Everyone’s trying to create a great nickname for the ’25 Bears. “Cardiac Cubs” [meh]. “Comeback Kids” [trite]. One I did fancy was “The Cocaine Bears“:
“They’re never dead, and like a cocaine addicted bear, they self-destruct before wreaking havoc around everyone around them…for the win.” [11:08]
However, I’ll just go with the Bounceback Bears.
For starters, they have absolutely bouncebacked from that abysmal ’24 season in which Matt Eberflus found innovative ways to snatch losses from the jaws of victory to the point where he became the first HC EVER in Bears’ history to get terminated midseason.
Mind you, the Bears have been around since Coca-Cola laced their drinks with actual coke, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, and Prohibition passed. It’s even more impressive when one recalls the clown-car of HCs in that time span[cough, Trestman].
The disastrous season culminated in THREE different OCs and 68 sacks which ranks 3rd all-time.
In addition, we must remember the infuriating way Flus called defense: rarely blitzing, playing the CBs 5 yards off, essentially gifting every team free crossers, always reactive, soft, and flaccid which no beard makeover could fix.
Who can forget when on a key play Flus made a DT cover an athletic TE, or basically bending over vs Washington leading to that infamous Hail Mary?
Fast forward to now…
Enter the 2025 Bears. They already have FIVE comeback victories.
And they’re not your ho-hum, run-of-the-mill, comebacks either.
They’re crazy catches [Loveland], walk off blocked FGs [Raiders], snatched fumbled snaps [Washington], Duvernay KR [Vikings], 26 YD shanked punt [Giants].
I still don’t think my heart has recovered from that Bengals game alone.
How many times did we say to ourselves in the 3rd QTR, “Here we go again. Same ole Bears. It’s over…” Yet it was only beginning.
Say what you will about the Bears, but they’re dramatic must-watch TV.
And entertaining!
Sure, they’re about as fun as massive turbulence, learning how to drive in a stick-shift, approaching a hot girl, or surfing a tsunami…
But fun nonetheless!
And in the end, isn’t that the whole point of sports?
I remember playing at the parks, and some chads were just waaaay too competitive. Don’t get me wrong, I was competitive too [no one who plays sports isn’t competitive to some degree], but I wasn’t going to FIGHT over it – or go to my car to dig for weapons.
Mostly though, park-ball was an organic energetic activity with tons of synergistic highs: it was jazz.
Organized sports OTOH was like joining a military marching band. All about winning, structure, PAIN.
I didn’t begin playing sports to suffer. I never had Tiger Woods’ dad brainwashing me since I was 10 months old, dragging me out to golf at 5AM like some Marine Drill Instructor when I should be eating cereal and watching cartoons in my Spider-Man undies [fast forward to what happens to such ppl like Tiger or Michael Jackson].
I admit that PRO athletes are indeed getting paid to win; however, I am not getting paid to watch, nor was I getting paid to play.
I played sports because – it was fun.
As I’m sure most of us did.
Winning came later, and don’t get me wrong, WINNING is great, but it’s more like sex in a marriage: the spice, not the meal.
If I gave it my all, and got beat, well – I got beat. That’s life.
If a 6’4, 220 college power-forward is posting me up, not much a 5’9, 175 point-guard can do about it – even if you’re Allen Iverson.
That’s life.
And because that’s life, many of us turn to watching sports where it’s SUPPOSED to be an even playing field; where players step on the stage to flaunt their athletic prowess and leave us in wonderment and awe.
For 3 brief hours we are transported to the sublime.
All I ask every Bears’ season is for them to be relevant by Thanksgiving. That’s it.
They don’t have to become a juggernaut, go undefeated, or remake the ’85 season [would be awesome!]…
Simply be a viable playoff contender every Thanksgiving instead of the butt of jokes [don’t get me started on the Bear memes] or worse, my friends putting their hands on my shoulder offering condolences for 30 years straight.
The ’25 Bears are relevant in late November.
Bill Parcells used to say that the real season starts after Thanksgiving, but you know, we’ll get to that.
For now, I’m going to take a moment of zen and cherish this wild season. They don’t strike very often [last one may have been the Dick Jauron 13-win season 24 years ago].
So let’s all appreciate the 7-3, NFCN leading, Bounce Back Bears!
And pass the statins…