That title is actually a reference to the 2025 iteration of the Green bay Packers, especially last night. What a fucking atrocity they proved to be, huh?
My brother has been a Chicago Bears fan for decades, dating back to when we were growing up. He had taken to the Bears for whatever the reason, while I would go into a completely different direction as far as my favorite NFL football team. Though we grew up in and continue to live in California, both of our favorite football teams exist well beyond California's borders.
Maybe he liked the Bears' uniforms? Perhaps it was the storied history of the franchise? I know that he was particularly fond of middle linebacker, Mike Singletary. Singletary was described as a gentle giant off the football field, but an absolute terror on it. With his signature glasses, he would appear to be hardly imposing, but once he put that uniform on and took the glasses off, you had to deal with this man, who was consistently out for the blood of opposing offenses and would often get it. Singletary was inducted into the NFL Hall Of Fame in 1998 and rightfully so.
I didn't watch last night's Packers-Bears opening round playoff game, being that I had other things to do last night, but I did track the score online as the game progressed. At halftime, the Packers were up by a solid, 21-6. I figured that it was kind of a done deal at that point. Green Bay was going to put it away and move on to the next round of the playoffs. Now, most teams would be able to hold onto that kind of lead and keep the opposition at bay for the rest of the game. You figure if you keep pace with the other team, match what they do and either keep them off the scoreboard or score as they score, you'd be in good shape. This is usually how a 15-point lead stands up.
But not the Packers. They would only score six more points the rest of the game, while allowing Chicago to score 25 in the fourth quarter. When the dust settled, the Bears would leave Green Bay stunned, with a final score of 31-27, after handing them what I'm understanding is "one of their biggest collapses".
Those aren't my words. On Yahoo's front page this morning, I saw the headline:
Packers suffer one of their biggest collapses in wild-card thriller against Bears
Last night, not long after the game ended, this headline was on Yahoo, and was labeled as "Breaking News":
BEARS SCORE 25 IN THE 4TH QUARTER TO SEND GREEN BAY PACKING
That's poetic and cute. And just like that, the Packers are losers and they got to fly their asses back to Wisconsin and watch the rest of the playoffs from their comfort of their living rooms.
Yes, I spend a lot of time on Yahoo, by the way.
Not long after the score went final and the game ended, I felt compelled to send a text message to my brother, who I know was watching the game from beginning to end and probably fully riveted to his seat and nervous as hell until the game clock finally reached 0:00 in that highly eventful fourth quarter.
PA: Bears got in the ass...hell fucking yes!!
PA: Like a g-string...
BROTHER: For real!!!!! Holy shit what a game. Thank god their kicker is straight dog shit.
PA: We'll take it...
PA: Had to pull for Caleb...
PA: USC getting it done...
BROTHER: We almost pulled the trigger and went to the game. Kicking myself for, Not doing it
PA: It was cold but would have been worth it...
BROTHER: Fuck yeah
My brother and his wife consistently travel. It's kind of their thing and since they have the money to do it, why not? Every now and then, they'll even travel to see the Bears, either in Chicago or to wherever the team might be playing on an any given week. My brother and sister-in-law missed on a good one (and a freezing one) last night, but damn, it would have been worth it had they gone.
Because my team has been bad these last three seasons and missed the post-season completely, I have to live vicariously through my brother and his team, who hadn't been that competitive of late either, but damn, here we are. As I would and should as a USC Trojan myself, I will attribute the Bears' success to their quarterback, Caleb Williams, who after having left USC (with a Heisman Trophy, mind you), would be the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft and drafted by the Chicago Bears. Though Williams didn't start off as a Trojan, he finished as one. Once a Trojan, always a Trojan, as far as I'm concerned.
I don't know how far the Bears go in these here playoffs, but they've had some convincing wins, as well as some gutsy ones, this season. I figure that they'll ride the wave until they come crashing back down to Earth.
I know how my brother feels, because this is how I felt during the 2021-2022 NFL Playoffs.
The feeling is exhilarating indeed.
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