So I’ve finally figured out what’s wrong with the Bears.
Sit down, you won’t like it.
Here it is. The problem with the Bears is you.
If this franchise existed anywhere else in this country, normal fans would have walked away in complete apathy, forcing ownership to do some serious house cleaning. I’m thinking of NFL towns like Jacksonville, maybe Tampa Bay.
Not here, though. We’re addicted. This is the land of Walter Payton and George Halas and all kinds of people who have stopped playing or since passed on.
All we do is sit and reminisce about the old days. And keep going to games and keep buying jerseys and hats and sweatshirts and doing whatever else to fill the coffers of “those people.”
And that has led to: one Super Bowl win in 50 years, poor drafting, poor scouting, lame coaching, weekly embarrassment and, of course, the NFL’s ugliest stadium that’s also one of its smallest.
Congrats, we did this together.
It’s OK. Come off the ledge. There’s a way back. Some will call it the “nuclear option” where the McCaskeys sell the team and everything is blown up.
We all know that’s never going to happen.
However, that doesn’t have to happen. We’ve been here before.
1974. George “Mugs” Halas Jr. has a “my god, do we suck!” moment, and hires one Jim Finks as GM to build the organization.
And all Finks did was methodically build the 1985 Bears piece by patient piece (he also hired a coach from Canada, but let’s not split hairs).
Hey, even the Wirtzes were smart enough to hire Scotty Bowman. Come on! It’s not that difficult!
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I’m lying. Of course it is. First, we have to find him. He’s out there. He’s done it before. People who know, know.
Of course our people don’t know, but talk to other people’s people who do know. We’ll get him. Hey, even the Cubs—THE CUBS—figured this out.
So now that football’s over, look, it’s baseball meetings! The Cubs and Sox have money and options. There’s a scary thought. Don’t blow it, Sox. I don’t want another Adam Dunn. Think quality. Not splash.
And the Cubs—finish what you started, Theo Epstein.
Bag Boy is a RedEye special contributor.