Foaming At The Mouth
Does History Repeat Itself?
The sports chatter around these parts has been in a frenzy after Sunday night's Bears game. The local news, national news outlets like ESPN.com, and even the GridIron group here on SG are all hot with talk about the Bears. In the midst of all this, just a few days ago I found a series of videos on YouTube showing the Bears' first game of their magic '85 season. They played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then still the doormat of the NFC Central and considered an easy two wins each and every year. Check out part one of the game and the remaining segments are found under the "More From This User" tab:
Direct link to YouTube to find the other segments
Guess what? The Bears did not look at all like The '85 Bears. They're unintimidating on offense; Payton has a few plays, Matt Suhey gets his bell rung and has to sit out, and long-since-forgotten Calvin Thomas features prominently in the ground game. On defense, Tampa Bay enjoys enough consistent success that the commentators begin wondering out loud just how much the team will miss pre-season contract holdouts Al Harris & Todd Bell during the rest of the season. Partway through the third quarter, Tampa already has twenty-seven points on the board against what would become known as the gold standard for fearsome defense. And this was a Bears home game!
I guess there's a lesson in this. The '85 Bears weren't The '85 Bears right out of the gate. They stumbled and had some sloppy games even after they really hit their stride. If those of us old enough to have watched the games the first time around really think hard we'll remember just how many games were won by late clutch field goals from Kevin Butler, rather than runaway routs like last Sunday.
The reason everybody remembers the old Bears was the incredible concentration of media-friendly 'characters' on the team. This combined with the great on-field play gave them the profile they'll continue to enjoy. This year's Bears will never have that party atmosphere to them, but if those distant replays on Youtube are any indication, they certainly have a shot at the on-field legacy.
Does History Repeat Itself?
The sports chatter around these parts has been in a frenzy after Sunday night's Bears game. The local news, national news outlets like ESPN.com, and even the GridIron group here on SG are all hot with talk about the Bears. In the midst of all this, just a few days ago I found a series of videos on YouTube showing the Bears' first game of their magic '85 season. They played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then still the doormat of the NFC Central and considered an easy two wins each and every year. Check out part one of the game and the remaining segments are found under the "More From This User" tab:
Direct link to YouTube to find the other segments
Guess what? The Bears did not look at all like The '85 Bears. They're unintimidating on offense; Payton has a few plays, Matt Suhey gets his bell rung and has to sit out, and long-since-forgotten Calvin Thomas features prominently in the ground game. On defense, Tampa Bay enjoys enough consistent success that the commentators begin wondering out loud just how much the team will miss pre-season contract holdouts Al Harris & Todd Bell during the rest of the season. Partway through the third quarter, Tampa already has twenty-seven points on the board against what would become known as the gold standard for fearsome defense. And this was a Bears home game!
I guess there's a lesson in this. The '85 Bears weren't The '85 Bears right out of the gate. They stumbled and had some sloppy games even after they really hit their stride. If those of us old enough to have watched the games the first time around really think hard we'll remember just how many games were won by late clutch field goals from Kevin Butler, rather than runaway routs like last Sunday.
The reason everybody remembers the old Bears was the incredible concentration of media-friendly 'characters' on the team. This combined with the great on-field play gave them the profile they'll continue to enjoy. This year's Bears will never have that party atmosphere to them, but if those distant replays on Youtube are any indication, they certainly have a shot at the on-field legacy.
VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
annisa:
I will protect you... 
annisa:
the walkers were for a show we did where we dressed up like old folks
the walkers were for a show we did where we dressed up like old folks