To Baltimore & Back: Bears Bottom Out in Blizzard

My Fiancé and I purchased our tickets for the Chicago Bears vs. Baltimore Ravens game at M&T Bank Stadium back in May of this year. We thought for sure that this game would fall under the NFL’s flex scheduling plan and we would be attending a Sunday night Prime Time show down with playoff implications. We were right in thinking the game would be moved back from its original one o’clock start time, we were just right for the wrong reason.

A snow storm hit the Washington D.C/Baltimore area last Friday night and did not let up until early Sunday morning. Thus, the game between the Bears and Ravens was moved back to a 4:15 PM EST kickoff. Good thing for the Bears, as they flew in to Baltimore at 11PM on Saturday night. And boy were their arms tired….and their legs, and their feet, and their minds, and their……

Watching the game, you could tell which team still had playoff hopes and which team did not want to come out and play in the snow. It pains me to see our Bears perform the way they did on Sunday. Not that we haven’t seen some blowout losses this year, but this just seemed like they didn’t care. To them, it’s already the New Year and these last few games are a chore.

Normally, I wouldn’t care what the players do. They are overpaid men playing a child’s game. It would not surprise me for a few players to take some plays off, especially when there are no playoffs. But this game bothered me. There we were, my Fiancé and I, bundled up in more gear than a skinny man trying to dress up as Santa. Bears hat and jersey topping it all off. Orange and Navy for the entire world to see, in a very hostile environment. We didn’t care that our Bears were 5-8 or that we have no shot at the post season. We still showed our Bear pride and spoke up in defense of our team.

Unfortunately, that did not last long. It’s not that we were intimidated by the locals. I mean, we had snow balls thrown at us before the game even started. Curse words, middle finger flicking and snow balls were all around us, and that was just from the Zion Church of Baltimore nuns attending the game after a late Sunday mass! We took it all in stride. We knew what we were walking into and came prepared. What we weren’t prepared for was our own team.

Never before have I seen a Bears team play like this. It’s kind of disheartening when we as fans show more passion than the players or coaches. I tried to defend my Bears as much as possible; they really do make it hard.

The opening of the game was tough. A 14-0 Ravens lead to start the game really dampens your spirit. I needed another beer and headed to the concessions…..Touchdown Bears! Really? I leave my seat and then the Bears decide to score?! I should have known better than to leave when special teams were getting the ball, the Bears offense couldn’t get anything done. Oh well, back in my seat and ready to see more scoring from our Bears. We were back in this thing and I was letting everyone around me know it.

I spoke too soon. 11 beers and halftime later, the team I so proudly represented was getting beat down. Not only was the score now 31-7, but my tough and rugged Monsters of the Midway looked more like the Care Bears. Baltimore did whatever they wanted to on that frozen field. The Bears looked lost, disinterested and ready to go home. So did their fans. And so we did.

This was the first time I have ever left a Bears game early. In the past, I have watched my Bears in the dead of winter and stayed to the bitter cold end just to support them. They may have lost, but they fought, they competed. They did not lie down and let another team emBEARass them. This current Bears team needs to go into hibernation this winter and not come out until their hearts are warmed up again.

For the love of my team and city, I don’t regret heading into Baltimore during a blizzard only to leave with my face frozen numb and my feelings hurt. Not so sure I can say the same for the Bears themselves.