Flight to Florida for the Super Bowl using frequent flier miles:    

$0

 

Accommodations with friends during Super Bowl weekend:      

$0

 

The look on your wife’s face when you tell her that her best friend agreed to give you and your buddy a ride to the airport for the trip:   

                                                                                                                        Priceless          

 

I’ll take the heat, considering this only happens once every twenty years or so. But it was kind of humorous watching her turn into a bit of Mrs. Ari Gold, saying she wanted a weekend at a water park with the kids if I was going to the game. The things we do for love. Of what, there’s some confusion.

 

This is where I planned on writing something about the Colts being lamer than Barbaro, but then the brave horse took a turn for the worse earlier this week and had to be put down. He fought so hard for longer than he would have had his name been John Henry, and in the end they called it euthanasia. Indianapolis locals saw this and wondered whether it was an adoption agency or a chain of hostels for kids traveling though Thailand.

 

It’s been so long since the Bears have worn the crown that a baby born during the last victory celebration can now raise a legal glass in toast to the current team. At least the NFL has worked on improving the halftime entertainment since then. 21 years ago I was on a pay phone calling Bogie at halftime while I was supposed to be holding up a green flag for the “Up With People” extravaganza. This year we get Prince, a bona fide Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. Or will it be the guy from Sequel down on Clearwater Beach?

 

Speaking of the Hall of Fame, wouldn’t it be fitting for the MVP of the Bears’ last Super Bowl trip to finally get the call this weekend and be introduced in front of the faithful? And once Richard Dent goes through, Don Pierson can finally take up the mantle for Jay Hilgenberg and his seven straight Pro Bowl appearances, or Jimbo Covert, who anchored the offensive line for eight years and won more battles against guys like Lawrence Taylor than he lost.

 

The seven point line set after the Bears win two weeks ago was expected to come down once Vegas was flooded with Bears fan’s money, but it hasn’t moved, firmly entrenched. Nobody believes that any team from the NFC can carry the day this weekend, at least nobody outside of Chicago. This game is supposed to be about Peyton Manning’s validation, and much will be written about his performance if he comes away empty. It’s being billed as a modern day battle of David and Goliath, with the NFC rep, any NFC rep, unworthy of standing in Manning’s way. But with a win the Bears can bring the trophy home without apology. They don’t engrave it these days with a caption saying you got lucky or somebody had a bad day. They didn’t when Jackie Smith dropped the touchdown pass, or when Scott Norwood’s kick sailed wide right, or when Kevin Dyson was tackled at the one as time expired. The trophy just sits there, engraved with the winning team’s name, announcing to the world that you’re the champion of professional football. No apology necessary.

 

And so Rex Grossman and the 6’5”, 230 pound quarterback with the laser rocket arm will take the field on Sunday, each with a shot at immortality, each with a chance to equal the number of rings held by the washed-up veteran quarterback of our neighbors to the north.

 

The big dance is only days away, and much like Senior Prom this is the last time we’ll be seeing some of our guys in these parts. We’ll hear the usual hollow promises about staying together, like the one Lance Briggs made this week that he wants to stay a Bear and would consider giving them a “home team discount” to get a deal done. Maybe that’s true, but I don’t think he hired Drew Rosenhaus, risked injury, and passed on a long-term deal last season with the idea of not squeezing every last penny out of the McCaskey family or whoever else enters the bidding war. There’s about as much chance of that happening as there is of me finding my bench partner from freshman year wood shop.

 

The big dance is also about matchups, and much has been made recently about the improved Colts run defense spelling trouble for the Bears ground game. Most of the credit has been going to 5’8”, 208 pound Indy safety Bob Sanders, whose return from a leg injury has coincided with a 100+ yard per game drop in rushing yards allowed. That’s impressive, but I think the Bears ought to make Woj’s favorite new Bear, Antonio Garay, his date, if only for one dance. Put the 6’4”, 300+ Garay in at fullback on the Bears’ first running play and let him lead the way through the hole, and then scrape Sanders up. Game over.

 

Seriously though, if Ron Turner can figure out how to run the ball against the suddenly resurgent Colts D, they can decide where to put the second diamond on the Bears’ ring. There’s no denying that Sanders has made a difference, but a lot of Indy’s success stems from their opponents bailing on the running game. The Chiefs, supposedly a running team, only ran the ball 17 times in a playoff loss that was an eight point game entering the fourth quarter. The Ravens only handed off 19 times despite trailing by less than a touchdown with less than a minute to play. Nobody on the Patriots carried more than eight times in a four point loss, despite having an 18-point lead late in the first half.

 

The point is the Bears can’t afford to get away from the run. An offensive line that was gassed late in the regular season has looked rejuvenated in the playoffs, owing to the time off during the bye week. Another two week rest for Olin Kreutz and company can only work to the Bears’ advantage, but Turner has to be willing to pound the ball for one or two yards early, because Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson have proved those carries become big yards late.

 

The deal for Grossman is simple: protect the ball. No doubt he’s going to have to make a play at some point, but hopefully he realizes it’s OK to eat the ball on that play if nothing is there. There are worse things than letting Brad Maynard punt. Also, it will help if Muhsin Muhammad doesn’t let a pass or two (or three) slip through his hands.

 

Unlike last year before the Panthers loss, when the Bears defense was full of bravado and not much else, I sense this bunch is genuinely pissed off about being considered a JV rep in this game. They’re out to prove something. We all know the Colts will go up-tempo, with Peyton Manning walking around, waving, pointing and finally taking the snap. But our guys will be doing a lot of that, too, and when they are I don’t think Brian Urlacher will be yelling, “Hey, look guys! It’s Peyton Manning, and he’s doing that walking around, waving, pointing thing!” Urlacher isn’t in awe of Manning, as evidenced by the 27-24 Bears win the only time they met. All the Bears have to do is execute and not get cute.

 

Ron Rivera has a good idea of what makes Manning tick. It’s been dissected in every local newspaper all week. Manning will throw if the Bears move a safety up, and he’ll check off to a run if he thinks the Bears are in a base seven man front. So expect the Bears to move Chris Harris or Todd Johnson into the box and then back them out at the last second, or vice versa, trying to confuse the issue. For his part, Manning will try to chew up yards with comeback passes towards the sidelines to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne if Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher don’t jam them at the line. And if they miss the jam, watch the yards fly by. It’ll be a chess match, but if the Bears can disguise their coverages well enough Manning will turn it over and at the very least the Bears will have a short field and Robbie Gould will get some points.

 

The Bears rate an edge in the return game as long as Devin Hester can hold on to the ball, with the Colts punt and kick coverage teams ranking 31^st and 30^th in the league, respectively. That could make a difference if the Bears can force the Colts to punt, which they only did 47 times this season, fewest in the NFL. Still, I’d take Maynard over Indy’s Hunter Smith, who punted 30 fewer times but only gave up only 13 fewer returns. Smith will put it in play if the Bears make him punt. It’ll be up to Hester to make him regret it.

 

The great equalizer could be Adam Vinatieri, who Mojo says will miss an important one at some point Sunday but has been money down the stretch in his playoff career up until now. The Bears’ Gould is going to the Pro Bowl and has made his share of big kicks this year, but it’s anybody’s guess how he handles the pressure of the ultimate stage. And with a “breezy” forecast and a 40% chance of rain, don’t underestimate Vinatieri’s edge in experience kicking at Dolphin Stadium, which he visited annually as a member of the Patriots.

 

But I don’t think it ever gets to that point.

 

The 1985 Bears had to contend with the shadow of the 1963 champions until their rampage through the league laid to rest all doubt. It’s been said that these Bears won’t emerge from the shadow of the ’85 squad until they win a title of their own. That’s a pretty tall order, though, as it’s hard to measure up against the greatest team of all time. These guys know they embarrassed themselves last year, much like the ’85 team did getting shutout in the conference championship the year before. The difference now is that this year’s model is still looked upon as a weak sister, and they know it. So it’ll be the Bears entering with the chip on their shoulder. They’re playing for their own line in the history book, to silence all doubt, once and for all.

 

They’re not just playing for themselves, though. They’re also playing for all the guys who wore the Bears uniform since 1985 who never got this chance. Guys like Neal Anderson, a fantastic running back surrounded by aging greatness. For Ron Morris, Tom Waddle and Wendell Davis, who left his knees on the Veterans Stadium floor. For Alonzo Spellman, who chased the quarterback while being chased by his own demons, and Trace Armstrong, who stood up to Wanny and with the players union and wound up finishing his stellar career elsewhere. For Jim Harbaugh, who ironically came closest with the Colts. For Chris Zorich and Mark Carrier, who set a rookie record with ten interceptions. For Jim Morrissey and for Dante Jones, who set the Bears single season record for tackles. For Donnell Woolford, a solid cover corner who put on a tackling clinic each week. For Rashaan Salaam and Alonzo Mayes (pfffft!), and Joe Cain (Yeah!). For John Mangum, Barry Minter, Tony Parrish and Jim Flanigan, catching touchdown passes. For Andy Heck, Troy Auzenne, Chris Villarreal, Blake Brockermeyer, and for Big Cat Williams in the Pro Bowl. For Raymont Harris, the Ultraback, and for Curtis Enis, who showed flashes and finished his breakout game with the torn ACL the Bears never allowed to properly heal. For Keith Jennings in search of Old Reliable. For Bryan Robinson (thud-THUD!). For Warrick Holdman and the underrated Walt Harris, and for Phil Daniels, who chased down The Billy and secured an all too rare victory at Curly’s Place. For Marty Booker, who caught three TD passes at Tampa in 2001 and always took the hard hits. For Bobbie Howard, on the bottom of the pile, coming away with the onside kick against Cleveland. For Mike Gandy, Marc Colombo, Steve Edwards, Qasim Mitchell and Aaron Gibson, who all rode the left tackle spot like a carousel. For Jim Miller, a true warrior.

 

For Tommie Harris, who will get another chance.

 

For Mike Brown, who may not.

 

They’re also playing for the late Mark Hatley, who wanted Plaxico Burress but settled for Brian Urlacher. For The Miser and his shady deals and Dave McGinnis for saying no and Ginny for banishing The Miser to Ed’s garden. For Ted Phillips and his executive search firm and Jerry Angelo for building a real team and Lovie Smith for coaching them up.

 

But most of all, whether they want to admit it or not, they’re playing for us.

 

Yeah, us. We’ve waited a long time for this, never forgetting that old saying that it’s the journey, not the destination. A lot of those names up above spent their entire career in Chicago without ever getting a whiff of the playoffs. Many others were just passing through. The one constant has been us. It’s been a long time getting here, but the destination is in sight, and that’s midfield, Sunday night, with the champions trophy held aloft by the guys in navy blue.

 

They’re our guys, these Bears. You could say this has been their goal since getting pantsed by Carolina last year, but the reality is they’ve been pointing to this day since they walked out of the Superdome on January 26, 1986.

 

There’s only one hour left on the clock. It’s time to finish the job.

 

Take no prisoners.

 

LBF

2/2/2007