Why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?
I don’t know when I started using this phrase to open my game previews, but I don’t really remember not doing so. Each week I repeat it and each week I follow it with the simple, “I always like the Chicago Bears.”
And as we begin the 20th season of DaBearsBlog (2005-2025), it remains true. Social media seems to be the staging ground for something of an existential crisis when it comes to Bears fans and their fandom. The subtext of almost every tweet is “I don’t want to be a fan anymore.” I don’t get it. Fandom comes with no guarantees. You root for a team because you like the team, or because they play in your community, or because they represent your nation, or because they’re a half black guy upending the whitest sport on the planet. Then you watch them play and hope they win. That’s the extent of the transaction. But if you’re willing to either (a) stop watching the sport entirely or (b) switch teams, then you were never an actual fan to begin with.
If you don’t want to prioritize watching a bad team’s games, I get that. I made that decision myself this season a few times, skipping Bears v. Patriots to give a lecture and hang after with the audience, and giving in to exhaustion at halftime of Bears v. Seahawks, wherein I missed the worst 30 minutes of NFL football all season. You don’t have to suffer through every minute of team’s season to have your fandom ticket validated. But being a fan doesn’t actually cost you anything if you keep that fandom in emotional perspective. Get angry when they lose. Complain when they make bad organizational decisions. But it is still a game, played for your amusement. Enjoy it.
The Bears are going to lose Sunday. You should accept that fact today, right now, reading this. The Packers are good and gearing up for a playoff run and still have pivotal seeding to play for. The Bears are bad. If watching the Bears lose brings you immense agita, might I recommend a visit to the cinema this weekend? Or just hang with the kids? Or go to your local watering hole and argue about politics? Blow this game off and focus your attention on the coaching search come Monday morning.
This is not a game preview because this game carries no meaning for the Chicago Bears organization. It is a game they are playing because schedules dictate they play a 17th game. If they had an opportunity to knock their division rival from the tournament, then you could really put some weight behind this finale. But does altering Green Bay’s seeding get you pumped up? Not me. As the calendar is turning, the Packers are relevant, and the Bears are not. Rinse. Repeat.