Category: Sports

  • Twitter Tues WK4

    Twitter Tues WK4

    It was a fantastic week of football. Bears won. Cowboys lost. Puke Lost [to Browns no less]. 1-2 can easily turn into 2-2, heading into the bye on an up note.

    Some Twitters.

    OLINE: Braxton had himself a game.

    Benedet the Canadian seemed to hold his own when Wright left.

    Wright – wrong

    Via Kristen Tanis

    By the PFF scores, Shemar Turner did not have a good game in his first outing.

    He had the 2nd lowest PFF score on the defense with 30.0

    HOWEVER, before everyone jumps all over this.

    He only played 23 snaps.

    His pass rush score was 59.6.

    While that seems low, 60.0 is the starting score for all players when PFF grades games.

    His low overall score is based on 1 missed tackle. Because he had so many fewer snaps than most players, one bad play can swing the PFF score wildly. That put his tackling & run defense scores in the basement.

    He didn’t record any pressures & as someone said “looked on ice skates” out there, but I don’t want to rush to judgement yet

    It was his first game after missing almost all of training camp

    Let’s wait to see a handful of games of reps from him before we draw any early conclusions

    Gervon Dexter had a 55.4 pass rush grade in his first Bears game, btw

    Some QB/Caleb info.

    Regarding accuracy from Caleb’s class.

    and a counter

    Caleb handled the Cowboys’ blitz well

    Caleb’s deep ball accuracy, an issue we were all fretting about, has improved which is great because Ben Johnson is taking deeper shots with Caleb than with noodle-armed Goff.

    If you think Chicago media is the only negative force out there. Think again! Bitter radioman is an archetype!

  • Victory Monday! Bears Save Season

    Victory Monday! Bears Save Season

    What an ass-whooping! For some reason, Bears always lay points on Cowboys since 2010:

    2010. Bears W. 27 points
    2012. Bears W. 34 points
    2013. Bears W. 45 points
    2014. Bears L. 28 points
    2016. Bears L. 17 points
    2019. Bears W. 31 points
    2022. Bears L. 29 points
    2025. Bears W. 31 points

    That means Bears avg 30 points/g vs Cowboys in last 8 clashes; wish Bears could play them whenever they need to kick-start sputtering offense.

    Few quick observations.

    1. The oline held up vs rush. This is the first game Caleb hasn’t been sacked. That’s both a testament to this oline’s strength as well as Caleb’s mobility, pocket awareness, and frankly, piss poor Dallas pass rush.

    On the flip side, the pure run game struggled once more. It wasn’t really ’til late that it began gaining traction.

    This was a strange game in the sense that Dallas was avg 6yds/rush at one point, yet somehow failed to score more.

    2. Caleb stats were fantastic

    But to quote the Wolf from Pulp Fiction, ‘Let’s not start sucking each other’s d*cks quite yet.’ Two things I noticed.

    1. It seems Caleb sails when his release point looks premature and high. Is this related to height? He does it even when he has a clean pocket, so it’s a matter of consistency. Dunks are great, but gotta make the free-throws as well.

    2. Maybe because of #1, Caleb continues missing. In this game, Caleb did hit most of the wide open receivers, yet struggled more with the contested throws. I would love to see his comp% with contested plays vs when the receivers are 2YDs open. At one point the broadcast counted 4 ‘off’ throws. Granted, this happens to all QBs. I watched Mahomes miss Kelce badly vs Gmen, and that’s about as solid a duo as you’re going to find; nevertheless, an issue to track going forward because Ben Johnson specifically addressed improving Caleb’s accuracy during preseason.

    Speaking of Ben Johnson, his O has scored 30+ points on Eberflus 5 out of last 7 games.

    Reality check:

    We’ve been through “turning the corner”, “finally arrived” “at last we got a franchise QB!” with Cutler, Trubisky and Fields: all turned out to be fugazi.

    This could be Caleb’s “Tampa Bay Christening.” Dallas’ D could simply be that dreadful.

    That being said, if you’re given a gift, you take it. Caleb is trending in the right direction, and that’s priority numero uno.

    On D, well, raise your hand if you predicted the Bears’ D to hold Dallas to 14 points!

    The start of the game continued to look like a horror show. Cowboys were just shredding the D, then, the unthinkable occurred.

    Arguably the worst starting CB in the league, Tyrique Stevenson, made a play that completely reversed momentum.

    FINALLY, somebody on the Bears’ D made a play like a blue-chipper. Apparently, a player’s only meeting was called that I missed.

    Whatever was said WORKED. I frankly wasn’t expecting a win. I only wanted Bears to play with some pride. They did, and then some. Defensive game-ball went to Tremaine Edmunds who made not one but TWO plays when badly needed. Don’t think we’ve seen that from a MLB since Lach.

    Also, tip-o-the-hat to Dennis Allen who called a great game. Look at that 2nd pick. Allen had Sweat peel off into flats to essentially bracket TE Ferguson [who I think was 10/10 at that point] PLUS prevent Dak from booting.

    Dak was trying to look-off coverage by feigning the middle, turned right to his true target in Ferguson, spotted a 6’7 monster staring right at him with secondary over the top, quickly shifted left with Dexter right in his face, finally chucking an INT in desperation.

    Truly a team effort. Scheme, execution, and playmaking.

    HOWEVER, this D still concerns me bigly. Those DTs were on skates; defenders taking bad angles, and seemingly confused [look at how late they were lining-up on several snaps]. CB Nathon Wright specifically played nightmarishly. I feel like a major part of their opportunism was pure Dallas incompetence. No doubt CeeDee Lamb getting INJed helped Bears’ D, but how the heck do you lose a game when you’re basically getting first downs at will and AVGing like 6-7 per rush while the D was ailing giving up 52 previously, with a 2nd string LB, 4rth string CB, and little to no pressure/sacks ’til late?

    But hey, that’s a COWGIRL problem. For once it feels fantastic playing a team that chokes more than…[fill in the blank].

    A wins a win.

    Let’s celebrate Ben Johnson’s first victory. May it be the first of countless. Every journey starts with a step. Let’s go!

  • Cowboys@Bears Game Thread

    Cowboys@Bears Game Thread

    Everything in me says Bears’ D will be a sieve. That Dak will look like an MVP and sitting by the 4rth.

    But if the “soft” Dolphins can put up a game on a short week @ Buffalo, here’s to hoping they have 3AM grit.

  • Da Miami Bears

    Da Miami Bears

    Watching TNF MIA@BUFF felt eerily familiar. I know a guy whose first two wives were Asian. Met the 3rd, déjà vu, also Asian. To his credit, 3rd time seems to be the charm. Will that be the case for Da Bears?

    It wasn’t for the Miami Dolphins.

    Dolphins were 0-2 playing some horrendous football; they lost to the Colts and Pats. Not exactly SB favorites.

    On a short week travelling to Buffalo, everyone expected them to get curb-stomped; however, they put up a fight, and the score was tied at 21-21 with 10 mins left. Dolphins made a crucial stop, forcing Bills to punt on 4rth and 7.

    Then, Fins Finned, as once the Chargers Charged and the Lions Loined.

    Fins ran into the punter, giving the Bills a 1st down [can you imagine how the schmuck who put down $37K on MIA to win felt?].

    Predictably, the Bills marched down the field and scored a TD.

    Fins clawed back only to end on a Tua INT just the way the universe scripts it.

    Despite the close score, the game felt pre-determined from that start.

    Somehow, someway, I knew MIA was going to lose. The details were nearly irrelevant to anyone outside bettors and FFers.

    Everyone knew MIA would find a way to sabotage themselves, because, well, that’s what atrocious teams do.

    Now they’re 0-3.

    Sound familiar?

    I’m at the point where I simply don’t want the Bears to embarrass the city any further. It’s gotten Trestmanesque, pronto, and if BJ flops, he’ll be the last ‘nerd’ to ever HC the Bears in our lifetime.

    I’ll settle for a MIA-type effort where they come out showing some fucking pride and professionalism, even if I know they’ll find someway to blow the game.

    #MUSH

    Around the twitters…

    The booth showed how Allen changed his mechanics from his rook year. Can get all technical, but essentially Allen’s shoulders are more square while trusting the torque over rifling. He is taller than Caleb, so I wonder if that factors? Also, it’s not as if Prime-Rodgers had picturesque tech, and he’s about the same size as Caleb.

    Here, next time PFF tries to gaslight you that Braxton is actually an above avg LT. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Benedet start over Braxton and Monangai over Swift to send a message.

  • Bears: Subpar, Soft & Stupid

    Bears: Subpar, Soft & Stupid

    I can go into a Dataeque deep dive citing PFF, Next Gen Stats, charts, twitter clips and still-shots, all sorts of links to former players/coaches dissecting every Bear minutia, but frankly, they’re not worth the effort.

    My only take away: the ’25 Bears are subpar, soft and stupid.

    1 Subpar. Or more accurately, substar in that the team rosters no real blue-chips. MAYBE Jaylon Johnson who is INJed. Maybe Thuney who is on the downslope of his career. That’s about it. In a franchise that boasts the most HOFers full of players like Butkus, Sayers, Sweetness, Dent, Hester…studs who made plays especially when the game was on the line; this current Bears’ incarnation of JAGs is the main reason I predicted Bears would finish last in NFCN. What I didn’t expect that they may finish last in the entire league. This mostly falls on Ryan Poles whom naturally the McCaskeys, in their infinite wisdom, decided to extend.

    2. Soft. This is something I suspected but didn’t want to manifest into existence. This team is mentally SOFT AF. I’ve never witnessed a team fold like a cheap tent after one loss like this team did after the Washington Hail Mary. That wasn’t anomalous either, but fast forward to this year. Week 1 they were very much in that game until that bogus Wright holding call. After that obstacle, they never recovered. This week again, very much in it, until that bullshit ending to the half where the Viking should have been ruled down and clock expired. Instead, he was ruled out – Vikings rewarded six seconds back. Predictably they scored a TD, and once more, self-implosion. This team can’t handle adversity or setbacks which is a lethal mix with being…

    3. Stupid. They just keep shooting themselves in the foot, whether it’s drive killing pre-snap penalties, holding, pass-interference, terrible time management, angles, situational awareness, challenges, blown coverages, going for 1st downs instead of kicking easy FGs, not kicking it out of bounds, seemingly NO professional game plan or counter-punch, and that’s not even considering the lack of execution like killer drops, missed running lanes and big plays [see #1].

    This team reminds me of Mush from “The Bronx Tale.”

    We all know a Mush. I have a friend who seemingly gets-off on complaining: work, family, relationships, sports, car, traffic, everything and anything. Just always self-pitying, whining, and somewhat permanently disgruntled. I love him, but I can only take so much before my Boomer-itis kicks-in, “Snap the fuck out of it!” [and he’s OLDER than I am].

    I introduced him to the girl I’m dating at a happening club with plenty of skimpy clad women; he proceeded to spend half the night relaying to her his last 3 breakups. At some point she turns to me like ‘is this guy forreal? I just met him’ I just shrugged and went over to save her. We danced. He hit the bar.

    He expects life to kick him in the balls, and somehow, life obliges.

    “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, in both instances – you’re right.”

    This team is like that. I get it, TBH. I’ve been on some terrible teams where losses completely demoralize players. Everything transforms to doom and gloom. At the beginning of each season, everyone is angelic shining with radiant hope. After a chain of brutal beat downs, that locker room disfigures into “Paradise Lost”. Sometimes a team climbs out of the fall. Often it doesn’t.

    This team can’t apparently. They expect for something in the game to go south, and when it does, they quit. No 3 AM grit. No Lach in Zona refusing defeat. No coach at halftime losing his shit, throwing objects around, calling players out as men.

    Nope, instead we get the same ole same ole

    Mush.

  • Bears@Lions WK2 Thread

    Bears@Lions WK2 Thread

    Photo courtesy of our very own I Bleed Navy+Orange. Like I messaged him, hope it was super-zoom!

    Bears are going to need a minor miracle to defeat the Meows, but luckily they now have a Pope.

    Bear Down.

  • Bears@Lions WK2

    Bears@Lions WK2

    Why do I like the Bears? I always like the Bears!

    Before diving into matchup proper, since a lot of fans were bitching and moaning about missing on a ‘top’ HB, I was curious how they performed week #1

    1. Ashton Jeanty. 19 CAR, 38 YDs, 1TD, 2.1 yds/ra
    2. Omarion Hampton. 15 CAR, 48 YDs, 3.2 yds/ra
    3. Quinshon Judkins. Inactive due to beating his GF [allegedly]
    4. Treyveyon Henderson. 5 CAR, 27 YDs, 5.4 yds/ra
    5. RJ Harvey. 6 CAR, 70 YDs, 11.7 yds/ra
    6. Caleb Johnson. 1 CAR, -2YDs, -2 yds/ra
    7. Bhayshul Tuten [gem I wanted late]. 3 CAR, 11 YDs, 3.7 yds/ra
    8. Cam Skattebo [aka white chocolate] 2 CAR, -3 YDs, -1.5 yds/ra

    D’Andre Swift. 17 CAR, 53 YDs, 3.1 yds/ra

    Meanwhile some 7th rounder named Jacory Croskey-Merritt in WK#1: 10 CAR, 82 yds, 1 TD, 8.2 yd/ra, and looked impressive as hell [if I played FF, he’d be my #1 bid on the waiver wire].

    INJ report.

    I tend to shy away from these this early in the week since much changes game day. Besides, our own Canada Bear does a fantastic job of updating these up to kickoff, so if you want, you can follow him on Canadian Twitter which involves sending smoke signals and quail calls…or just read his stuff here!

    Lions:
    LB Jack Campbell, [Ankle, DNP]
    OT Taylor Decker [Shoulder, DNP]
    RB Sione Vaki [Hamstring, LP]
    LB Trevor Nowaske [Elbow, LP]
    CB Terrion Arnold [Groin, FP]
    S Daniel Thomas [Hand, FP]


    Obviously the biggest name here is Taylor Decker. We were all relieved when Dayo didn’t dud vs Vikings, but remember, they were playing with their backup RT. Maybe Sweat takes advantage this week. He was pretty quiet week 1.

    Bears:

    CB Kyler Gordon [Hamstring, DNP]
    DT Grady Jarrett [Knee, DNP]
    RB Roschon Johnson [Foot, LP]
    WR Jahdae Walker [Ankle, LP]
    LB TJ Edwards [Hamstring [LIP]
    WR DJ Moore [Groin, FP]
    CB Jaylon Johnson [Groin, FP]


    Both TJ Edwards and Jaylon Johnson are trending in the right direction and expected to start which are major upgrades especially since Sewell can cover about as well as a Coke machine.

    Gordon [who has never played an entire season] is projected as out, while Grady Jarrett and DJ popped up on the report, so stay tuned.

    What I expect from Bears

    Ben Johnson chastised himself for not getting the run going more. I speculated that vs Vikings he’d likely need to pass to open up the run, and I was somewhat right. The problem was, BJ never seemed to get away from the pass, and was in way more shotgun than I prefer. This translated to arguably the least effective run game of all the openers [outside Caleb scrambles] which he took responsibility for. Also, the boot is moot if the D doesn’t respect the run.

    On the other side, the Vikings started bashing the Bears late. They flipped the script and won.

    Look for more 12 personnel this time, even if it means starting off more slowly. Maybe more draws to keep the D honest. BJ no doubt has more trust that the Bears’ D can serve court especially early, perhaps being more comfortable playing tight games.

    On D, I think Allen won’t blitz that much, especially if Decker is out for the Lions.

    For some odd reason, Goff has always mightily struggled vs Bears going back to Rams/Fangio. In fact, it was Fangio’s D which set the blueprint on how to stifle Goff. Belichick essentially used the same D against him in the SB, and they only managed a meager FG. It was so bad, McVey traded Goff to Lions, and here we are. But even Flus discombobulated Goff, and neither Fangio nor Flus are known for blitzing.

    The bigger question is if Bears’ D can stop the run? They started off strong against Vikings, but boy did they wilt late [allowing 5.5 yds per run in the 4rth QTR]. Was it conditioning or lack of talent/execution? Allen’s #1 priority is to stop the run. They failed miserably last week when it mattered most; now Monty/Gibbs are revving up. You know a salty Dan Campbell would love nothing more than to ram it down BJ’s throat with Ford Field rocking.

    X-Factor:

    The Bears had, what, four presnap penalty vs Vikings? Some of that was attributed to Caleb’s cadence. Ironically, Ford Field will be so loud, Caleb will be using much more silent count which basically resolves the cadence issue. The drawback is the Dlinemen can fire-off, meaning more pressures. Something to monitor.

    What I expect from Lions:

    Well, see above. If they establish the run, then they can boot off it which is what Goff does best. At this point, they can basically call whatever they want, but I suspect they’d target our backup NB on a bunch of middle zones if Gordon is out; then it gets ugly.

    On, D, should be interesting. Caleb had success, kinda, vs the zone Flores initially implemented. However, Caleb struggled when Vikes started blitzing. Blitzing Caleb is a dangerous game though. 1. He’s great at escaping and scrambling. 2. He’s actually a better passer on the run. 3. This will leave Rome/DJ/TE one-on-one. This is why teams stopped blitzing Trubisky and just sat in zone which turned him into a backup.

    My guess – Lions won’t blitz at first and see how it goes much like Flores.

    Overall:

    Expect a tighter game with many 3 and outs on both sides. This game will come down to a handful of key plays which I think Caleb will make, and Goff won’t because, for some inexplicable reason, the Bears’ D is his kryptonite. They’ll turn it over more than the Bears, and that will be game [if Santos can actually make FGs].

    Lions 13, Bears 20 [hopium]
    Lions 24, Bears 10 [doomium]

    Vegas: -6 Lions, 46.5 over/under. [I’d take the under unless you’re betting on a Lion’s blow-out and Bears’ garbage time scores.]

  • Caleb Concern

    Caleb Concern

    After watching the MNF opener vs Vikings, I can only quote The Irishman, “I’m more than a little concerned.”

    While plenty of blame can go around, the loudest 5 alarm fire was definitely Caleb as once more he wilted; in contrast, JJ McCarthy started off shaky, but literally gathered his Olinemen, then mounted a comeback as Caleb flailed.

    I won’t rehash the trauma. We’re all in a safe place now. Also, TBH, I didn’t really have to watch the All-22 to know what went wrong with Caleb; still, I thought it might reveal some details I may have missed initially.

    “All Things QBs” with Tim Jenkins masterfully breaks down every Caleb throw.

    Jenkins reinforces what we already talked about in the last thread ad nauseum.

    1. Caleb isn’t throwing in rhythm
    2. Caleb’s not seeing the open receivers
    3. Even if he sees them, he’s not pulling the trigger.
    4. If he does pull the trigger, the accuracy’s ‘manic’.

    And that’s when the Oline doesn’t allow pressure, which it did especially Dalman and Jackson.

    Jenkins observed that Caleb appears to struggle throwing to his left [wasn’t that McNowns’ downfall?]; He shows it’s tied to his feet and how wide he’s opening his shoulders. Ironically when Caleb scrambles, these mechanical issues don’t usually surface, so he may be a better scrambling QB than pocket at this stage.

    Another pundit put it another way, think it was Biggsy, ‘Caleb’s accuracy is worrying. In baseball terms, it’s not just that the pitch is off, but that it’s entirely out of the batter’s box.’ This might help explain his lack of INTs – neither the receiver nor CB have a shot. Such errancy robs the O of YAC [hitting in stride] and cheap pass-interferences on top of, ya know, COMPLETIONS, 1st downs, TDs…

    Tweets.

  • Twitter Tues. New Bears, Old Results

    Twitter Tues. New Bears, Old Results

    I’m not sure where to even begin.
    This was a true team loss.

    1. Ben Johnson
    BJ decided to go for it instead of settling for a relatively easy FG. He could’ve tried to draw them offsides for a cheap 1st down, but instead BJ let the playclock expire, called a TO, allowed their D to regroup, then left 3 points that would return to haunt them.
    That wasn’t BJ’s only blunder. Apparently the ball is part of the player in the process of the catch. yet he challenged the play. It was never in question that Sewell touched the ball, so in effect it was a totally wasted challenge/T.O. that again, Bears could’ve used later.
    BJ also screwed up with the final kickoff. Apparently, he said he did tell Santos to kick it out of the back of the endzone, but it wasn’t even close. He either failed to realize Santos was too limp-dicked to do so, or he never even considered maybe Tori could do it. At the very least kick it out of bounds. Sure, they’ll move the ball to like the 40, but who cares by then?
    Finally, BJ seemed to make no adjustments while O’Connell DID make adjustments.
    Wunderkind my ass.

    2. Caleb.
    Even more concerning was Caleb. Sure, he started off ‘hot’ 10/10, but a lot of those were on scrambles to checkdowns. Not exactly Joe Montana highlights.

    Caleb looked gun-shy or oblivious. I would like to see his QBR when he stayed in the pocket and threw to WRs. Couldn’t have been better than Fields this weekend.

    He still held on to the ball for too long; the only difference is that this year the Oline isn’t complete dogshit, so it bought him more time to escape instead of getting crushed.

    But Flores caught on, and in the second half started blitzing more once he saw that Caleb morphed into Chase Daniels.

    Then when Caleb did throw beyond 10 yard, he seemed erratic. None more so than missing a WIDE open DJ for a big play.

    This is frustrating because Caleb in the same game makes these types of throws.

    Still, as Kurt Warner often says, if a QB can’t make the layups consistently, then he’s not a good QB. Can’t win a SB with a QB like that, and I don’t know if Caleb has ever put an entire game together where he was consistently good from start to finish. He simply cannot throw in rhythm from the pocket for 4 QTRs.

    It’s like he’s good Rex/bad Rex, but not from game to game, rather half to half.

    3. Specials.
    Santos was terrible. Those 3 points he flopped also could’ve helped tremendously. Then he was too weak to drive it through the back of the endzone in that last KO.

    Tori got blocked. The gunners sucked.

    Specials were a liability all-around.

    4. Defense.
    They actually started off strong, Dayo specifically while the JV secondary punched above their weight climaxing with Wright’s pick-6

    However, Byard kept taking bad angles, Sewell as we all know couldn’t cover, and they ran out of gas and failed to stop the run in the second half despite knowing it was coming.

    Add some bullshit reffing, and voila, another abysmal Flusian chokejob.

    Tweets.

  • Bears in the Age of Covid

    Bears in the Age of Covid

    As a long-suffering Bear fan, it’s become a semi-tradition to dust this gem off every September as kick-off nears.

    Maybe it’s to try to hype myself up like a haka dance – maybe it’s to steel myself  – maybe it’s so I just don’t check out entirely in order to do something more “productive”, or at least, far less infuriating, than watching yet another Bears’ season.

    I glance at IG stories with a hint of envy. There’s my buddy on top of a Malibu hiking trail overlooking the Pacific; there’s my other friend training for a marathon and MMA; another smoking a blunt at a BBQ or open air festival; there’s that chick I’m trying to bang sipping mimosas poolside.

    And here I am in my mancave screaming at pirated-pixelated Bears while venting online to some internet Fight Club support group.

    Yet, I keep doing it…week after week, month after month, season after season, year after year, decade after decade…

    My step-dad, a hard working earnest man, always asks me every September with a shit-eating grin, “You ready for a new season?” It’s a question tinged with a mixture of pity and admiration; then he simply drawls off, “I dunno how you do it” before returning to work on his ’57 Studebaker truck which will likely never run.

    Honestly, I never used to think about it. It just became habit – like being stuck in a bad marriage. Aristotle once observed that most don’t even recognize the best times of their lives until much later; well, the same can apply to the worst times.

    Or as a proverb goes, “Habit is greater than love.”

    Ironically, it wasn’t even until the Cubs FINALLY won the World Series that emotions I never even knew existed stirred up. See, I was jubilant like many, but my elation was infused with a languid sorrow. I thought about my uncle, who loved the Cubs since Ernie Banks, not being able to rejoice in their once in a century triumph because he died some years ago. Sadly, he was not alone.

    I thought about how passionate Doug Buffone expressed all our outrage, contempt and frustration after every post-game; I envisioned the spittle flying as his face reddened with righteous indignation.

    Then he died.

    Trestman was the last Bears’ incarnation he witnessed before leaving this earth. Imagine that.

    Do I want to be like that? Like my uncle, Buffone, and countless others, expending my psychic energy on a team that has been incompetent since “The Breakfast Club,” “The Goonies,” and “Commando” played in theaters, since “Sussidio,” “View to a Kill,” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” blasted from radios?

    Remember radio?

    Moses Christ that’s like a tragic Cohen Bros’ vignette.

    MB retreating to surfing and a jacuzzi becomes more and more appealing.

    “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

    Then I cast myself as a 1940’s Brit stoically shuffling to the underground both resigned and rebellious, both acknowledging reality nevertheless not entirely accepting nor submitting, both cautious yet optimistic in that strange netherealm of foggy uncertainty.

    The act itself is a reaffirmation of belief, a defiance to not surrender to the dark cynicism that rattles in every heart –

    As such, out of some ridicules sense of loyalty, Pavlovian conditioning or sheer stupid stubbornness, I will once more march into another September with all the bitching, yelling, bemoaning, rooting, cheering, whooping, booing, throwing of random objects, scaring of pets, all the ecstasy and agony which another Bears’ season entails.

    Maybe one Sunday my circle will catch me on an IG story on top of a hill overlooking the Pacific, smiling and basking beneath a breeze, sunburnt forehead and shimmering beard….

    But not this season.

    If this shitty year has taught us one thing and one thing only – it’s this:

    Never take anything for granted.

    Not a concert, not a haircut – not a seemingly trivial sport. NOTHING.

    I’m throwing on my Sweetness, Jimmy Mac, Butkus, Peanut gear, cracking open a beer, flipping over a brawtz… prepping for Bears’ ball.

    Gentlemen, once more into the breach.

    Let’s roll. Bear Down! 🐻👇