Zen and the art of preparing to cover a winner
I find myself in an unfamiliar space.
When I look in one direction, I see my favorite football team hiring the Head Coach I most coveted. A man who delivered a remarkable level of success for a division rival with an advanced understanding of what I believe are the most important aspects of modern offense: tailoring schematics to the strength of his personnel, effectively marrying the run and pass via creative play action, and elite sequencing of plays to keep defenses on their toes.
When I look in another direction, I see my favorite football team draft the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck. A young man with collegiate success who has the tools to lead the aforementioned modern offense with supreme arm talent and off-script playmaking ability.
The quarterback and the Head Coach are the two most important pieces of the NFL puzzle. I’m happy with both elements on my favorite football team for the first time in my life. What is this feeling and what am I supposed to do with it as a content creator?
Con∙tent∙ment: a state of peaceful happiness.
The feeling of excitement after Ben Johnson’s hiring announcement and introductory press conference receded like the waves at low tide, leaving perfectly smooth sand in its wake. The chaos from the previous era washed out to sea. This calm provided me with something I have long sought but rarely held – a moment of clarity. This reminds me of the last time I saw the state of this franchise so clearly.
The Long, Dark Night
On January 23rd, 2011, the Bears lost to that team up north in the NFC Championship game 21-14. The morning after that game, I experienced one of these moments of clarity when I told my friends and colleagues that this wasn’t a mere loss but a turning point that would set the franchise back at least a decade.
My job as a content creator over the last 10 years has felt like that of a coal miner working under a headlamp, hoping to find a vein of gold in the mountain to buy our way out of this darkness. There’s a cycle of Hopium to Copium and back again to sustain oneself during those times. Find a vein, hold the rocks up to the lamp light with waves of Hopium billowing off the glittering mass. When what looks like it could be gold turns out to be iron pyrite instead, we exchange Hopium for Copium until the next vein comes along. Most cannot survive the mines without these drugs, and we have all dealt some strain of them to help us all get through the long, dark night.
I’m out of the coal mines now. Truth be told, I got out last year when the Bears failed to fire Matt Eberflus, bringing him back for a doomed season. Not because I knew the Bears were close to righting the ship but because I knew the dosage of Hopium required to get me through the year would be deadly. And if we’re being honest, the last shipment of Hopium didn’t work on me during the Eberflus era. There was no positive spin to that move, no glimmer from that vein, only the smell of rotten eggs. The truth is that there was never any gold in the coal mines to begin with and I was starting to abandon hope that this franchise could ever figure it out.
The Dawning of a New Era
Jeff Berckes
On October 22, 2024, my alarm went off in the early morning hours in Bar Harbor, Maine. My wife and I grabbed a cup of coffee and drove up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park to be among the first people in the continental US to see the sunrise. I’ve seen many sunrises in my life, but being from the middle of the country, this was my first time being one of the first Americans to witness the dawning of a new day.
I hear from a lot of Bears fans that they need to see it to believe it. They won’t be happy unless and until they see banners and trophies. In other words, they’re hitting snooze on this one. They won’t believe it’s a new day until the sun is shining directly overhead. After all, they’ve been tricked many times.
I’ve seen the dawn of new eras for other franchises. I’ve been able to enjoy vicariously through friends who cheer for those franchises. I’ve seen the markers, the predictable timesteps. We are now in what’s called Civil Dawn, where we can see the remnants of the night sky but can also make out the terrestrial features around us.
I’m here to tell you that this is the new day of Chicago Bears football – the cycle of success and sunshine will soon be upon us. I don’t know how bright the sun will shine or how long the day will last. No doubt there will be some clouds and potential for showers along the way, but I’m more confident than I’ve ever been that it will be a beautiful day.
Content in the Time of Contentment
Back to the matter at hand. What does content from a contented creator look like? It’s less hope and cope and more treating this franchise like it’s a legitimate contender. My expectations are high for this team moving forward because they’ve acquired the two main pieces to achieving real success in Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson.
I will be tracking Caleb Williams to break the Bears franchise records and to grow into one of the best quarterbacks in the league. I expect the Bears coaches and front office to support that journey.
I will be tracking Ben Johnson against the best Bears coaches of the past and against the best coaches in the league. I expect the Bears front office to support that journey.
I expect records to break and re-break and for playoffs to be the norm, not the exception. In other words, I expect to cover a winner, because I’m done with covering losers.
There’s still time to grab that cup of coffee and join me on the mountaintop to be among the first Bears fans to view the rise of a new day.
I’ll save you a seat.