Welcome to the Bears Binge, where every week RedEye prepares you for the matchup facing the Monsters of the Midway. This week: 3 things Bears fans should consider keeping to themselves, why it’s awesome being 40 and Laguna the Shedd Aquarium sea lion makes his final prediction of the season.
Game time: at Detroit, noon Sunday, Fox
ENOUGH ALREADY
Sometimes Bears fans just don’t make much sense in the grand scheme of things. Here are three things we’d prefer they stop saying.
“They’re ruining their draft position.”
It’s one thing to say this in jest, to find the silver lining in a season gone horribly wrong. It’s another to actually be angry for players and coaches winning. Players are not paid to think about draft picks; they’re out there to win every game. Mediocrity can be tough on business, sure. But do you know what’s worse? Ending up like the Philadelphia 76ers.
“All they can do is play spoiler now.”
The satisfaction of knowing your rival missed the playoffs might comfort fans, but how much motivation can it really provide a pro athlete? It’s not as if ruining another team’s season will magically push the reset button and void the Super Bowl. One can’t expect a coach to take a “We sucked this year, but we can make the other guys feel bad!” speech into the locker room, either.
“Cold, snow, sleet … that’s ‘Bear weather!'”
The Bears have lost five straight to Detroit, including twice at Soldier Field (one loss was last December). Clearly the Bears don’t really have Mother Nature as an ally. And if I’m tailgating on Sunday, I’d take another unseasonably warm 55-degree day over 10 degrees and a blizzard any day.
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THE ’85 BEARS ARE HOW OLD?
ICYMI, 2015 marks the 30th anniversary of the 1985 Bears, the last team to bring a Super Bowl title to Chicago. And as anyone who has experienced it knows, turning 30 can be a pain. Each week we’ll give you an idea what Bears fans who remember the magic of 1985 must be going through.
When you turn 30 … you can’t wait to be 40.
Football equivalent: OK, that’s a stretch in any context, unless you’re Paul Rudd and you’re married to Leslie Mann like in “This Is 40.” Then it’s probably awesome. Still, you can’t wait for this season to be over, if for no other reason than it means you’re one day closer to seeing the Bears actually win a Super Bowl.
#LagunaPicks
Instead of recruiting a football expert to predict each Bears game, RedEye asked Laguna the Shedd Aquarium sea lion. Because it’s fun.
Laguna’s record: 8-7 after Week 16 (he incorrectly picked Tampa Bay over the Bears last week)
This week’s sea lions fact: Sea lions often congregate near the Bonneville Dam along the Washington-Oregon border, where they eat endangered species of salmon. To protect the salmon, the government began a culling program. Shedd Aquarium was one of several facilities that offered to rescue a few of these sea lions.
More info: Visit sheddaquarium.org.
THIS WEEK’S PICK: Lions over Bears.
NFL WEEK 15 SCHEDULE
Sunday
Bears vs. Detroit, noon Fox
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, noon CBS
New England at Miami, noon CBS
New Orleans at Atlanta, noon Fox
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, noon Fox
Washington at Dallas, noon Fox
Tennessee at Indianapolis, noon CBS
Baltimore at Cincinnati, noon CBS
Pittsburgh at Cleveland, noon CBS
Jacksonville at Houston, noon CBS
Oakland at Kansas City, 3:25 p.m. Fox
San Diego at Denver, 3:25 p.m. CBS
Tampa Bay at Carolina, 3:25 p.m. Fox
Seattle at Arizona, 3:25 p.m. Fox
St. Louis at San Francisco, 3:25 p.m. CBS
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Minnesota at Green Bay, 7:30 p.m. NBC
Chris Sosa is RedEye’s sports editor. @redeyesportschi