They won one Superbowl, yet people I speak to act as if they were an unbeatable dynasty or something-- and people in Chicago practically think Mike Ditka is a God among men.
This honestly confounds me.
Pre-emptive defense of the Jets: Although the Jets only won one Superbowl as well, that game happened to be the biggest upset in the history of professional sports. And no one in NY worships that team or anybody on it like Chicago fans do with da Bears.
-- SephirothG, channeling awesomeness from Mershiness. The Resurrection
Because in 1985, the Bears became quite possibly the most dominant 1 loss team ever. They knew from the beginning of the year they were going to the Super Bowl. The only reason they lost against the Dolphins was they got overconfident and lazy (members of the '85 Bears will even admit to this). You'll note that after that loss they proceeded to curbstomp every team they faced.
On offense, they had Walter Freakin' Payton (who was only, y'know, the greatest of all time) and an excellent offensive line that perfectly fit Ditka's strategy of "run the ball, run the ball some more, and after that run the ball". For the rare situations in which they needed to pass, they had the combination of Jim McMahon (and say what you will about his off-field behavior and injury-proneness, but the man could throw) and Willie Gault, an Olympic sprinter who didn't lose much speed in pads.
The Bears' 46 defense is well-documented, but this was a team that regularly held opponents to less than 100 yards rushing per game. Buddy Ryan loved to blitz, and his defense had exactly the right personnel to make it work. Mike Singeltary may have been the best open-field tackler of his time, and William Perry (THE FRIDGE) was so big and strong you just couldn't run in his direction. The entire defensive line was full of guys who demanded double-teams, and then you usually had at least one linebacker coming every play. The secondary was merely average, but DBs don't need to cover very long when the quarterback is in danger of taking a sack every single time he drops back.
Now granted, the 1980s Bears outside of '85 were merely very good, not great. But a lot of those same pieces stuck around for quite a while, and they were a consistent playoff team for several years. The reason the 1980s Bears get so much recognition is that one year where they might have been the best football team ever.
</bears fan>
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Besides, marijuana is far more harmful than steroids. - BlitzBomb I headbang to Bruckner.
Suprak the Stud posted... As someone from Chicago, I can guarantee you that no one under the age of 30 reveres the 1985 Bears nearly as much as you claim.
And no one from any age ever mentions the "1980's Bears" because that isn't a thing people care about.
If the Jets ever win a title (lol), then in 30 years you will have to sit through the same things because of nostalgia.
When the Jets win 3-5 Superbowls, I can damn well worship them 30 years down the line. Dynasties earn that right.
-- SephirothG, channeling awesomeness from Mershiness. The Resurrection
From: Suprak the Stud | #009 (who was only, y'know, the greatest of all time)
Funny thing about this is a lot of old Bears fans don't even regard him as the greatest Bears RB of all time.
I think they're crazy, but whatevs.
Well, Gale Sayers was something really special, but his knees couldn't hold up. Had he been less injury-prone, he could very well have been the best Bears RB. Red Grange was a superstar in his time, but that was such a different era it almost doesn't count.
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Besides, marijuana is far more harmful than steroids. - BlitzBomb I headbang to Bruckner.