Bears Fans are Classy

Not everything about the Bears has been good news since beating New Orleans 39-14 Sunday night to earn a trip to Super Bowl XLI.

A lot of Saints fans in town for the game have complained about the poor treatment they received from Chicagoans while at Soldier Field. In fact, in this video from ABC26 in New Orleans, we're described as despicable.

Keith Olbermann even went as far as to include Bears fans in his "Worst Person in the World" list, which he does nightly on his MSNBC show, Countdown with Keith Olberman.

The sign that caught Olbermann's attention and prompted his rage was one that hung along the sidelines during the game. It read, "Bears Finishing What Katrina Started."

Gonna have to agree, that is more than a little bit out of line. God knows what Bears fans were actually saying to Saints fans in attendance. Foul Balls site guru, Silvio was there and doesn't remember too much (something about beer and actually watching the game), but recalls some things:

"I heard some things like, 'Why are you here? Shouldn't you be rebuilding your shitty city?' followed by 'Fuck you. Drunk whore!!'"

There's a difference between giving visiting fans a little crap and being a douchebag. On Sunday, a lot of Bears fans veered into douchebaggery. For that, I and most Chicagoans are sorry.

And while I don't think it's fair that all Bears fans are being lumped together and being called despicable, I can't really blame the people of New Orleans for doing just that.

We're paying the price. Chicago is taking a ton of flak for this, (just read the comments on the Deadspin post) with people treating Bears fans like they're the most disgusting humans on Earth.

But the truth is, no matter where this game was played, the same things would have happened.

If this game had been held in Philadelphia, imagine what would have been said. Oakland? New England? Anywhere there is a football team in this country, had the Saints come to town to play a game of this caliber, the locals would have said the same things.

People are stupid, and they get even stupider when you throw sports and alcohol into the mix.

Were Bears fans wrong for saying some of the things they said? Yes.

Should the Bears have taken that sign down? Yes.

Are we the worst people on Earth? No.

We're no better and no worse than the rest. In this case, sadly, we're pretty much just like everyone else.

(Thanks to Deadspin for the links)

Sorry, America

As I sit here typing this, only a few hours after the Bears beat the New Orleans Saints 39-14 to earn a spot in Super Bowl XLI, it still hasn't hit me.

I mean, can you believe it?

The Bears beat the Saints.

The Saints!!

The greatest team of all damn time!!

There has never been a team as good as the New Orleans Saints this season. They went 10-6 during the regular season, man. The Bears only went 13-3.

There's no way the Bears should have been able to overcome that.

They had the NFL's #1 offense. They scored 413 points in 16 games. The Bears only scored 427 points.

The Saints have the two greatest running backs to ever grace the gridiron in their backfield. Deuce McAllister rushed for 1,057 yards, while Reggie Bush had 565. The Bears on the other hand only have Thomas Jones who rushed for 1,210 yards, and Cedric Benson who managed 647.

How can the Bears compete with that!?

They couldn't. Just ask all the "experts," like the guys at ESPN. They all said the Saints would win. In fact, the only person who picked the Bears was a computer, and a computer is just a series of tubes. Unlike the ESPN guys, it knows nothing about football!!

But that's why they don't play these games in the pregame studios! No, sir. You have to give the underdog a chance to come out and play against Goliath.

Remember, this wasn't just a team the Bears were going against. This was America. Hell, it was God.

But the Bears didn't care. They're a bunch of Atheists who don't even realize there's a world outside the borders of Chicago.

So, sorry America, but it's time to discuss just how the Godless heathens pillaged and plundered their way to victory.

After Reggie Bush waved goodbye to Brian Urlacher and did a somersault into the end zone to make it 16-14 Bears, it seemed something awoke in the Bears.


In fact, the Reggie Bush wave was a perfect microcosm of the way the media had treated the Saints all week. The touchdown he scored didn't even give the Saints the lead, but Bush acted as though the game was over and the Saints were victorious. In reality, they hadn't done anything yet.

From that point on, the Saints were dead.

The snow started to fall, and Drew Brees threw a ball to nobody in particular from his end zone. It resulted in a safety that completely turned everything around.

Rex Grossman came out shortly after, and had the defining drive of his much maligned career.

On a five play, 85-yard drive, Rex went 4/4 and finished with a 33 yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian. Berrian made a fantastic catch while falling down at the one yard line, and neither of the Saints defensive backs touched him, so he stood up and walked into the end zone.

At the end of the day though, it was typical Chicago Bears football. Cold, wintry conditions, 196 yard rushing, and defense, defense, defense.

After hearing all week that they wouldn't be able to stop Deuce McAllister, the Bears held him to 18 yards on 6 carries. The defense also got back to its old turnover-causing ways. The Bears forced the Saints into four of 'em, while giving none away.

The Saints just didn't seem ready to play a game in the type of conditions they were forced to today, and a lot of that has to be placed at the feet of coach Sean Payton. Why he had them practicing indoors all week is a question he's probably going to have to answer a lot over the next few days.

Personally, I don't care why he did it, or what his reasons were. All I care about is that the Chicago Bears are going to the Super Bowl.

It's fun to say that, and not have it be a beer-induced prognostication.

The Bears are going to the Super Bowl.

Seriously.

The team that many have claimed is the worst 13-3 team in history just beat everybody in their way.

"They can't win a playoff game."

They did.

"Rex Grossman can't get them to a Super Bowl."

He did.

"They can't stop the Saints."

They did.

Everything that everybody has told them they couldn't do, they've gone out and done.

So after all of this, after answering every challenge, the Chicago Bears have finally earned some damn respect, right?

Nope. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Tommy the Dago Presents: The Conference Championships

Approximately 53 hours from now, the Bears will either be celebrating a berth in Super Bowl XLI or mourning a lost opportunity.

I don't know that I can wait that long.

The joy that washed over me after Robbie Gould kicked that game winning field goal on Sunday to beat Seattle left me Tuesday morning.

Ever since then my mind has been focused on one question.

"How do we beat the Saints?"

The world loves the Saints right now. They're playing well, and they have that whole Hurricane Katrina thing going for them.

Well, you know what? We had the Great Chicago Fire back in 1871. For three days the city burned, but you don't hear us bitching about it, do you? Nope. We just rebuilt the city into what it is today. The greatest city in the world.

And in that city, there is a team. A team called the Chicago Bears, and this week, they're the underdog.

Nobody is picking them to beat the Saints. Never mind the fact they have compiled a 14-3 record this season. Seriously, just look at what the ESPN "experts" think. The only pick for the Bears comes from a computer!

I'm not saying I don't understand their opinions. The Saints are a good team, and they might be playing their best football of the season. But they're by no means unbeatable.

Of course, nobody will know for sure until Sunday night. And, of course, not knowing has never stopped me from picking games before!

Bears (-2) vs. Saints

I'm not just making this pick as a Bears fan. I really think the Bears will win this game, and by more than two points. The Saints are a very good football team, but they're nowhere near as good as everybody suddenly thinks they are. Their offense is scary, yeah. Drew Brees, Deuce McAllister, Marques Colston, Reggie Bush. I get it. Still, their defense sucks. Everybody talks about what a complete team this is, yet their defense sucks. They gave up over six yards a run last week against Philadelphia, and during the regular season they were the 23rd ranked defense in the NFL stopping the run, giving up 128.9 yards a game. In the secondary, while Mike McKenzie is good but not exceptional, I feel like I can burn Fred Thomas deep all day long. What's Bernard Berrian going to do to him? The Bears are going to pound the ball all day with Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, while occasionally utilizing man coverage with Fred Thomas on Berrian. They're going to control the clock, and keep the Saints off the field. Bears 27 Saints 21

Colts (-3) vs. Patriots

It's pretty unusual for me to pick against the Patriots when they're getting points, especially in the playoffs, but I really think this is the year for Indianapolis. It's weird. A part of me feels like it's kinda meant to be, even though the Colts did everything in their power to lose it. They started out 9-0, and then stumbled down the stretch, but yet here they are playing at home in the AFC Championship anyway. Also, I don't think these Patriots are as good as the Patriots we're used to seeing. Where has Laurence Maroney been this postseason anyway? I think it's going to be close thanks to Tom Brady, but I don't think he's going to be able to do it on his own this time. Remember, if Troy Brown doesn't strip that ball out of Marlon McRee's hands, we're talking about how Tom Brady has thrown two Peyton Manning-like interceptions in the playoffs the last two seasons. (Last year's to Champ Bailey in the loss to Denver.) Colts 31 Patriots 24

While You Were Drinking

NFL playoffs edition, cuz as far as we're concerned, nothing else happened

• Bears 27 Seahawks 24 - Halfway Decent Rex showed up to play yesterday! We knew that this game wasn't going to be anywhere near as easy as Vegas and its 8.5 point spread implied it would be. The Bears defense was pretty damn mediocre for the first two and a half quarters, but over the last quarter and a half they stepped it up. Six times, the Seahawks had a 3rd and 1 or a 4th and 1. Six times, the Bears defense stopped them. Obviously, this isn't the last you'll be reading about this game here today.
• Colts 15 Ravens 9 - Wow. What. A. Barnburner. Thankfully, this was the first game of the weekend, cuz it sucked. Four hours and eight field goals later, the Colts emerged victorious in Baltimore. Seriously, if somebody told you that Peyton Manning would throw for 438 yards, one touchdown, and five interceptions in the Colts first two playoff games there's no way in hell you have them playing in the AFC Championship. But thanks to a defense that's surrendered only 17 points in those two games, they will be.
• Saints 27 Eagles 24 - If you were to ask us which team is playing the best football right now, and is the favorite to win it all, we wouldn't even hesitate. It's the Saints. The only problem they have right now is their defense, cuz they give up almost as many yards as they gain.
• Patriots 24 Chargers 21- What!? A Marty Schottenheimer coached team gave up a lead late in the fourth quarter in a playoff game!? Tom Brady led a game winning drive in a playoff game!? Whooda thunk it? Way to challenge that obvious fumble by Marlon McRee, Marty. That timeout you lost definitely wouldn't have come in handy as your team made that potential game-tying drive late.
• Which conference is better? - Listen, we know the AFC is a better overall conference than the NFC, but if you watched the games this weekend are you still that sure? We've maintained all year that the NFC is not as bad as everyone seems to think it is. For further proof, let's just look at the numbers of all eight quarterbacks this weekend by conference. The four AFC QBs combined to have a 52.0 rating (74/142 853yds 2TD 8INT). The NFC QBs had an 82.2 rating (74/133 960 yds 4TD 2INT). In each AFC game there were more turnovers than the NFC teams had combined this weekend. The Colts/Ravens game had 6 turnovers, the Pats/Bolts game had 7, and the NFC had 4 combined. We realize this is only one weekend, but who would have thought that of the four quarterbacks still alive, Brees and Grossman would be playing the best? Of course, after Brees and Rexstacy throw five picks apiece next week, none of this will be relevant. Our only point is that while a few weeks ago, we were pretty sure the NFC teams were only playing for a Super Bowl berth, now we're confident that the Saints or Bears can beat either team remaining in the AFC.

Payton Place

Remember that historic Monday Night Football game and the reopening of the New Orleans Superdome? We do. Watching the Saints pound Atlanta 23-3, we kept thinking, "Wow, Sean Payton gets big credit for pulling this night off."

Well, after that game, he did a whole lot more, transforming the rootless 3-13 Saints of 2005 into a grounded 10-6 team this season, resulting in the NFC South championship, a first-round playoff bye and now, his being named AP NFL Coach of the Year.

The balloting wasn't even close with Payton receiving 44 out of 50 possible votes.

Payton was quick to praise the entire team:

"It's just been the right mix of guys who believe in each other. Players putting the team ahead of everything else. I think that's the biggest thing that we've been able to do to date. That's what's most important. That's what we were looking for: character, toughness, those are things you win with."

Words for a coach, his team and his city.