The Origin of 'The Bear'

Since I decided to name the blog after my nickname, I thought it'd be interested to let you know where it first came from. Surprisingly, I don't think I was ever called it until late freshman year in high school during one of the first practices of baseball season. It was a rather unique practice- it took place in the parking lot of our school. We focused on a lot of fundamentals that day, such as running the bases. I never knew there was a right way to go back to 1st on a pick-off move....

The nickname was born by Coach Nielsen (who had a pretty unique approach to the game) as we did a drill running to first. I was just about to start when he yelled, "Alright Bearden...The Bear!". From that moment it has stuck with me much to my delight. I'll admit at the time I didn't think much of it unitl a few teammates began to use it for the rest of the season. For this, I give much credit to Vince Villafranca, Colin Holloway, and Dan Schneider- some of the 'Founding Fathers' if you will.

Today, friends and family alike often refer to me in that name and it's been a lot of fun. Some of the best times happen when I golf with Villafranca and somehow I drive my ball into the woods time after time off the tee box. He says- "That's your home man. You're the Bear, that's where you belong. You need cover, there's too much open space on the fairways." Good times.