January 17, 2019: Award Tour

We on award tour with Nagy my man going each and every place with a play card in hand, Minny, Detroit, Green Bay… Matt Nagy was voted coach of the year by Pro Football Weekly; it’s probably the first of many outlets recognizing him. He deserves it, no doubt in my mind, but hey, he’s our coach. He wasn’t the only one; Vic Fangio won assistant of the year, another well deserved honor. Ryan Pace should have won GM of the year, which would have been the complete sweep. Somehow this makes me mad.

Certainly proud of the guys, and thankful that Pace and Nagy seem to be a solid team heading into the future. Yet, although the way the Bears jumped on the scene this year was a very happy surprise, I still feel like we missed an opportunity this year. Forget about all those people saying “If I told you before the season, that the Bears would win 12 games, make the playoffs, but get knocked out first round, wouldn’t you have been happy with that?” First problem is that literally nobody said that. Second problem is once we got there, we could have hung with anybody. There was no team in the playoffs that could have outclassed us. The reason that loss was so painful, regardless that it was only the first round, is because I really think the Bears could have went all the way. I don’t want to believe that in my heart, I really don’t. Because if I didn’t think that, that loss wouldn’t have been that hard to swallow. Yes, it ended epically bad, but still; if I thought we’d have to get lucky to move on further, then ok…let’s get them next year. But no, we could have went further, we could have won it all. Now, we’ll never get to find out.

Every year is different. I already talked about the painful losses that preceded many Chicago championships; it’s all very true… I hope this is another example of that. But, there are no guarantees. For just as many tough losses have propelled our teams to greatness, there have been those tough losses that lead to crap. Maybe I’ll go through some of those another time, but I’m still relatively better right now…no need to depress myself. No, I’m going to try to stay in my happy place, thinking about how next year the Bears are gonna kick ass and take names. How our Bears are going to steamroll through our tougher schedule by winning 14 games, getting the first round bye, and dominating in the playoffs. Yes, visions of lifting the Super Bowl trophy next year dance in my head. This is what helps me move on. This real possibility (ok, maybe 14 wins is a lot) is what warms my heart; it’s what helps heal the wound.

Congratulations to the award winners. Although Vic is gone, Nagy is not going anywhere; Pace finally has the majority of fans on his side. Most of the team will be back. We’ll still have enough money to make an addition. Yes, every year is different, but it could be better too. Give me the patience to wait for that to see that happen. Bear Down!