Guy comes into my office the other day and said… wouldn’t it be nice if it was the Bears in the Super Bowl on Sunday. Yes, yes it would be nice. In my lifetime, which covers the entirety of the Bears Super Bowl appearances, we had two of those days… a bit bigger than just the big day for us. I was a kid in 1986 when the Bears were kings of the world; I was a bit older and living in California the 2nd time around, making my way back home for the event… ending up curled up in a bed, depressed, very early that evening. I’m ready to feel those crazy emotions again. Hopefully one day soon… In the meantime, we did get some pretty good Bears news.
Devin Hester and Steve McMichael are in the Hall of Fame! This is really good news. Honorable mention to Julius Peppers who got the call too; not quite like the first two guys I mentioned, but he did spend a few good years here as well. I’m happy. Let’s start with Mr. Ridiculous. Devin Hester is the best returner in NFL history, sorry Prime Time. When do you use the bathroom when watching the game? The commercials of course, duh. Well, if you wanted to get a head start, you may leave when the other team is punting; if you ran a little late, you may miss the kickoff. You didn’t want to miss either of these events when it was Devin Hester waiting to receive the ball. The dude was electric. A couple of his moments come to mind. Of course, there’s that Super Bowl I referred to above. I landed in Chicago the Friday before, and headed to the bar; it was a celebration that weekend in preparation for the big game Sunday evening. We started pre-gaming early, of course, and had our beers full to the top for the kickoff to start the game. We know what happened next… thankfully we didn’t go right through the floor into the H&R Block tax office below us. We were jumping up and down, beer spilling everywhere, screaming F this and F that at the TV, just knowing that this was OUR game. Thanks Devin for an unforgettable memory. Of course, it was a slow decline after that until we got the official L, but will never forget that. For me, the next one was the one I saw in person, earlier that year. It was in Arizona on Monday Night; you may remember the game. Yeah, I was there, and yeah, it was as awesome as you can imagine. With the undefeated Bears on the brink of an unbelievable comeback, Hester caught the punt. Once he made that one cut, we knew he was gone… Going F-ing crazy in the middle of a sea of red with my white Butkus jersey on. Thanks for the memories Devin. You were ridiculous.
Mongo… well, he was a part of the best defense of all-time, sorry not sorry Steel Curtain and 2000 Ravens. Another Super Bowl link, the 85 Bears were the shit… no way around it. There is a reason we still talk about them like it was yesterday here in Chicago. Mongo was at the middle of it, literally, lined up next to Hampton, Dent, and the Fridge, making one hell of a defensive line. The thing that I recall about Mongo is his bare arms. It would be below zero out there, and here was this dude… bare arms showing, visible breath coming out of his mouth, looking totally comfortable and ready to rock. I’ve read stories about him, and how crazy he was, including the battles at practice between the offensive and defensive lines that year… love it all. Of course, Steve isn’t doing as well nowadays, but… he’s still surviving, and alive to hear this awesome news. Love you Mongo!
It’s a nice lead in to Super Bowl weekend… some great Bears news, who by the way, have more Hall of Famers than any other NFL team… take that how you’d like, but we’ve had some damn good players, and although we don’t have quite the same number of Super Bowls as other teams, we’ve had plenty of great players to watch roam around the gridiron, helping make our Sundays brighter, win or lose. Devin and Mongo were definitely two of those dudes. Great to see them receive the ultimate honor, very deserving. Bear Down!!!
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