Do you know if you were born in 1966, you turn the age of the SuperBowl in that year?
We turned one when the Packers won the first SuperBowl in 1967. We turned eleven when the Raiders beat the Vikings in 1977.
And important only to Chicago Bear fans born in 1966. We turned twenty when the Bears won their only SuperBowl 46-10 on January 26th, 1986.
The dreaded curse of SuperBowl XX. It has become a part of “Back to the Future.” Because, just like Marty McFly, Bear fans keep going back to 1985.
My Oldman wasn’t a Bear fan. He was one of the few people that I know that never held Papa Bear in grandeur. My Oldman was a Chicago Cardinal fan. He was also a Saint Louis Browns fan as a kid. Both teams ended up leaving the town they were born in.
I became a Bear fan because of a linebacker by the name of Butkus. My Oldman blamed Halas for the knee injuries Dick Butkus had during his career.
I stayed a Bear fan because of a running back by the name of Payton. The Halas towel boy, Ditka didn’t even give Walter Payton a chance to score in XX. Another reason my dad didn’t like the Chicago Bears.
I haven’t watched a current Superbowl in years. I watch XX on YouTube instead. Every year I moan when Payton fumbles on the second play of the game and the Patriots score a field goal to take the early lead. I cheer on all seven of the Bears sacks and I cry every year when the players carry Buddy Ryan on their shoulders at the end.
I know every line Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen and Bob Griese call during the game. I know every player on the entire roster and I know every snap count on each play.
I have zero interest in SuperBowl LIX (59). Yep, that’s right Class of ‘84…
….we are all fifty nine years old in 2025.
Today’s quote comes from Carl Sandburg. It has nothing to do with being a loathsome Bear fan, but it is often the moon that I scream at after the Bears lose a game.
It was the moon that I howled at on January 26th, 1986. It was cold that night and I was just a lonesome nineteen year old getting ready to turn twenty.
Enjoy the playoff games today. You have Taylor Swift’s team. A team from Pennsylvania that has the crappiest fans in the NFL. A team who has fans that break tables at their tailgate and a team named after an R&B band from the 1970’s…
…the Commodores.
I think I’ll end up watching the “Lidia’s Kitchen” marathon on PBS today.
It is the last week of January. The sun will start setting after five o’clock this week in Chicagoland and the temperatures will be normal as we head into February.
Six Nations starts next week. First match is Ireland versus England. Way bigger than the SuperBowl.
Be astonished this week
