What happened to Uncle Meatball? He's running the Algonquin Township Highway Department

Before he called out former Highway Commissioner Bob Miller for his handling of taxpayer dollars, he called out Lovie Smith for his handling of the Chicago Bears.

Before he talked to CBS about problems inside the Algonquin Township Highway Department, he talked to NBC about problems inside the Bears franchise.

Before he was known as Algonquin Township highway commissioner, Andrew Gasser was known by another name: Uncle Meatball.

That’s the name Gasser used to post screeds on the Bears message boards in 2009, when he launched BearsFansUnited – a collection of Bears super-fans who took aim at team management.

The group launched the now-defunct BearsFansUnited.org and collected more than $3,500 donations from more than 200 people to raise a 24-foot-by-9-foot billboard with this message:

“To the McCaskey family,” the billboard near 2430 Hintz Road in Arlington Heights said. “Do the right thing. Hire an ENTIRELY new coaching staff. Sincerely, The Chicago Bear Fans.”

The Northwest Herald reached out to Gasser to talk about his days as Uncle Meatball and what he thinks about the Bears these days.

He didn’t have much to say; he doesn’t watch American football anymore.

“I was [a Bears fan], but not anymore,” said Gasser, who took issue with several league rule changes.

A YouTube video published in December 2009 shows Gasser watching the construction of the BearsFansUnited billboard, sporting a glint in his eye like a confetti-covered fan at the Super Bowl watching his favorite team hoist the MVP trophy.

“This is beyond my wildest imagination,” Gasser told the cameraman. “Just like in ’85 when it started snowing in the championship game, when we knew we were going to the Super Bowl, it’s starting to snow now, the billboard’s going up – it’s just perfect. It’s, it’s – the way it’s supposed to be. It’s awesome. Look at that.”

The camera panned to the billboard born from Gasser’s campaign as Uncle Meatball.

Today, it’s not a name Gasser likes much anymore.

“I want that to die,” said Gasser, who has a new sport. “I follow soccer.”