Last night in the shadow of Soldier Field in the city of Chicago, a black man addressed thousands as the elected President of the United States. On a great night for the greatest of countries, a Bears fan took the highest office in the land. America has captivated, shocked, frightened, angered and confounded me over the years. Last night...America impressed me.
I woke up this morning, nursing a Heineken headache, to the realization that I write theatre for a living. I woke up knowing that across the country, thousands have come to this site for the legally-given right to speak their mind about the team they love. I live in a country that has allowed me to be what I want to be, do what I want to do and love what I want to love...as long as that's not a man in the states of Arkansas, Florida and California. (We're not there yet.)
Whether you voted for him or not, take note: this is an amazing moment for this country. As you're watching the Bears beat the Titans (with Kyle Orton possibly at quarterback), raise a glass to the new America.
And when the Bears kickoff a playoff game in January, there'll be rooting interest in the Oval Office.
#2 Pankster In Da Carolina's said . . .1st
November 5, 2008
#3 Bearman on the Sangamon said . . .Jeff great post like you I have a hangover only by drinking red stripe and calling one of 2 things that has taken over the USA and congrats Barack, but what I'm lookin for is our beloved Bears step the hell up and Shock and Shut the Titans up by bringing all of us a Bear Nation under god a victory!!! Bears 21-titans 14
BEAR DOWN AMERICA!!!November 5, 2008
#4 BRIANsong said . . .Something funny and relevant to both the campaign and the Bears.
In 2004, when GOP nominee Jack Ryan dropped out of the Senatorial race against Barack Obama, none other than Mike Ditka toyed around running against the Most Mersiful Messiah, Barack Obama. It's funny because this jackass might not be President-elect if Ditka had run against him.
Plus, who really wouldn't want to see Mike Ditka on the floor the United States Senate throwing wads of gum at Dingy Harry Reid and Ted Kennedy?
Also, the Bears have about as much of a chance of winning Sunday as a recount being done and McCain being given the Presidency.
November 5, 2008
#5 JWilson said . . .Vegas disagrees with you, Bearman. 3 point line. The Titans are not a difficult match-up for the Bears.
November 5, 2008
#6 Bearman on the Sangamon said . . .Bear's fans need to show more faith in their team. The Titans are a beatable team. Any given Sunday, any team can win or loose. With Kyle. With Rex. True fans always believe, and have faith in their team. The D plays a good game. Hester gets his 1st return. Bears win this game by 10. BEAR DOWN!
November 5, 2008
#7 jdawg said . . .Oh well...
November 5, 2008
#8 JIM said . . .woo boy Bearman, flame on, I guess.
I love Da Coach as a coach (before his ego ran away with him) but the thought of him in the Senate is almost as scary as Palin one 74-year-old heartbeat away from the most powerful office in the free world.
Anyway, go Bears!
November 5, 2008
#9 jerseybearsfan said . . .I'm here with you Bearman. Obama sucks balls and so do the 2008 bears.
November 5, 2008
#10 jerseybearsfan said . . .well Jim he cant suck nearly as much as the retard we have there for the last 8 years (that im sure you in all your wisdom voted for in the first place) and seeing as he is YOUR PRESIDENT I suggest you jump on the bandwagon and help instead of trying to tear down before he even gets started......remember if he fails.....we all fail
November 5, 2008
#11 jerseybearsfan said . . .Oh and Jim the same goes for the Bears......what kind of fan disses his own team when they are in first place in their division.......sometimes I wonder why people are fans at all
November 5, 2008
#12 jerseybearsfan said . . .Oh and Jim the same goes for the Bears......what kind of fan disses his own team when they are in first place in their division.......sometimes I wonder why people are fans at all
November 5, 2008
#13 Phil from SATX said . . .And by the way If your team is in first place I suggest you support them instead of trying to bring them down.......after all they are in FIRST PLACE!!!!!!!
November 5, 2008
#14 Max said . . .I'm sorry to have to say that Brian Urlacher is kind of an idiot. Check this out -
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-04-bears-bits-chicagonov04,0,2849447.story
Some very insightful stuff in there -
1) Brian was saying F-U to the fans who were booing the D, waggling his fingers around mockingly at the boos which were cascading around him after the D let up all those points in the first half. Which unfortunately means that instead of being pissed at himself, he was mad at being booed. Which unfortunately also means that he feels a sense of entitlement about accolades and does not particularly feel a sense of responsibility for poor play and lack of success. The reason he's an idiot is because he tried to say that was the same thing as when the D lifts their arms to extort the crowd to be loud. Idiot.
2) Lovie says "negative reinforcement has never really worked for me." So now we have our answer as to the next time we see Lovie ream out a player - it will be NEVER. Not that that should be a surprise to us. So LovieCuddly feels that the only way to motivate players is to, you guessed it, Lovie all over them.
This is not a good combination of things. Lack of acceptance of responsibility by players coupled with lack of interest in any non-positive motivations by the coach.
Not too good.
November 5, 2008
#15 Charlie said . . .I own a shirt that says "Da Senator" It was a freebe that my dad got at work when Iron Mike was considering running. I wear it as an undershirt at work every Sunday
November 5, 2008
#16 Call me an elitist said . . .To any dimwitted moron that would prefer seeing da Coach roaming the White House or the Senate floor instead of the sideline, you need to start taking some smart medicine. STAT. Because your below marginal IQ is frightening.
November 5, 2008
#17 jdawg said . . .I'm trying to imagine Da Coach in a cabinet meeting discussing the economy. He'd probably pull a Singletary and drop his pants.
Is that really all you can say, "Obama's a jackass" or criticize his rhetorical gifts? Seriously, at least try firing a neuron and coming up with something creative. Bearman, you can't even spell "merciful" right. After 8 years of depressing idiocy, I'll take someone who values intellectual vigor.
November 5, 2008
#18 Joseph said . . .yeah -- it'll be nice to have a grown-up in the White House
November 5, 2008
#19 Bearman on the Sangamon said . . .Ron Paul for president!
Is it too late? Damn!
November 5, 2008
#20 Times Are A Changin said . . .To Charlie the dumbass:
I was saying that about Ditka in jest, you raging dipshit.How can anybody who lived through the glorious Ditka era not smile and laugh a little bit when thinking of Ditka on the Senate floor? I think it's a funny thought. Would he make a good Senator, probably not, but it's still fucking funny.
So fuck you and the Prius you rode in on!
On another note, thanks for you support JIM...but how dare you say the 2008 Bears suck as much as Obama! The FIRST PLACE IN THE NFC NORTH Chicago Bears. Unbelievable.
Yup, you're an elitist. Apologies for the mispelling, tends to happen from time to time.
This used to be a fun place to come and escape politics. Damn you Jeff for corrupting it. No more about politics. I'm done.
Bear Down, please!
November 5, 2008
#21 Reverend Dave said . . .Bearman,
You can take McCain, Rex, Jim and the other fair weather Bears fans you roll with and shove them in your gas guzzling Chevy 4 by 4 or whatever they are called, and go back to the rural bumble fuck town you are from. Stay there and never enter the confines of the City of Chicago or Soldier Field. You call the President elect a "jack ass" the day after Election Day and you get pissed at Jeff for writing a political post? Come on guy.
November 6, 2008
#22 Times Are A Changin said . . .Actually when discussing why he ultimately decided not to run (leaving the spot open for Alan Keys the political equivalent of the Lions) one of the things Ditka cited was how he wasnt sure how he would react to heated confrontations with people who didnt agree with him. If memory serves there was some allusion to punching them (senators?) out.
November 6, 2008
#23 mamabear said . . .Bearman,
You can take McCain, Rex, Jim and the other fair weather Bears fans you roll with and shove them in your gas guzzling Chevy 4 by 4 or whatever they are called, and go back to the rural bumble fuck town you are from. Stay there and never enter the confines of the City of Chicago or Soldier Field. You call the President elect a "jack ass" the day after Election Day and you get pissed at Jeff for writing a political post? Come on guy. No need for a recount buddy. I don't know if you were watching, but it was not close.
November 6, 2008
#24 mamabear said . . .How about we just focus on the fact that we're going to have a Bears fan in the Oval office. That's gotta count for something!
November 6, 2008
#25 Luke said . . .How about we just focus on the fact that we're going to have a Bears fan in the Oval office. That's gotta count for something!
November 6, 2008
#26 Luke said . . .Yeah since this teams greatest weapons are runners and our biggest defensive strength is run D, I don't think a win against the Titans is all that crazy of a possibility. Kyle says he could play, but I don't believe him. So hopefully, the sex cannon will get some rust knocked off it this week in practice and Rex is welcomed to Soldier Field with open arms and has a career day. One that will ensure him a new job in the offseason. I like Rex Grossman. I hope he can still manage playing time somewhere else because I look forward to what he can do with the right playbook.
Prediction: Kerry Collins gets sacked, injured, and embarrassed by #91 and we see the comeback of Vince Young to the football field...We can only hope that Vince gets to meet the Bears for the first time this Sunday. That would just be a godsend.
Prediction: Due to the lack of fire-power on the Titans offense other than their destined-to-be-shut-down running game, the Bears limit them to FGs all game long and the final score: Bears 24 Titans 9
November 6, 2008
#27 Rancid said . . .Oh yeah, and cheers and congratulations to our new president elect. Hopefully he's as real as he has seemed to me. Bear down!!
November 6, 2008
#28 DeAngelo Hall said . . .ahhhh...politics. jeff did a good job recognizing the elephant in the room with class, others not so much. And when the hell did this become about you drive? I have a 1979 F-250 4x4 that gets 7 miles to the gallon. Am I less of a Bears fan now? Am I not concerned enough about the ozone? Does anyone like me less now? If so, should I care? I pretty much think all politicians are bastards. They don't deserve this much passion. Save it for the Bears.
Concerning what's important here, our Bears are a team built to beat the Titans. If KO is playing we should even be favored. Stop this teams run and make Kerry Collins throw. He will be picked off. Then it's on the offense. They have played no one who can stop the run. We can, and we will. I'm not saying this is easy. I'm saying we may have just the right set up for the cards to fall.
November 6, 2008
#29 enderwiggin said . . .I heard you guys are having trouble with pass defense. Interested?
November 6, 2008
#30 shonbear said . . .Luke, i'm with you. KO says he might be ready.. but thats the Bears Management Propaganda we are hearing.
Forte: 110 yards
Jones: 40 yards
Wolfe: 25 yardsBears 24 Titans 20
November 6, 2008
#31 BearDown1982 said . . .What's good:
The Bears have the best take-a-way/Give away stats in the NFL second only to...
Tennessee
Bears +6
(two turn overs from Olsen lost a game for us, one was from Hester changed the momentum of a game that should not have been that close)
Titans +10
Turnovers will will this game!
Now on another note for all those that have been making a deal out of the 'batted pass". What happened the play before Kyle got hurt? He got a pass batted. Hello?
Another thing, looking at Da Site, one of the headlines being "Defense intends to build on last outing". Are you kidding me!! What are they building on, the fact that they got lucky in not allowing Detroit to come back and win it in the same fashion as Atlanta did, because when you watch it close, that is almost what happened (as I watched it again during NFL Replay and determined)
We got a little lucky there.
Today's video of Rex stating he loves the fans in a Sammy Sosa voice was entertaining, I kinda wish he knew that with the large number of people that boo him there is an equally large number of people that are cheering for him and I am anxious for him to show all that he is more than a back up when he has the right surrounding cast. Really do we all think that Kyle would be having this stellar year if it wasn't for the threat of Matt Forte's play making ability.
The line and running game improvements are the only missing elements from last years team. The Defense is playing with great similarity to last year, but this year it's been with it's primary starters on the field supposedly healthy, barring the secondary in recent weeks.
What gives?
Here's to hoping Rex has been taking notes on some of the things that Kyle has been doing differently than him for instance no int's in the last four games.
This is still on Ron Turner to put Rex in situations that will create success, like not 3rd and long, like not throwing the bomb on first down, moving the pocket, no huddle, shot gun, I know I've been saying it, but this is the deal, just like the Seattle preseason game when Kyle was put in and they go to the 2 minute offense and shotgun formation making Kyle look great and it was only for a few minutes after they let Rex take the beating with all the pressure and when he just started to show some rythem they change QB's.
Rex can shine, Rex will shine. More importantly, who cares about Rex anyway give the ball to Forte again and again and again, keep it away from Mckie and run an end around fake to Hester for a short screen to Wolfe, he will shine too.
Nuff said.
except...
Who cares about the politics anyway, no president will make a difference in the normal persons life, but it's cool to make history. Hope he takes more interest in the country than he did in his job as a Senator. More importantly, hope he is a real Bears fan and not just a perpetrator trying to get votes and home town support.
November 6, 2008
#32 Phillip from NYC said . . .Best of luck to President Elect Barack Obama. He has a lot on his plate, but I hope he helps to get this country back on track.
A lot of you probably don't know this because it seems like a good portion of you either don't live in Chicagoland or haven't for quite some time...when Obama ran for Senate in 2004 the GOP almost picked Mike Ditka to run against him. Instead, it was Keyes. I'm sure Ditka would have lost, but that would have been damn fun to watch.
Orton has a chance to play on Sunday? Wow! Although, I'm not sure I want our gimpy QB out there against that Titan DLine. Grossman or Orton, I think the Bears have a chance to win this game for sure. It will be on our defense (and special teams as well) to find some ways to cause turnovers and give our offense some good field position to work with.
November 6, 2008
#33 willie from chicago said . . .Despite being sick at the moment, I am happy about two things: being an American, and getting to watch our Bears hopefully trample Tennessee.
In addition to this notice of my happiness, I wish to postulate: it seems that there's a correlation between comments on this thread being anti-Obama and being anti-Bears.
Case in point:
"Also, the Bears have about as much of a chance of winning Sunday as a recount being done and McCain being given the Presidency."
"I'm here with you Bearman. Obama sucks balls and so do the 2008 bears."
Dissing the Bears = a vote for McCain = obviously haven't been paying attention the last few months?
Just sayin'.
Also, I hope President Obama can do the coin toss when the BEARS ARE IN THE SUPERBOWL.
November 6, 2008
#34 NDbearfan said . . .Im glad to see a fellow chicagoan become president. I doubt we will see any major changes in the next year or so but I wish the best of luck to Barack Obama and hope he is successful as president.
I'm really hoping that the Bears are not considering letting Kyle Orton start against the Titans. He will be a sitting duck against that defense. Rex can win this game, he has won other big games in his career. I am 100% confident in Barack Obama and Rex Grossman.
BEAR DOWN!
Bears- 24
Titans 17November 6, 2008
#35 Phillip from NYC said . . .The historical significance of the first African-American President cannot be understated...I am proud to be an American knowing that the color of your skin does not limit where you can go. However, I am from a small midwestern "backwoods" town that some of you are speaking of and I don't agree with some of President Obama's ideals and therefore didn't vote for him. I don't think he gives a shit about us "backwoods" midwesterners. I DO however support whoever is President 100% and wish President Obama the best of luck. We are in a mess right now and I hope he can lead us out. It's days like Tuesday that should remind every American why this country is so great...we all have voices!!!! That's also what makes a site like this great. Now that's about as much politics that will ever come out of my mouth!
I truely believe the Bears have a chance to win this game and I think the difference is going to be our defense. If they play well and execute...Bears win...if not it will be a long day watching their "Thunder and Lightening" run all over the defense. I do believe if Kyle played the Bears would have a better chance to win, but I think Rex can do it as well...there is just less room for error. It would be a good week for Devin Hester to turn the switch on in the return game.November 6, 2008
#36 Rancid said . . .NDBearFan, I take back what I said about McCain vote = talking bad about the Bears. Thanks for upping the level of discourse.
November 6, 2008
#37 No REXY! said . . .Stick around ND, that was some good stuff
November 6, 2008
#38 No REXY! said . . .Orton would be fine Our OLINE does great in protecting and will do more in this game.....I pray to god we dont start REX he is gonna play against the legues top DEFENSE and THE Leagues top INTERCEPTIONS DEFENSE! Rex wont be able to compete....We need Orton a Solid Forte and A DEFENSE that will make Chris Johnson and Lendall White shit there pants! bear down!
November 6, 2008
#39 Crown said . . .Orton would be fine Our OLINE does great in protecting and will do more in this game.....I pray to god we dont start REX he is gonna play against the legues top DEFENSE and THE Leagues top INTERCEPTIONS DEFENSE! Rex wont be able to compete....We need Orton a Solid Forte and A DEFENSE that will make Chris Johnson and Lendall White shit there pants! bear down!
November 6, 2008
#40 Phil from SATX said . . .True test for our run D that has been very good overall this year. The Titans may have the best combination at running back in the league. Lendale is a beast near the goal line. If we shut down Johnson and White, the game is ours. Kerry Collins certainly shouldn't beat us in the air, then again, we have made some sub-par QBs look like pro-bowlers this year.
November 6, 2008
#41 DaBears Win! said . . .I appreciated that too NDFan. I myself truly believe that if McCain supporters like you just pay attention in the coming months and agree to be open-minded, you will be shocked by what our new President-elect has to offer us all - he's so completely different from what he has been portrayed as by the red machine. This is an old-school Statesman with a capital S. He is so far above and beyond what we are leaving behind he doesn't even show up on the same graph. This is a once-in-a-generation guy. Again, pay attention and keep an open mind and you will ultimately be very happy that a few more people voted for him than voted for John McCain - not that McCain wouldn't himself have been a huge improvement over the last 8 years. Ideally his time should have been in 4 years, but this man is wise beyond his years and incredibly smart and he WILL rise to the occasion.
He also happens to be a Chicagoan and a Bears fan - but that's just icing on the cake.
November 6, 2008
#42 Max said . . .Excellent post, Jeff.
I have every hope that President-elect Obama can lead this great country back from the edge of the abyss where the present administration has lead us. I, too, feel better having an intellect in the Oval Office.
Sadly, even with a sprained ankle, KO is more mobile than Rex. If Rex plays, I hope RT calls a lot of no-huddle and shotgun. In either case, we need a healthy dose of Forte running the ball.
Bears: 27
Titans: 17Bear Down, Chicago Bears!
November 6, 2008
If we shut down the run game. . . and thats a big IF. . . but if we do, then we better pray our defensive backfield comes to play because we have made almost every QB look 10x better than he really is against us, especially in the last 4 games (cept Kitna. . . he just sucks)
Collins is old but he knows how to manage games. . . Im nervous
November 6, 2008
Here at DaBearsBlog, you are free to kill us or the Bears as you so wish. You are not free, however, to be an asshole. So if you spew racism or ill-meaning foul language (cursing about football is just fine) or anything of that ilk, your comments ain't gonna last long, jerk.