January 20, 2007
Torn— Saints vs. Bears
Tomorrow is going to be tough for me. Normally I don’t get too deep into NFL Football, preferring instead the college game. But it’s always easier to get involved in the playoffs, and now that Purdue has a decade of regularly producing NFL talent, it’s always nice to sit back and watch what that talent is doing.
But growing up in Chicago, being 7 years old when the Bears won Super Bowl XX, I’ve been a fan for years. I still remember the Super Bowl shuffle, can tell you without even looking it up that the Bears beat the Pats by a score of 46-10, that Walter Payton didn’t score a TD (although the “Fridge” did), and that the game occurred on Jan 26, 1986 (the fact that my sister was born the very next day helps with that bit of info). I’ve watched the Bears for years, and there’s a bit of fandom in there. But that’s waned over the years.
First, Chicago hasn’t really ever been known for smart sports management, and the McCaskey family has whiffed many, many years. Then they took a gorgeous historic stone stadium, Soldier Field, and built this weird-looking alien steel monstrosity out of the middle of it. But soon thereafter, they started to revive the team. They built a defense that was again known as the Monsters of the Midway. Then came the final bit. They signed Kyle Orton, Purdue’s QB. Early in the season, the starter went down injured and he led the team to 10 wins as a rookie. All of a sudden, I could forgive the years of bad management and the hideous stadium. They had a team again, with a Purdue QB waiting to challenge Rex Grossman.
And then they destroyed it. They decided that the QB who had led them to 10 wins as a rookie wasn’t an adequate enough backup to Rex Grossman, so they brought in Brian Griese. The one thing that was tying me back to the hometown team was bringing in Kyle Orton, and then they decided to screw him over.
As for the Saints, I’ve never really cared much about them. In fact, the little I knew about them was that they sucked. As another Purdue QB, Drew Brees, was getting screwed over in San Diego, I looked at his chances as a free agent going to either Miami or New Orleans. Of course, I felt he’d have a better shot for success in Miami. But he got traded to New Orleans. At the same time, the Saints gave a few rookies, Rob Ninkovich (Purdue DE, currently active but on IR), Brandon Villereal (Purdue DT, currently on Saints practice team), and Ray Williams (Purdue CB, who unfortunately was released) a chance. Not only that, they started having success. Drew Brees appears to be the key to the offense, a solid leader who makes the players around him perform, finishing second in the NFL MVP voting this year.
So it’s the hometown favorite from a town that’s barely my home anymore, versus following a player that I got to watch sling the rock in person at numerous Purdue games. It’s not often these two teams play, and it’s even more rare that it’s for such high stakes. I’m stuck watching to find out if the Bears get to have a rematch with the team they destroyed in 1986, or whether the Saints, perennial underdogs, shock the world and go to the Super Bowl.
Tomorrow, I’m going to have to fall towards the Saints. I’ve always been a fan of the underdog, and I’ve sat and watched as Drew Brees has worked some miracles for Purdue. He’s back in the Black and Gold, and he’s up for probably the biggest challenge of his career. Drew rises to challenges, so I’m going to be rooting for him and the Saints to knock off the Bears tomorrow.
5 Comments
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
I applaud your choice. I have Wisconsin roots, so I may be biased, but BEARS SUCK.
I may be rooting for the Saints, but I’m still no fan of Cheeseheads…
Well, for me, my first true “Fan” experience was Supebowl XX, and man I’m begging for a re-match.
I’m a couple years older than you, and from New England, but I knew for a fact that the Bears were going to win, and so they did. Ever since, though I’m a huge fan of the Pats, I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for the bears.
I REALLY want to see a Pats – Bears game in two weeks; and I figure it’s about an even money shot on both sides. On my we site I called bears and pats both by 3; but it could really go either way for either game.
No matter what, it’s going to be interesting.
Um, go Colts.
Well, despite my years of college in Indiana, I’ve just never liked the Colts… I would have been really worried about Bears/Pats, because the Pats have been there before and know how to handle it. Not so much for the Colts.
Go Bears!