EJHansen71

Hi - I'm Eric and I'm a Bears fan.

It's tough to get stuck with an NFL team simply by being born in the wrong place. Sure - it could be worse - I could have been born in Cincinnati or Cleveland.

Many of you Patriots fans may not be a close follower of the NFC North (nee Central) and assume that the Bears have a long and glorious history. You are partially right. If you lived out this way for any length of time you would hear - ad nausea um - how the Bears and George Halas created professional football and led ancient Bears teams to glory. Great players such as Sid Luckman, Mike Ditka, Dick Butkus, Gayle Sayers and Walter Payton. All true.

However - you are only paying attention to half the story. The late 60's, 70's and early 80s were consistently bad - even by Chicago standards. One glorious year 1985 and the Super Bowl that followed led to the Bears only Championship in a generation (Sorry to bring up bad memories for you long time Pats fans) and soon faded into history and a never ending series of years of tears and failure.

Since then it has been a veritable clown car of bad managers, bad coaches and bad players. Ah, yes - the glory years of Shane Matthews, Henry Burris and Craig Krenzel led teams. (Yep - THAT Craig Krenzel). Let's not forget the football clinic that Caleb Hanie put on during his short tenure as starting QB this year (Caleb - we hardly knew ye.)

I could write a book on how poorly the team is run but I will leave you with this:
They fired the incompetent, bumbling, mumbling Jerry Angelo as GM - his draft picks are legendary in their futility in the first 3 rounds.Then they announced the new GM will have to retain the coach and interview with him to get the job. Also - they must be a great talent evaluator. This coming from Ted "Sweaty Teddy" Phillips whose greatest football decision was hiring the aforementioned Jerry Angelo to the delight of the Bears competition. Now he is interviewing replacement candidates for Uncle Jerry who have never set foot in a draft room. In addition all 5 candidates the Bears have brought in are not on ANY of the other NFL teams candidate lists looking for GMs. Let that sink in.

So this brings me to my point. I can no longer suffer through season after season of mismanagement and piss-poor play.Yes, Patriot fans - be very grateful for what you have. Any team can be nit picked but the Pats are the gold standard for how to do things right and I want in.

What must I do to join Patriot Nation? Is there a test to take? Do I need to beat up the nearest Raven's fan? Secret handshake? I can't root AGAINST the Bears (just not in my DNA - they will always have a place in my heart) but it is time to do a legal separation and move on to better things.

"Beloved Patriots"? Hmmm - it will take some getting used to over "Beloved Bears" but I look forward to embracing competence and fun.

Please Help

jmt57

Obviously I can never forget the '85 Bears; amazing that they did not win more than one championship.

Of course some of that has something to do with one of, if not the dirtiest plays in NFL history when Charles Martin cheap shot on Jim McMahon for all intents and purposes ended McMahon's career. Even though it was a different era I always thought Martin deserved a lengthy suspension for that.


If you're serious, you actually would not be the first. If I recall correctly we have a converted Cowboys fan and a converted Lions fan here. If you're kidding around that's okay too. I recall from the 2010 season we had great conversations with several Bears fans in the week leading up to that game; no juvenile smack talk and instead a lot of intelligent back-and-forth football discussion.

EJHansen71

No kidding around. I ad the long explanation because there are many people who believe that you have your team and stick with them no
Matter what.

I thought that it might help to understand where I'm coming from and why I want to join the Patriot's Bandwagon.

I want to have fun watching the NFL again instead off only participating in the vitriol every Monday morning lamenting another bad loss for the Bears. Watching a team that is stuck in the 1950s "3 yards and a cloud of dust" mentality has become unbearable pardon the pun.

Anyway, glad to be aboard. I've got a lot to learn about the team but at least it will be fun getting to know the Players. The Pats have an incredible organization and are Fun to watch. I'm excited to be a Pats fan!

jmt57

Well, switching not only out of division but out of conference should make the transition easier.

Yes, BB post-game interviews are dry. However, if you listen to him speak in either (a) a setting in which he is comfortable (such as his Monday morning call-in shows, or (b) on a topic that is genuinely football-related, he will open up and pontificate to a point where you think it's a different person.


If you haven't done so already my first suggestion is to read any (or at least the first two, and preferably all) of the following books to get a better understanding of what's going on here before the next training camp starts.

Education Of A Coach, by David Halberstam
Patriot Reign, by Michael Holley
The Blueprint, by Christopher Price
and the latest (which I'll admit I have not yet read myself)
War Room, by Michael Holley


I know that sounds like it will take a lot of time but once you get started it will go by quick. I would imagine the first two are available at a local public library near you if you want to save a few bucks.

EJHansen71

Thanks for the title suggestions!
I'll start with Patriot Reign since it is available on kindle.

Lovie And BB have one thing in common... Neither say anything remotely helpful during press conferences. Must be an NFL coaching class on it.




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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.177010,-88.391511

PATS16N0

Bill Belichick's post game interviews are dry because he trolls harder than anyone on the field (Brady punt, Anthony Smith targeting, Flutie extra point, 4th down and 5 with 59 point lead, etc)

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Dufflebagz

You can switch teams if you want but I promise that you will never have the same love for the Pats that you did/do the Bears. And if you want my opinion, you need to man up. The Bears were in the Super Bowl just 5 years ago and were in last season's NFCCG....it could be A LOT worse.

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Patriot_in_NY

Hahahahaha. This made me giggle. Nah, don't worry about beating up any Ravens fans. Tom Brady is about to crush their hearts in a few days anyway. Why add injury to insult.

I agree with Duffle, you'll probably always be a Bears fan at heart. Be proud of that...... I have been a Patriot Fan for close to 35 years, and for at least 20 of them, they just sucked. I've been a fan of a bad Patriots team longer then I have been a fan of a good Patriots team. Yes, we certainly had our share of highs in the last 11 years, but while they may have faded from memory a bit, there very some very low lows along the way too. If/when the Bears come back around, you'll be right there with them.

But that certainly DOESN'T mean that you cannot be a "fan" of the Patriots too. The way they operate, they way they win.... I know many fans around my town here that are lifelong Bills fans, but they also cheer for and get excited when their 2nd, or 3rd teams play.

Feel free to stick around here, you'll learn alot about this amazing franchise and the people involved in it.

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Patroit_in_NY is now Patriot_in_ABQ