to lounge in the corner of the refrigerator, to command it to enhance our Mac and cheese, or to compel a lazy chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano to make a pasta dish a masterpiece. It is our masterpiece, not the cheese's masterpiece. We are the boss of the cheese. The grater helps us to be greater.

[Matt]

No, that's good. I like his thought there. With the exception of the enhancing the Mac and cheese, because without cheese, you don't have Mac and cheese. But it's kind of an important component to it. But yeah, very well thought out. I like that we're. We're actually bending the cheese's will to do our bidding. So I like that. That's good imagery. Good writing there too.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, there's. Yeah, there's a. There's so much good. People put so much into some of this, and I really do appreciate it. This was written by Matt and Matt says, Dan, you mentioned in post game how the Bears win over the packers would likely be a special memory for younger fans who have only ever experienced packers dominance. And it got me thinking about whether I have ever seen the Bears when win a big game against the packers. And I couldn't really think of one. Said, I'm in my mid-30s and I can remember the first game I watched after telling my dad I wanted to watch a Bears game with him. It was a 1712 loss to the Broncos in Denver on November 10, 1996. I'm using that as the starting point for my Bears fandom. And parenthetically, he mentions that game, the 1712 loss to the Broncos. Yeah, I covered that game at the old Mile High Stadium before they moved the old rickety. It was swaying Mile High Stadium and the Bears had a chance to win that game. They were, if you remember, they were on the goal line and Wonstadt tried a trick play. He lined up Jim Flanagan as a fullback. And they had used. And they had used Flanagan as a pass catcher before. But this was the twist on it. And Flanagan threw a pass to Michael Timpson, who couldn't hang on. It was right in front of me. I was standing on the field in the end zone. If there. If there's video of it, you can see me. And it was. That's the loudest I've ever heard an NFL game outdoors. Loudest I've ever heard.

[Matt]

Yeah, I remember that. I remember that. Now you bring that up, the Flanagan throw. Michael Timpson.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, Michael Timson. And he said so. He says. Matt says after doing some research, I think it's accurate to say that Saturday night's game was the first time in my Bears lifetime the Bears beat the packers in a truly big game. Now, Matt attached a chart. He actually showed his work about his methodology that he used to define a big game. And he said, I don't think its significance can be understated. In literally every single season during my Bears lifetime, where both teams have been competitive, the packers have shattered any Bears aspirations. That's why Bears fans have developed this overwhelming sense of nervous anxiety and dread, just waiting for the next thing to go wrong. And the negative energy was palpable in this game. And I understand this type of metaphysical energy is of dubious existence and completely unquantifiable, but I do think it's real to some extent.

[Matt]

Yeah, no, for sure. And the. The. Caleb Williams is now 2 for 2 and 2 as a bear starting quarterback into the Packers. So, you know, maybe things are going to switch and maybe it actually becomes an actual competitive rivalry. And you mentioned the Bears Broncos game. I want to mention real quick. I watched two things over the last couple days. I've had a lot of extra time. One of them was a documentary out about John Elway, which I didn't know was either coming out or it's. It's rereleased on Netflix. It was absolutely fantastic. If you have a chance to watch the Elway documentary. And then Nat and I, we sat down and watched the Super Bowl Shuffle documentary yesterday.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, how is it?

[Matt]

It was really good. And there was. There was actually things there. I learned there was things that I didn't know about the Super Bowl Shuffle, the actual genesis of the whole thing, where it came from. I thought it was really, really interesting. Even though you know the whole thing, you know all about it. The story behind it was what I didn't know and what I learned, I thought was really interesting to watch.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right. Well, that's very. Well, we're sharing sort of what's on the screens here in our homes. I was watching a lot of sports and kind of, you know, flipping around. I have a ton of NBA yesterday. I just basically had the NBA on all day because there were so many compelling players out there. Beth is watching this show called heated rivalry. Okay. Which is. It's a love story. It's a hockey love story that she says is in. Unbelievable. She's actually watching right now. She wanted to kick everybody out of our house last night because the season finale is on and it's not coming back to like 2027. So she. She ended up getting too tired after we finished cleaning up from Jason's birthday party last night. And she's watching it right now because she was so excited for it. It's called, I think it's a heated rivalry.

[Matt]

That's correct. I'm just looking it up right now. Heated rivalry on hbo, I think.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it's supposed to be. She says it is. It is. Just she can't get enough of it. She says it's absolutely fantastic. Here is a note from our buddy Matthew. He goes. He wants us to refer to him as Dr. J. So Dr. J writes, regarding your cheese grater discussion, please allow me to throw out a couple of scenarios that might explain how this troll works. Scenario number one. Wisconsinites/packer fans are unaware of the existence of cheese in non block form. In this scenario, the cheese grater acts as mutilator of the sacred block of cheese, leaving a near dust form, therefore unusable for picking up and taking large bites out of. Packer fans weep at the mere thought of cheese that is not the size of a Thanksgiving turkey. Therefore, the cheese grater is a feared weapon. Scenario number two. The bears have ascended to cheese captains of the world. In this scenario, not only have the bears taken the north, they're proclaiming superiority in all things cheese, which includes the ability to grate the cheese when called for cheese, then ascends to a higher form of existence with the bears at the helm, leaving the packers in the proverbial cheese dust. One final thought. Since Kevin Warren seems to be having trouble finding a shovel to begin his new stadium project, perhaps he could try using a cheese grater.

[Matt]

Oh, boy.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just, you know, I'm always here for the stray shot. Yep. At that and similar vein, James says, I saw a TikTok of a bunch of players wives in the field wearing the cheese grater hats. I think that's where they came from. It is a good counter to the cheese head hat. The grater enhances the cheese, but it signifies the preparation for the consumption. The cheese is the prey. The bears are the predator. This is not something to be messed with.

[Matt]

Yeah, I saw several people reached out through social media saying that Simone Biles.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Matt]

Is the wife who purchased the hats for all the wives, or at least the group of wives that hang out for the games together. So I don't know if that's confirmed or true, but several people have said that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, I'm not arguing. This is a note from Joe and Joe says, I'd like to say how much I appreciate the pod. Well, thanks. Thanks for being a listener. He said. What you said, Dan, about having the young kids stay up for the game on a Saturday night resonated with me. I have two boys, 10 and 6. They are loving this season. The 10 year old especially. Of course, he stayed up to watch this game. The whole game. He kept saying, dad, they're going to win. And during my tirades, he kept this amazing calm. Dad, they're going to win. Then there's the incredible finish and the emotions subsided. And he looked me dead in the face and said, I told you. It was at this moment I realized he has none of the scar tissue I've had for the last 40 years. He doesn't have the feelings of here we go again. And this made me enjoy the game in the moment so much more because he's on the cusp of some of the most exciting and memorable times in his early Bears fandom. And I'm excited to join him on this journey. That's great.

[Matt]

I love that. And even though Hank will be 13 on January 1, he. I have a picture of him balling at the double Doink game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, so did. Yeah. Jason was like, was almost in high school and he did the same. He fell. He just fell down on the floor and laid.

[Matt]

I mean, Hank was devastated. Absolutely devastated even at his young age. So it's funny, that's. I love that. That, yeah, he has. He doesn't have the scars that his father does. But even at a young age, Hank still has some of the slight small war wounds of being a bear.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah, you got to build those up. That's character, man. I. I was going through pictures. We were going yesterday because Beth found a thing on Instagram that lets you make these really cool photo collages. And she did one for Jason's birthday. And so I went back through my photos because I wanted to she have her show me how to do it. And I found a picture. You can check it out on my Instagram. I found a picture of Jason dressed up for. I think it was for Halloween as Alshon Jeffrey.

[Matt]

Oh, God.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he's got. He bought actual wide receiver gloves. And he's got the Alshon Jeffrey jersey. He's got these little shoulder pads on. He's got the eye black on the way Alshon Jeffrey would do it over the bridge of his nose. And he's doing this badass stare into the camera. And I looked at it and I saw number 17. And I forgot who it was because you know who it is now?

[Matt]

Oh, the kicker.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's Bagent, isn't it?

[Matt]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's Bajant.

[Dan Bernstein]

Isn't Bajant 17 now?

[Matt]

Taylor 19, right? Yeah. Isn't Bajint 17?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, I think Bajint 17. And I saw it. I went. I'm like, oh, my God. Did he. Oh, thank God. It's Alshon Jeffrey. And because I was worried that he was becoming a member of the bagency that I had forgotten.

[Matt]

Member of the bagency.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was worried that I had to deprogram him somehow. He should be starting over Caleb Williams, because he is pure of bloodline. Here is a note from Phil. Phil said, even though this was technically the darkest day measured by minutes of light, for me, it's the brightest in years. 34 years ago, I moved my pregnant wife and toddler son from Chicago to Milwaukee for a career opportunity. And it turned out to be very good for the family. But sports wise, it was just brutal. As a lifelong fan of all Chicago teams, I was in the stands when Bret made his packers debut in 1992. I don't need to fill you in the Bears and the Bulls and the Cubs fortunes. Since that fateful day, I've endured ribbing from local friends like a brutal big brother to a kid brother. Until that game. While the Bears have had a few years of success, the Cubs had 2016. Last night landed differently. One local friend said to me afterward, oh, is this the end of our reign of terror over your Bears? That alone made it special. No, Glo, no. But your team played hard. An actual sense of dread here in Wisconsin. I savored every bit of your post game, not wanting any of it to end. I'm hopeful it's finally, truly my turn. And the Bears have years of success and do take the north. And we all savor it together.

[Matt]

Yeah, I clearly want the Bears to win every game and especially the games against the Packers. But just be Competitive in this rivalry. You know, just be competitive.

[Dan Bernstein]

Make it worth it.

[Matt]

Yeah, let's. I mean, what was Rogers, 25 and 5 or something stupid 23 and 5.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, let's be competitive and we'll finish this up with a note from Dan, who said, I was five when the Bears won the Super Bowl. My entire family was present. My mother had made a spread so we could enjoy the game appropriately. I remember shooting Silly String all over the TV room, typically a mortal sin with my father on any day but a Bears super bowl day for the Bears packers game, my six year old daughter sat next to me in headphones, said, daddy, you get really loud. She cheered with me. She was sad with me. She mimed all of the emotion I was thinking throughout the game. After we calmed down from the unexpected win, she smiled and said, being a Bears fan is fun. I haven't said that since I was five. Said, you're absolutely right about bringing in a new generation of fans. Loving the shows. Go Bears.

[Matt]

That's awesome. That's really, really great.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm glad that's out there in the ether. I really am. I hope that this stuff can live to fight some more days because I will admit getting scared watching the Lions yester.

[Matt]

Why scared?

[Dan Bernstein]

Just of how quickly these things slip through your fingers. It made it seem fragile to me because I never thought especially it was just this year that the Lions dismantled the Bears. That was this season that they put a 50 burger on the Bears like nothing. And within the course of the last few weeks, that's dissipated.

[Matt]

Yeah, Dan. And we've started this conversation weeks ago into the season that it is very fragile. And you know, my point of genesis for that was on the Washington Commanders. I mean, looked at where they were last year and we don't need to talk about the background of how it was done or what they did, but it was like, look at them now. They're not in the playoffs, the Lions not in the playoffs. I mean, it's why I was early on trying to say let's take advantage of this season and let's talk about kids getting to the playoffs. Let's talk about a playoff run. Let's talk about being a Super bowl contender.

[Dan Bernstein]

No doubt.

[Matt]

There's no guarantee and it's not a guarantee in sports that you can stack and build and you're going to get back to that point next year for the playoffs. Yeah. And with that Lions loss last night, the packers did officially get a playoff spot. So there's only one spot left in the nfc and That'll come down to the Panthers and the Buccaneers. But yeah, right now, I mean it's all, it's all set. 1, 2 and 3 and then 5 and 6 and 7 are not, not set permanently but are in position right now with only the, the four seat open between the AFC or NFC south winners.

[Dan Bernstein]

Before we get to our top 10 49ers, I want to remind you that especially with this thaw in the weather, great time to think about your windows. A great time. Because you're like, oh, that was last week was really, really cold. Well, it's going to get cold again. So get new windows. You know you need them. Don't wait. Call Russ Armstrong. He's the owner of Chicago Window Guys and he knows how to treat you because you're worried like am I getting the best price? Is this I hear all these different offers. Just talk to Russ. He's going to match anything. When you hear these phony baloney, buy one, get one free sales gimmicks. Russ will explain what the real deal is and he is the real deal because his factory is here in Chicago. He will custom make the windows for you and it's all his people who do the measuring and do the installation. There's no third party labor. Nothing is subcontracted. Everybody works for Russ in the Chicago Window Guys. Call him at 847-302-9171 and check out his five star [e-mail] and you will be happy. I have recommended Russ to coworkers, to friends, to neighbors, to family and everybody loves the work that Russ does. Working with Russ and obviously the windows that he puts in your house. 847-302-9171 chicago window guys.com so still monitoring.

[Matt]

The football operations for a penalty and a fine or a fine, not a penalty but a fine for yes for Nixon on the hit on DJ Moore. So that won't come out until about three in the afternoon on Saturday. That's normally when it, when it's happens.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt]

So while I'll monitor that Saturday, that's tomorrow actually. So around 3 o' clock our time it should be updated because right now it's still week 15 and they don't update it till the following Saturday.

[Dan Bernstein]

I can't believe that Booker got fined for landing on top. He got a $5,000 rip for what they said was his body weight on top of the quarterback. I don't like but I understand the second one for the inadvertent helmet to helmet. I totally get the the need for them to have, have a precedent on that one. They, they really want the deterrent effect of that. Fine. But the other one, come on, man. You don't find that.

[Matt]

Yeah, I don't get it. I don't get it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Let the flag stand on that.

[Matt]

Yeah. And again, that's, that's a really hard one to determine. Like, you know, we've talked about it before. The Montez sweat sack in the fourth quarter, he lands on top of him. Like, how was one, you know, a penalty? One's not. I just don't, I don't get it. And to ask a guy to kind of twist as you're going through in a split second motion, finally getting to a quarterback that you have a hard time getting to and to twist and so you don't land on top. I just, I don't understand. I think it's a really silly rule, but I mean, I'll be really pissed if Nixon is not. Not fined for at least with 20 or 25 grand.

[Dan Bernstein]

And kudos to the Athletic for writing about the availability or lack thereof of certain packers in the post game. And they gave it to Keyshawn Nixon, who apparently now has a reputation as a puffy chested front runner, but is unavailable when they lose. Unavailable when he thinks he's at fault, that he is. That once you get that kind of reputation when times are tough that you hide and you can't wait to get out there during good times, that's a bad look. That is a, that that speaks poorly to one's character.

[Matt]

Well, yeah, especially when you're out in front after the game, you know, the game ending interception.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep. And then when you get burned twice, you're nowhere to be found.

[Matt]

Yeah. So that penalty, just looking at the numbers here for a first offense, and I assume it's his, his first would probably be around a $17,000 fine. That's what the NFL has listed.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, I will absolutely. I trust you on that one. And I hope you're right because I think it's well deserved. Now, I don't know if you had the educational experience that I did putting this top 10 list together. If the committee, I should say if the committee learned a lot, because I did. I'm not sure exactly what parameters you use to determine your top ten 49ers of all time, but I was, I was, I certainly came away more edified than before.

[Matt]

So I have, I have here from the committee 15 names in no particular order, because we're going to allow your official top 10 list to be the official top 10 list of all time 49ers. So these are. These are our 15 names that we have that the committee put together. And I'm just going to go through these for you in no particular order, all right. Because I did learn some things, some things I did not know about the California gold rush, about the migration of people in 1849. So this is some interesting things here. Now I'll share with you just this list from the committee.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt]

Start with James Wilson Marshall carpenter, sawmill operator. On January 24, 1848, he reported finding gold at the Coloma, California, a small settlement about 36 miles northeast of Sacramento. His discovery was the impetus for the California gold rush.

[Dan Bernstein]

He is my number one 49er of all time.

[Matt]

Really?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, you. The very first name out of your mouth was number one on my list. James W. Marshall.

[Matt]

All right, moving on the committee. Here we have Stinky Pete, also known as the Prospector. He's the main antagonist in Disney Pixar's Toy Story 2.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, good call.

[Matt]

The character was voiced by Kelsey Grammer. So Stinky Pete.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, that's a great call. Can you look up the name of the Denver Nugget prospector? Yeah, look that. Because when the Denver Nuggets.

[Matt]

Yes, you're exactly right.

[Dan Bernstein]

They had an awesome logo and he was this, like, bearded. He looked like Yukon Cornelius, actually, who I think was also a. He was a Klondike Yukon prospector of some kind. But I'm pretty sure that Yukon Cornelius was also technically the. The Alaskans and the Canadians and, like, were not 49ers, but stinky Pete was. And I know the Denver Nuggets guy is supposed to be. I loved that logo.

[Matt]

Yeah, I'll find it. I'll look it up here for you.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt]

So Stinky. Stinky Pete makes the list. We also have an actor here, Claude ennis. Jack Starnet Jr. You know who that is?

[Dan Bernstein]

Claude Joy. Is that from Brokeback?

[Matt]

No, he is from Blazing Saddles.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, Jack Sterrett.

[Matt]

Yeah, Jack.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Jack Sterrett did the. Gabby Hayes. He was Gabby Johnson.

[Matt]

Gabby Johnson, one of my favorites.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yep. Oh, yeah.

[Matt]

One of my favorite Prospector. Yeah. Gabby Johnson. Yeah. The gibberish speaking, grizzled old prospector. Now, did you.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no. The sheriff is.

[Matt]

Yep. Did you know that he was in First Blood?

[Dan Bernstein]

He's Gault in First Blood.

[Matt]

I didn't realize that was even. That was.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's one of my favorite trivia questions. The sadistic.

[Matt]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Lt. Gault was the guy that hits Rambo in the back with the nightstick. He's the guy leaning out of the helicopter with the. With the sniper rifle.

[Matt]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

When he throws the rock and he falls and his face is all messed up. That is Jack Sterrett, the same guy that played Gabby Johnson. And the only reason that Mel Brooks put him in the movie was because he used to see Jack Sterrett in the commissary at Warner Brothers, and he was known for his unbelievable Gabby Hayes impersonation. So Mel Brooks, like, we got to put him in the movie.

[Matt]

Yeah. So that's the.

[Dan Bernstein]

That.

[Matt]

That's the Gabby Johnson character. It's a tribute to Gabby Hayes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Born here. I'm gonna die here. Yep.

[Matt]

All right. Another. Another very famous character. Gus Chiggins, old prospector. That is the SNL character portrayed by Will Ferrell.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know if I know Gus Chiggins.

[Matt]

Oh, dude. So there's. There's one where he's part of the group. It's. It's a group of soldiers. They're getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt]

And they bring him in to speak and kind of. Kind of lead and rally the, you know, their. Their morale and. Yeah, it's really, really good. So you have to look it up. Gus Chiggins.

[Dan Bernstein]

I will. I'll write it.

[Matt]

C H I G G I N as old prospector at snl, played by Sean Figgins.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, no, no, no, no. Different guy. Shane Figgins.

[Matt]

All right. Another name for the California gold rush. Samuel Brannon became California's first millionaire during the gold rush by selling supplies. So first California millionaire because of the Gold rush.

[Dan Bernstein]

You know what he did to celebrate what he did? He had a supplies party. Oh, boy.

[Matt]

Okay. That's actually funny.

[Dan Bernstein]

Sorry. That's good.

[Matt]

No, it's good. That works. He had a supplies part. For who, though? If he threw it? I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe. Maybe they did it for him to celebrate his selling of supplies. Supplies.

[Matt]

Next two names on the list. Henry Wells and William Fargo. Established crucial banking express services for miners with an E. Minors and businesses.

[Dan Bernstein]

That was my number 10 was the team of Henry Wells and William Fargo. All right, I was going to launch into song from the Music Man. Oh, the Wells Fargo wagon is a coming down the street oh, please let.

[Matt]

It be for well, you still can.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, the Wells Fargo wagon is a coming down the street I wish, I wish I knew what it could be.

[Matt]

So are you still.

[Dan Bernstein]

I got a box of maple sugar on my birthday in March I got a gray Mac and Ah. And once I got some grapefruit From Tampa. Montgomery Ward sent me a bathtub and a cross cut saw.

[Matt]

Okay, so you're still wounded from not making that. That part in the music Man.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. That was different though. That was the chorus that sang Wells Fargo Wagon. Yeah, I didn't get the part of Harold Hill.

[Matt]

Yes. So you're still wounded by it though.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, hell yeah. Oh, forever. Forever. Now that's. That's like the. The Bears. Packers scar tissue.

[Matt]

All right, next name. See if you have this guy on your list. Levi Strauss.

[Dan Bernstein]

Number four.

[Matt]

Number four, yeah. Created durable denim pants for the miners. Again with an E. They'll be playing in the stadium.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, he's. It's not his name is on the stadium.

[Matt]

Yep. How about this guy? John M. Studebaker.

[Dan Bernstein]

Number six.

[Matt]

Number six. Wow. Initially prospected, found success selling wheelbarrows and wagons. The ones that are gonna race against.

[Dan Bernstein]

Stealing all my jokes.

[Matt]

Oh, sorry.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was saving that.

[Matt]

You know what his nickname was? His nickname was Wheelbarrow Johnny.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know. And it so happened he sold wheelbarrows. What were the odds? I know, right? Like he showed up and he happened to be already nicknamed Wheelbarrow Johnny. And then he got into the wheelbarrow business.

[Matt]

So obviously I knew that.

[Dan Bernstein]

How did they not have wheelbarrows? That's what I couldn't figure out. You're transporting rocks down mountains, and it took John Studebaker to be like, you know what you should do? Instead of carrying that bin? Put a wheel on the front and then lift the back of it. Oh, see, that's why you're Wheelbarrow Johnny.

[Matt]

That's right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Without you, that name, we would never figure that out.

[Matt]

So obviously knew of the Studebaker Corporation because he started. Yeah, I know that he did. It was gas powered cars. Yeah. No, no, because in. In 1902, he began producing electric vehicles. I didn't know that.

[Dan Bernstein]

I know. Battery powered vehicles. Yeah.

[Matt]

All right, how about this guy? Domenico Ghirardelli.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. I ruled him out by technicality.

[Matt]

Why?

[Dan Bernstein]

Because he wasn't really. He was. I mean, he was there. He was a big San Francisco businessman and he had proprietary knowledge of chocolatiering. But I didn't. It was too loose an affiliation.

[Matt]

No, because his. His tent based shop was one of the first shops set up in that area. Started a general store. I mean. Yeah, he was an Italian chocolatier. Worked out of South America before he moved to California during the gold strike at Sutter's Mill. Opened a general store. He perfected his chocolate recipes there. And then The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was incorporated in 1852. It's the third oldest chocolate company in the US after Baker's Chocolate and Whitman.

[Dan Bernstein]

So it's older than Hershey.

[Matt]

Yeah, third oldest in the U.S. so of course, in Italian chocolatier, he'll have to make the committee's honorable mention.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. What I read was that he. They learned about how cocoa butter would separate at certain temperatures, and that allowed them to make the chocolate like that. That's what he had that other people didn't have, was an understanding of the chemistry.

[Matt]

Did you leave him off the list because he was Italian?

[Dan Bernstein]

Let me see if I did, if there's any. No, that's not the reason.

[Matt]

Okay. You just like. We're not putting this guy on because he's Italian.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just. I didn't think. Maybe. I didn't read what you read. I didn't think he was associated enough. But I will. I will address that. I will see if we can remedy that and on appeal.

[Matt]

All right, next name is Mark Twain. I did not know this, that Mark Twain started work as a minor in Virginia City, Nevada. Didn't do too well. And so he decided to go work for the Virginia City newspaper called Territorial Enterprise. That's where his writing career began. So I did not know he started off as a miner. How about Black Bart? Does he make your list?

[Dan Bernstein]

He did not.

[Matt]

The Gentleman Bandit. Known for robbing Wells Fargo's stagecoaches in Northern California between 1875 and 1883. Leaving polite notes and sometimes even poems, and famously never harming any of the passengers.

[Dan Bernstein]

Wow. Yeah.

[Matt]

Black, smart. The Gentleman Bandit. How about Leland Stanford?

[Dan Bernstein]

I know of him. He is not on my list. He is the eponym for a very famous university.

[Matt]

Yes, he was. He was also a lawyer, a businessman, politician. Significant role in the development of California during the Gold Rush. He was also a key figure in the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Later became railroad Railroad. That's why later became the governor of California. Yeah. And there is a school named after him where John Elway went, by the way, if you knew that. Oh, I was watching that documentary and I'd forgotten all about that Cal Stanford game. When the band runs on and just. And seeing the Cal player just bowl through students and band members to get.

[Dan Bernstein]

The trombone is so great.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Kenny Williams on the field. Is he really think so, huh? Yep. I think future White Sox general manager Ken Williams, who was a Stanford wide receiver as well as a baseball player, is it. Was there?

[Matt]

Oh, wow. All right, here's one establishment Not a person, but I wanted to include this. Thought this was cool. The. It's called the Bucket of Blood Saloon.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt]

So. Originally established in 1876 in Virginia City, Nevada, it earned its name due to the numerous, numerous fights and brawls that broke within its walls. I brought it up only and included the. On the list because the establishment is still open today. So it's a place you could still go today, get a drink. They have the. The original wooden bar and vintage fixtures that were part of it are still there within the establishment. The Bucket of Blood Saloon. Yeah, I thought that'd be cool. Be a cool place to see. Last two here. George Hearst on your list. Okay. American businessman, politician, patriarch of the Hearst business dynasty. He founded many mining operations, is known for developing and expanding the Homestake Mine in the late 1870s in the Black Hills of South Dakota. In 1879, he listed it on the New York Stock Exchange. The gold mine production continued uninterrupted until 2001. Thought that was cool. But more importantly, I thought you might like this little note about him. His only child from his late marriage. He got married at the age of 42. And he had a son, William Randolph Hearst, who became. Yes, you know him. And of course, the inspiration for Orson Welles. 1941, Citizen Kane. So that. That was his father, George Hearst.

[Dan Bernstein]

Got it.

[Matt]

And then last one, and this goes back to our first guy, James Wilson Marshall, John Sutter. So John Sutter owned the land and the mill that John. That James Wilson Marshall worked at when he found the gold. The thing about John Sutter, despite the gold discovery, neither he nor Marshall profited during the Gold rush. And he actually spent most of his adult life after the gold was discovered battling the United States Land Commission over land title. He died in 1880 and never received any compensation for anything that happened on the land he lived on.

[Dan Bernstein]

My number two, John Sutter.

[Matt]

That'S like, you poor bastard. Yeah. Never profited at all. Or the guy that found.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, Sutter's mill. And it was found by his workmen who was there to build the mill. And then even to add insult to injury, the mill never started working. It was a sawmill. And the whole point was James Marshall was hired to build Sutter's sawmill that he wanted to make as part of his business. And then they found gold and all hell broke loose. And they never built the mill and they didn't have the land title to any of the gold. And they got screwed. Basically.

[Matt]

Basically got screwed by it. Yeah, yeah. If. If I was, you know, reading through it and if. If they had built the sawmill and then found gold, like, three years later, like, the guy probably would have been a millionaire.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, more than that. There were people making. Just picking up a couple flakes here and there and making a lifetime's worth. That's kind of why 300,000 people from all over the world converged on that area. So that's. That is the committee's list.

[Matt]

That's the committee's. Yeah. List of 15. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Good job.

[Matt]

Get some crossover there. Finally you have.

[Dan Bernstein]

You. You got my 1, 2, 4, 6, and 10.

[Matt]

Wow, that's a lot.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's really good. I'm really impressed. You got half the list. So my number 10 again. Henry Wells and William Fargo. And I. I'm not going to sing again unless you want.

[Matt]

You can if you want to.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, I could do other numbers from the music.

[Matt]

Give us one line. Give us one more line. Oh, how about. How about. What's his name? Harlan Hill. What's his name? Henry Hill. Henry Hill. What's his name?

[Dan Bernstein]

Harold Hill. Professor Harold Hill.

[Matt]

Yes. Give us a Harold Hill line.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, we got trouble right here in River City with a capital T and it rhymes with B. And that stands for pool, and it stands for pissed off that I didn't get that part.

[Matt]

And how old are you?

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, geez. I was. That was cabin S3, so I was 13.

[Matt]

Oh, wait, this is like a camp production?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Oh, North Star camp. No, this was Northstar camp.

[Matt]

Well, you lost out on a camp production. Ooh.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, it is Northstar. I mean, there's all these professional actors there.

[Matt]

Oh, okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

I mean, I'm losing out to. There's been people who have appeared on Broadway who went to Northstar, and you.

[Matt]

Couldn'T beat him out in 13.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, loser.

[Matt]

I know.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's bullshit.

[Matt]

So you wanted to play Harlan Hill that bad, huh?

[Dan Bernstein]

I wanted to play Harlan Hill. And we're gonna side circuit. All right, so number 10, Wells and Fargo. Okay. Number nine is Joseph Folsom. Joseph Folsom.

[Matt]

Do you have a prison?

[Dan Bernstein]

He did.

[Matt]

Oh, wow.

[Dan Bernstein]

In fact, the founder of Folsom, California, which was the location of the prison that created the Folsom Prison Blues, where you hear the train of coven. And he was an original investor as the. Before the land was valuable, he owned. He happened to own a bunch of that land. And things ended up well for him. You'd think, right, because he was invested in the land. Well, he purchased the land owned by William Alexander Leedsdorf for $75,000, a controversial purchase that was mired in litigation for years. Eventually increasing land values made him a millionaire at the time when that was a big, big deal. But he died at age 38, so he didn't really get to enjoy it all that much. But he was very established member of the military and was decorated as an army officer. And eventually Granite city was renamed Folsom. And yes, indeed, they built a prison there. So he's number nine. Number eight is Thomas Gilman. Thomas Gilman was a noted freedman. Not like, you know, Freedman, but he was a freedman, a miner, a farmer, and a business person. And the reason he's notable is that he was an enslaved African American who self purchased his freedom because of the. And with the gold that he mined.

[Matt]

Oh, wow.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he is considered a major contributor to African American history in California. He only. I don't know what his actual birth name was, but he took the name Gilman because he was enslaved by Joseph Gilman of Greene county, Tennessee. And he was brought to California by his enslaver in 1850 to work in the mines in Dragoon Gulch. And after two years of mining, he was able to purchase his freedom. However, Joseph b. Gilman tried to continually delay the purchase of his freedom until the self purchase was recorded by the state court. And he spent the remainder of his life in a small cabin, mining and farming. He never learned to read or write. Not all freedmen in California were able to live such long and peaceful lives. And he died at age 85 in 1911. That is number eight, Thomas Gilman. Number seven is John Bidwell. And when I first saw the name Bidwell, I said, oh, boy, this is going to be incredible. If this leads up to the Bidwell family that owns the Arizona car Cardinals or the. For the Chicago family, this is Bidwell and not bid will. But Bidwell was employed by John Sutter as his business manager after they'd reached California, he became the business manager and was able to do well for himself better than some others. And he ended up founding the city of Chico, California, and serving in the US House of representatives. But that's not why he's interesting. This is why. On February 5, 1856, Bidwell was one of several passengers traveling down the Sacramento river on the steamboat bell when the ship's boiler exploded, killing several people instantly. Bidwell was sitting by the stove reading a newspaper when the explosion sent a piece of shrapnel the size of a quarter directly into his skull.

[Matt]

Ooh.

[Dan Bernstein]

Bidwell survived. Oh. And spent the rest of his life with a visible hole in his Head. Now, if you don't believe me, go. I'm just telling you, go to the Wikipedia page for John Bidwell. And this is not like, like in the back of his head or the side of his head. This is a massive hole above his left eye.

[Matt]

Oh, seriously?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. So that's kind of awesome. Everybody else is dead and you're like, ow. That. I think I got bit by a mosquito or something. And God knows what got stuck in there. And they didn't really, they weren't able to find out. But for that reason I just thought it was cool. He's number seven. Number six.

[Matt]

Having a hole in his head.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Number six. John Studebaker. Just because I love the Wheelbarrow Johnny thing too. Like, wait a second. I have an idea to make it easier to move all these rocks from one place to another. They will call me Wheelbarrow Johnny. My name isn't even John. I don't know why they'd call me Johnny. No, it is so John Studebaker. Congratulations, Number five. And I didn't know that he was related specifically to the Gold rush. But he is the actual John Grizzly Adams. Grizzly Adams received little to no education growing up in the Boston suburbs. And at the age of 21, he left to seek his true love, the outdoors and nature. And he signed on as a zoological collector who hunted and captured live wild animals in the wildest parts of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. Was a woodsman who was able to survive and had fabulous marksmanship skills. He suffered terrible injuries from a Bengal tiger he was trying to train. That didn't go well?

[Matt]

No.

[Dan Bernstein]

So he, after a year of recuperating, he went back to become a shoemaker. But when the California Gold Rush began, he invested his life savings of over $6,000, which is the equivalent of 180,000 now, to buy a large supply of footwear. And he wanted to sell shoes to the 49ers. Passing through St. Louis, he lost his entire investment in a fire. And then his father committed suicide. Because his father had invested heavily in his son's plans. So, struck by gold, fever and a yearning for adventure, Grizzly Adams joined the 49ers on their way to California. He twice survived two near fatal illnesses. He got there in 1849. He went in waves of being rich and then broke. Trying his luck at mining and hunting, game trading, ranching and farming. And eventually he went back to doing what he liked and trapping animals and making a show of the animals that he trained. Including the retrieval of two week old male Grizzly cubs that he trained and were along his side. He also captured a 1500 pound grizzly that he named Samson. So I don't know why you'd want to do that because that sounds like.

[Matt]

Especially after the Bengal tiger incident, that.

[Dan Bernstein]

That'S where I was going with it. Where you had a, you had a rough one when the tiger fucked you up and then you're like, you know what? 1500 pound grizzly.

[Matt]

Yeah, I'm staying away from those tigers, but I'll go on those grizzly bears. So you said that he, after the tiger incident he went back to selling shoes or making shoes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Making shoes. He was a cobbler.

[Matt]

So he was a cobbler and then decided to train a Bengal tiger and thought, well, this isn't working out. I'm going to go back to the shoemaking thing. How do you go from shoemaker to Bengal tiger wrangler?

[Dan Bernstein]

It was his true love. It's just what he always liked. Yeah. His hunting and trapping career ended when he received the severe back and spine. No, he was a shoemaker after that.

[Matt]

Oh, okay. Because he wanted to take it easy being a shoemaker. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, no, so he was, he, he was a shoemaker. He had, he had some skills and decided then later in life he was gonna use those skills again. Even though he, he, he had to create the largest cage trap ever constructed to tip the scales for that one at 1500 pounds. Still one of the largest grizzly bears ever captured alive.

[Matt]

Wow. Yeah. I had no idea he was part of the California gold rush.

[Dan Bernstein]

He was. And that is John Grizzly Adams at number five. Number four is Levi Strauss number three. And this one's awesome. Number three is a woman named Ah Toy.

[Matt]

Dude, I almost put her. I knew, I knew you were going to bring her up. I knew 100 because I just knew you would. Because I know you. And I knew that you would. I knew that you would bring her up.

[Dan Bernstein]

She. I. Because sometimes you just get into one of these rabbit holes and everything is. Every detail is better than the next.

[Matt]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

Ah Toy. Ah is her first name. T o y is the transliteration of her Chinese name. When she left China for the United States, she traveled with her husband who died during the trip. So she became the mistress of the ship's captain who gave her so much gold that by the time she arrived in San Francisco, she had a good amount of money. Before 1851, only seven Chinese women were known to be in the city. And noticing the looks she drew from the men in her new town, she deduced they'd pay for a more intimate setting. Her peep shows charged an ounce of gold, $16 for a lookie. And she became one of the highest paid and best known sex workers in San Francisco due to her romantic relationship with brothel inspector James Clark. Hello, Mr. Brothel Inspector. Her brothel then escaped shutdown by city authorities. She was described as determined and intelligent, frequently using the San Francisco Recorder's Court to protect herself and her business from exploitation. She opened a chain of brothels in 1852 and 1853, hiring girls from China. By 1854, she could no longer take her grievances to court because after the conviction was of George hall was reversed, who had murdered a Chinese man, extended a California law that African Americans and Native Americans could not testify in court. And they then included the Chinese in that decree. So while the law was not directed at sex workers, it handicapped her ability to protect herself from domineering Chinese gangs that had long sought to control her and her business. So she withdrew from the sex work business in 1857, announcing her departure to journalists. She returned to China as a wealthy woman, intending to live the rest of her days in comfort. But returned to California in 1859 and lived a mostly quiet life in Santa Clara county, living with numerous partners over the decades. And she returned to mainstream public attention with her death in 1928 at age 98. Yes.

[Matt]

First sex worker in America.

[Dan Bernstein]

First. The first official Chinese American sex worker who apparently was one of the people who benefited. Benefited the most from the gold rush financially. Ah. Toy.

[Matt]

I totally. I knew you were gonna bring her up. I totally knew it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I just thought it was cool. I don't know if anybody's done her story before, but I mean, she. Yeah, she'd be a movie.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And you mentioned John Sutter number two. And he and his similarly ill fated worker, James W. Marshall, the actual discoverer of nearly Pure Gold Flake near Sutter's Mill. James W. Marshall, number one. And we learned a lot, I think, about the actual 49ers.

[Matt]

Yeah, no, very, very cool. The Denver Nuggets never had a prospector mascot.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, they did.

[Matt]

So everything I keep looking up is just the lion they had. So there was obviously the 49ers had a prospector, Sourdough Sam. And then Prospector Pete was the mascot for California State University, Long beach. That was eventually retired because of the controversy surrounding Prospector Pete.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, why was the controversy?

[Matt]

The whole idea of the prospectors and like the mass murder of Native Americans and all the.

[Dan Bernstein]

All that that goes with it just type in. This is the ABA type in Denver. Don't. Excuse me. Type in Nuggets Prospector logo and tell me that's not awesome.

[Matt]

All right, hang on.

[Dan Bernstein]

It was. He was the Prospector, and I don't know what his name was. He had to have a name.

[Matt]

I don't know why. Every search just keeps coming up with the Lion. And when you type, you have to make sure you type Prospector, not prospect, because you get a list of players.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. But did you see it?

[Matt]

Yeah, I do see it.

[Dan Bernstein]

With the red beard, he's jumping up. He's got the ABA red, white and blue ball, and he's got a red and blue pickaxe.

[Matt]

All right, let me see.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's got low tops on. He's got red, white and blue striped basketball socks and a hat with a D on it. And I don't know his name, but that logo is. And you know why I had it? I had a pack of basketball cards from, like, 1976, and that was the year they had team logo stickers. And I just loved that Denver Nuggets logo. I still have it somewhere. It was before they did the multicolored skyline logo that they made so famous in the early 80s.

[Matt]

So I'm searching ABA, Denver Nuggets prospector mascot name. And it keeps pulling up Rocky and showing the fucking Lion.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's not Rocky.

[Matt]

I know it's not Rocky. He's the Lion.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay? It's not the Lion. Is that the one that passed out? Was. Was that the one that. That literally, like, fainted or had some sort of health issue and they lowered him to the floor and he was. Everybody thought he was dead and the kids were screaming.

[Matt]

I think so. Yeah. I think that. I think that was the lion, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

I. I think so. I'm not certain.

[Matt]

I think it wasn't. It wasn't. Wasn't who? Not Benny the Bull. What was his partner.

[Dan Bernstein]

Duh. Bull.

[Matt]

Yeah. Was Neil whacked out on.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, he was selling it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Bull. The. The. The Bull got. He got busted, like, running from police on a. On a golf cart or a Segway, something like that. Yeah, he was.

[Matt]

So here we go. Yeah, here we go. Finally, the team did have a Prospector mascot named Maxi the Minor.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maxi the Minor.

[Matt]

That's what it says.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt]

And then Maxi, to me, the guy who became. No, he doesn't. The Rocky, the Mountain Lion. Ken Solomon.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt]

And then his son took over for him.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh.

[Matt]

Kind of a cool thing, the family.

[Dan Bernstein]

Business, like the circus business, I guess, at that point. Well, that was. That was enjoyable. I like that. And don't. And remember the name of that minor because he's going to come up in DBU picks and we're talking about the Bulls game tonight. December does not have to be the most expensive month of the year. Year. If you are betting with my bookie, 12 Days of Christmas is here. That's daily offers dropping back to back in sports and casino bet and gets profit boosts, free spins, surprise drops for social and telegram. December's full of stuff. NFL bull season, college hoops. You got all these opportunities to cash NBA. We're going to get to that in a second. Go to my bookie right now. Punch in DBU. Get your first bet covered up to $500. If you go big, you miss on the first bet, use your bet back bonus token and run it right back. Then you're not out of it. It's DBU for Dan Bernstein, unfiltered. So when you go to my bookie, you register, you make your deposit, make sure you use DBU and then you can bet on anything, anywhere, anytime, only with my bookie. It is time now for our DBU picks presented by mybookie. I will get started. I am going to take Caleb. I'm going to take Caleb Williams Sunday night over 16.5 rushing yards. I think it'll have some opportunities to take off and scamper. So I'm going to take him over 16.5 rushing yards. And now for tonight's Bulls game. I told you to remember the name Maxi. But it's not Maxi the minor, it's Tyrese Max. And I believe the Bulls defense is so bad that I am certain Tyrese Maxey will have at least 31 points tonight. So he's. And if you haven't watched him, he's got a bag of tricks, man. So I've got Tyrese Maxey over 31 points. And this is just a gut feeling because I don't think I've seen him make a shot in weeks. I've got Nicola Vuchevich over one and a half threes. He was the guy who hit the corner three to beat Philly in that bizarro home game when they were down like 30 points early. And they came back, came back, came back and he hit that incredibly high arcing three off the unbelievable baseline. Left handed pass from Giddy. So with that in mind, I think they're going to be willing to leave him open a couple of times tonight. And I've got Vuch for two or more three pointers in tonight's game. Those are my DBU picks.

[Matt]

All right. I'll make mine real simple. I'm going to look at the the Bears and Niners game. I'm taking the points. And the Bears, Bears plus three at San Francisco on Sunday.

[Dan Bernstein]

You've been good at that. You've been on a roll. What are you, a six in a row now? I think this streak seven.

[Matt]

Seven in a row.

[Dan Bernstein]

So those are our DBU picks. Bet on anything, anywhere, anytime. And lock in those picks now with my bookie. And that is going to do it for Dan Bernstein Unfiltered on this Friday. And we thank Chicago Window guys for their support, as always. You can always go to ChicagoNowNowGuys.com and call 847-302-9171. And we're brought to you in partnership with my bookie.

[Matt]

Dan Bernstein, unfiltered. Unfiltered on 312 Sports.