Wow, here we are. Never would have thought I would be blogging about the Bears being in a Superbowl. Good stuff.

Now I don’t allow myself to rant all that much about media coverage or reffing or anything like that, because I just hate focusing on that, and it’s just a crappy excuse (listen up Seahawks fans). But, I would like to rant for just a moment. So begging your pardon, but please allow me this.

The Bears love having a chip on their shoulder and they love being the “team that nobody believes in.” I get a little tired of that, because it gets to a juvenile point sometimes. However, the Bears really do have a point. Think about it. The second Grossman had a bad game, all the media ever did was say the Bears weren’t all that good, and constantly point out weaknesses rather than ever focusing on strengths. I’m so sick of the whole “which Rex will show up, good or bad” thing I could puke. There is no good Rex and bad Rex, there is just Rex. And if any of the media people had bothered to watch him the last 7 weeks of the season, they would know that he actually has done a pretty good job. The whole “is Rex the worst QB to lead his team to the superbowl” thing is ridiculous. It has become so blatantly clear to me that all these national sports media guys do not actually watch the games, but watch the highlight reels, and latch onto any little thing they can. Rex is not a bad QB, he’s just young and inconsistent. But he has all the talent in the world, and he’s got guts unlike most QBs I’ve ever seen. If any of the national media people had watched the last 8 or so weeks by the Bears, they would know that. Think if Grossman’s numbers were the exact same as Manning’s in this playoffs? Everyone would be doubting him like crazy.

The other thing about the Bears is that they don’t have a good story or have one particular superstar player with a good story. Let’s face it, ESPN is a marketing company first and foremost, and the Bears are one of the least sexy teams in regards to storylines. The Bears are a very good team, and there’s no particular superstar that makes them a very good team. So it’s no surprise that most of the media coverage has been on “Can Manning win the big one?”

The play by play people should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for the Bears/Saints game. They were so latching onto this storyline of New Orleans that it literally took until like 2 minutes left for them to realize it wasn’t going to happen. It was ridiculous.

One example was towards the end of the first half, New Orleans marched down the field and Brees hit Colston on a nice play, and Colston made a very good catch. They replayed it over and over, and raved about how good the Saints offense is, and you can never count them out and such. Later in the game, Grossman hit Berrian for a touchdown in which Berrian had to adjust while falling to the ground to make the catch, then rolls into the end zone. It’s probably one of the best catches I may have ever seen. It was an amazing catch. The play by play guys said “oh, great catch by Berrian” and that was it. I think there were two replays, until after the game. What?! It was a far better catch than Colston, but they didn’t care, they were too busy saying the Saints still had a chance. And then all the post game guys kept saying that Berrian’s catch was “lucky” or mis-played by the Saints D. Or that Grossman had just thrown up a prayer and somehow Berrian got it. It was just ridiculous.

So my point is that I can understand why the Bears have consistently said “We don’t get any respect” because it is kind of true. And every time people have doubted them, they’ve rose to the challenge. We just need to do that one more time, and they’ll shut up for good. I don’t see any reason that can’t continue.

Last Week Record: 2-0
Playoff Record: 6-4

Indianapolis vs. Chicago

Well, you probably knew I would do this, but I do have good reasons too. Break down which teams better in each area of the game:

Running Game: Chicago
Passing Game: Indy
Defense: Chicago
Overall Special Teams: Chicago
Kicker: Indy

I threw in kicker because Vinateiri is certainly better than Gould, however, the Bears’ overall special teams is better. So really the only clear upper hand that Indy has is at QB. Is that really all it takes? Wouldn’t Manning have won a Super Bowl by now if that was all it took?

Now I’m not saying the Bears are guaranteed to win it when looking at that breakdown, but it does make it interesting that no one (NO ONE) is picking them. (update: Greeny took them this morning) I just don’t understand that. These teams are pretty evenly matched, and I think this will actually be a very good game, but the fact that all the “experts” are picking Indy just makes it all the more obvious to me that ESPN wants a story and a superstar, not a good game. It’s just kind of sad to me that that’s the case, because you really couldn’t ask for two better teams to be in the Superbowl. And both teams are run by the two classiest coaches in the NFL (notice I haven’t brought up the “First Black Coaches” thing, because I figured there’s enough media coverage already on this).

And to be honest, I really like Indy, so if the Bears lose, I’ll be glad it was at least to Indy (and to Dungee). But I won’t be rooting for them (I’ve been wearing my Urlacher jersey for two straight days, and I’m thinking I’ll leave it on until Sunday).

So here we go. Who knows the next time I’ll get to write something like this? Bears are in the Superbowl. I want to cherish it as much as I can (and if they win, I’m going to buy a ridiculous amount of paraphernalia).

Bear down, Chicago Bears!!!!!