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Jay Cutler isn't exactly one of the beautiful people, but he did his best to fit in with them on Monday night.

The Chicago Bears quarterback was the featured guest at Michigan Avenue's one-year anniversary party, which coincided with his recent appearance on the magazine's cover. Obviously, the timing could have been a little better, since the gala came not even 24 hours after he threw a career-high four interceptions in a loss to the Green Bay Packers. But such is life when you're the reigning King of Chicago -- appearances like these become the norm.

This particular one wasn't exactly memorable, but it did reinforce many of the perfunctory duties that go along with being a starting NFL quarterback in a major market.

Cutler made his first appearance of the night around 7:35, standing in front of a smattering of reporters and cameramen and declining to answer most questions. He posed for pictures in front of a large display banner that included both his own personal logo, his charity's logo, Michigan Avenue magazine's logo and that of the W hotel.

After a few moments, he headed toward the party's entrance before being pulled back by a PR woman for a couple more shots with several dignitaries. As soon as he finally walked into the room, all eyes instantly turned onto him. Everybody wanted a piece of the most popular athlete in town. Men wanted to shake his hand and take a picture with him. So did women. Seemingly everyone wanted a sliver of Cutler's attention. I was saw one woman introduce herself and stuff a business card in his hand. Another man walked up near Cutler and then turned to his friend and said, 'What do you even say?'

To Cutler's credit, he handled the situation well, by playing the role of politician. He didn't appear to be rude to anyone and continued to take pictures and shake hands on his way toward the stage. He was scheduled to say a few words to the crowd, but only after a couple people who were affiliated with the magazine said something first.

One woman commented on Cutler taking his shirt off as part of his makeover/photo shoot for the magazine. She called Cutler a, "talented, warm, charismatic, confident, tall, amazing human being." Once Cutler took the microphone, the 26-year-old came up with a sheepish smile, playfully noting that he and the organizers weren't sure how many people were going to come out to the party after Sunday night's performance, promising the crowd that "things will get better."

He spoke for just over a minute, telling the audience a little about his charity and thanking the magazine and his PR firm among others. He left the stage to a nice ovation while one of the magazine's head honchos stated, "The party's just beginning."

That might have been true for everyone except for Cutler and his teammate Greg Olsen, who appeared with his wife soon after his new quarterback set foot into the party. Cutler and Olsen spent the next 20 minutes or so sitting in a VIP lounge while chatting up a few more important attendees and taking pictures with others. Other people hovered around the the area hoping to catch a glimpse of the Bears present and future. Neither player looked particularly interested in what was going on. Both men checked their cell phones a couple times, but they didn't let that affect how they treated anyone. Both continued to smile and take pictures with pretty much anyone who asked.

After a few more minutes, Cutler was finished for the night. He and the Olsens made their way out of the lounge and headed toward the exit. Cutler shook a few more hands on his way out the door, while everyone tried to sneak in one more moment with the quarterback. It was 8:15 now, just 40 minutes after he had arrived. There was some other place to be, maybe some more beautiful people to hang out with, maybe some sleep to catch up on.

As long there aren't more performances like Sunday's in his future, the world is Jay Cutler's oyster right now -- and he knows it.

By: Nick Friedell
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