Bear...Down.

As a father you always want the best for your child. You see this was a sentiment that I understood the concept of but didn't truly get until the birth of my son. My son Julian is a a sweet boy, intelligent, kind, and quite the little athlete. There is literally nothing I wouldn't do for the boy and wanting to see him succeed emotionally is extremely important to me. In this regard I feel I may have failed my boy. 

You see, it was me who introduced one of the most toxic things any father could have done. Know that my intentions were pure, but after much introspection, I feel I may have unintentionally harmed my pride and joy. How you may be asking at this point? Well you see, I am a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, and now because of me...my son has doomed himself to being a fan of a team that consistently plays in his face. And it's all my fault. 

It hasn't been all bad times.

While I have made it clear he is free to root for any team he pleases (except the Green Bay Packers, I have to put my foot down somewhere) he has seen the pain and angst that consumes me every Sunday, sometimes Mondays and a couple of Thursdays a year. And for reasons unbeknownst to me he said sign me up for that. 

In his first season of really watching this kid has gone through a gamut of emotions. We get the first pick, and we draft the best quarterback prospect in years. Things are looking up right? They immediately hire an offensive coordinator with a milquetoast reputation and retain a head coach who had a proven record of losing close games. What could possibly go wrong?

Washington, October 2024. After an improbably comeback and taking the lead against another team with a rookie qb, the Bears give up the first of many inexplicable losses by giving up a touchdown on a Hail Mary, while a defensive back was taunting the crowd, instead of calling a timeout to settle the team, Matt Eberflus did nothing. Losses to Arizona and New England both showed an uninspired and not well coached team. Then the last three losses occurred and while I am seasoned in the Murphy's Law ass existence of this team, seeing my boy get hardened by these Monty Python style losses has been disheartening.

Please God don't screw this up.

Perhaps I should use this as a teachable moment. You see son, this is what bad football is. And this is what it turns you into, a 40 soon to be 41 year old man begging. pleading and hoping for just some semblance of competency. Learn from my mistakes, don't let the sins of the father befall the son. 

As long as it's not Green Bay, your dad will look on you with tears of joy watching you break the cycle.