Let me take you again to November seventh, 1999.
I do know, nobody was alive then.
It was the Bears first sport since Walter Payton, the best Bear of all-time (although for those who say Dick Butkus or Doug Buffone, I received’t argue) had handed. I had $7 to my title, dwelling in Boston throughout my freshman 12 months of school. I had no enterprise leaving my dorm room, a lot much less going anyplace to look at an out-of-market Bears sport. Ought to have simply curled up with the leftover pizza, Budweiser within the dorm fridge, what I’m positive was a raging hangover, and listening to the radio by way of NFL.com.
However if you’re a homesick Chicago boy and Walter Payton has simply handed, and it’s the primary ever Bears-Packers sport you’re set to overlook, what are you able to do? I roped some good friend in to affix me (I do know precisely which good friend it was, however I received’t title him as a result of he’s an upstanding citizen today) for causes neither of us will ever perceive, and made our approach to Champions Sports activities Bar behind the Pru (sky level) on Huntington Ave. May I order a beer? No. Did the 2 of us mixed have sufficient for one appetizer? Barely. However generally, you do what you gotta.
And it was an terrible sport. One way or the other, the Bears of their first 12 months below Dick Jauron (HEY BUDDY THAT’S MY DICK JAURON!) and rotating Cade Goddamn McNown in at QB for a handful of sequence per sport have been capable of drag the Inexperienced Bay Packers (admittedly a middling model of them) to their stage for 4 quarters. I wasn’t absolutely conscious of the minimal that the bar had for anybody sitting at a desk, although I knew that the only artichoke dip appetizer we ordered actually didn’t justify our existence on the poor server’s part. We tipped in addition to we might for it, however clearly, that was fairly skint. We have been clueless 18-year-olds. However once more, issues needed to be accomplished.
And we did that so we might watch 4 quarters and three hours of fairly turgid exercise of twenty-two guys hurling themselves at one another with no explicit plan or group in any respect. However lord solely is aware of I’m used to that as a lifelong Bears fan. It’s what we stock.
One way or the other, the Jim Miller-led Bears had monkey-humped their approach to a 14-13 lead by way of a bumbling offense that noticed Curtis Enis run for 88 yards and their main receiver Marcus Robinson amass 66 yards, However, in fact, that corn-fed, thieving mule Brett Favre drove the Packers all the way down to the Bears 10 with the final drive, organising a chip shot for a sport winner. After all. Identical because it ever was. That is simply the way in which issues have been, the way in which they’re, the way in which they are going to be. With out ever trying like they cared or tried, the Packers have been going to nick one other one away from us.
Each Bears fan is aware of by coronary heart now that Bryan Robinson jumped 12 ft within the air to dam that area aim. I charged round that bar telling each Packers fan I might discover to suck it (it was the peak of the Perspective Period) and hugging the one different Bears fan within the bar whereas screaming, “SWEETNESS!!!!” Our server simply glared at us, rightly. Perhaps she’ll learn this and I could make it proper. We paid our invoice of like $18 for 3 hours of sitting there, no matter 1999 costs have been, and I bounced all the way in which again to the T.
The lesson, children, is rarely play the Bears on the day and even the week a group legend dies. As quickly because it was introduced that Dick Butkus had handed, the Commanders have been toast. Justin Area and DJ Moore have been going to show into Montanta-to-Rice-on-speed it doesn’t matter what they did. And that’s what occurred as Chicago torched Washington, 40-20, on Thursday night time.
Every time Brian Urlacher dies of essentially the most tremendous pressure of herpes the world has ever seen, the Bears are profitable the Tremendous Bowl.
You possibly can e-book it.
Observe Sam on Twitter @felsgate and on Bluesky @felsgate.bsky.social
