“Shit!”
-John Candy as Uncle Buck in the John Hughes classic Uncle Buck
That was me yesterday when Cody Parkey’s 43-yd field goal attempt doinked twice off the upright to end the Bears season and Super Bowl hopes with a 16-15 loss to the Eagles. I was John Candy knocking over a set of pans just as his brother and sister-in-law get home.
Shit.
It’s 9:56 p.m. central time as I write this and I’m dealing with a shitload of emotions. I keep asking questions…
- How the fuck did Parkey miss that kick?
- Wait…it was tipped? But did it really matter?
- Mitch was clutch in the 4th and we STILL lost?
- Why did Tarik Cohen only get 4 touches all game?
- How did the defense give up that goal line stand?
- WHAT HAPPENED TO TREY BURTON’S GROIN?
- But really…what happened
Listen…I’m just as pissed as any Bears fan right now. I genuinely thought we were going to the damn Super Bowl. I thought our boys were hitting their stride at the right time. I thought this was the year.
I thought I’d be calling off from work to save my spot for a parade on Michigan Avenue. I thought I’d be decked out in Super Bowl Champs gear in February. I thought the 33 year Super Bowl drought would be over.
And after that one kick, it all of a sudden wasn’t.
But you know what?
I still fucking love these guys.
Question to all Bears fans: Where did you expect us to finish this year? I know what I said – 11-5 (post-Mack). To be fair, I picked 9-7 pre-Mack.
More broadly: Remember how everyone thought the Bears were gonna do? No? Take a look…
CBS Sports
Sports Illustrated
ESPN
USA Today
Bleacher Report
Not one winning record. No one thinking the Bears were ready. Nobody giving them a shot.
But here we were yesterday…NFC North Champs, playoff contenders and most importantly…back.
No matter what stupid shit is said today about this team on Chicago sports radio or on Twitter, I fucking love them. I love them for turning this franchise around in one season when, again, nobody thought they could. I love them for Club Dub. I love them for just being a fun team.
I just want to send a huge “THANK YOU” to Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy for making this all happen. It’s crazy that not too long ago we were in the dark days of Marc Trestman and the stale times of the John Fox era. I can’t wait for fans to yell “BOOM!” on every single kickoff next season and I can’t wait to see more of “Willy Wonka,” “Freezer Left,” and “Santa’s Sleigh” trick plays for tuddies.
If there’s one thing people know now…it’s this:
Matt Nagy's main takeaway from 2018-19 Bears season?
"We let everybody know who we are now."
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) January 7, 2019
The point I’m trying to make is: these boys gave it their all this year and they were fun to watch. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have expectations and just be satisfied, but I know something special is brewing at Halas Hall. Shit, it’s already happening. And I hope all your Bears fans reading this are here for the ride with me.
There’s a lot to work to do this off-season, and you bet your sweet ass that I’ll have some things to say about it.
And it sucks to have to wait another 8+ months for Bears football now, but goddamn it, I had fun watching them for the first time in 8 seasons. And that’s something we should all be proud of.
In Trubisky We Trust, Green Bay Sucks and Bear Down
-Kurbs
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Featured Image: 670 The Score