Talk about embarrassing, I’m not sure there could have been a worse night for Bears’ fans. I didn’t get a chance to watch the game because I was on a flight home from Austin. When we landed, the 3rd quarter was about to end, and I said to my wife “there’s a shocker!” pointing to the Chicago vs. Green Bay score on my phone. She couldn’t have cared less, but I had to show it to someone. It was 20-3 and admittedly I had visions of a Bears victory. After all, the Browns had actually achieved a stunning tie against the Steelers. I had been expecting a Packer’s blowout, with the thought of Billionaire Cheese Head, Aaron Rodgers, on opening night at Lambeau Field after signing a record-setting contract with the team. I didn’t know any of the details of the game as I got off the plane. 

I wasn’t that Rogers had been carted off the field before halftime, and had come back into the game after what was thought to possibly be a season-ending knee injury. All I knew was the score. By the time I left the restroom, it was already 20-10, and by the time I got my luggage it was 20-17. The Bears kicked a field goal while I was on the shuttle, but a 6-point lead with a little more than 2 minutes to go and a hot-handed Aaron Rodgers spelled doom. It was just a question of how would the Bears blow it? Thirty seconds later, we had the answer, a 75-yard touchdown pass with still two minutes remaining. The defense blew the coverage, and the offense couldn’t recover on the final drive. Packers 24 Bears 23.

It wouldn’t have been as devastating if they had lost 34-0. I was speechless in the car driving home, with no one to vent to about what happened. My wife will never understand my moods when it comes to sports, so it had to be expressed in this blog. Indiana University had won their second straight football game the day before, and that picked me up despite a double-header loss by the Cubs. I would have never expected a Bears victory in Green Bay, until I saw that third quarter lead. Yet, there was something dark inside me that foresaw the highlights that I finally watched today. 75 yards for the winning touchdown, as if Aaron Rodgers needed another highlight against the lowly Bears. Can you imagine how excited Chicago fans would have been today, if Da Bears had somehow pulled this off. It would have been the greatest sport moment for the city since the Cubs World Series. Life there will be different today, and probably for the rest of the season, while the Packer’s have taken their first step to the Super Bowl, even if it was a limp. Packers 24 Bears 23.

I was sure that it was only a bad dream, but now I’m having similar concerns about the Cubs. It would have been a completely different atmosphere at Wrigley Field tonight, where the Bears played their final game in 1970. The Cubs have a slim two-game lead against the hungry Brewers, who are being pushed by the streaking Cardinals. It’s a similar scenario: up by six with two minutes to go, but this is the Cubs not the Bears, and hopefully it will have a better ending. A Cubs sweep might make up for Em-Bear-Ass-ment.

I made the mistake of feeling optimistic going into the fourth quarter of last night’s game. Granted, I didn’t know the circumstances at the time. Nonetheless, the Bears made an “Ass” out of me – no “Butts” about it! As a result, I have reduced expectations about this upcoming series against the hard-hitting Brew Crew, who have had their share of disappointment. I’m sure they have extra hope after watching their Packers turn the Bears’ prevent defense into Swiss Cheese. Let’s hope that I have more positive things to write about tomorrow rather than: Packers 24-Bears 23.