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After over 25 years waiting on both the book and TV series, winter has finally arrived in the HBO series Game of Thrones. The endgame and final battle with the White Walkers is on the horizon as the power families resolve their conflict.
With that end in clear sight and in mind, what started as a cult phenomenon, has become TV's premier blockbuster. And as TV's premier blockbuster, everyone and anyone in any avenue of media has found a way to relate to the epic story as it reaches it's conclusion.
Just recently, for example, CBS Sports assigned a specific Game of Thrones character to all 32 NFL teams (yes, there is enough depth for each individual squad). The Chicago Bears were assigned the current lead of the Greyjoy household, Yara Greyjoy, which is debatable but also perfect for the current moment.
Here is their reasoning on the Greyjoy Bears selection.
Yara has had to deal with transition on the Iron Islands with the murder of her father and the question of who will ascend to the Salt Throne. The Bears are also going through a transition period at quarterback, and Mike Glennon (Euron) is just keeping the seat warm for Mitchell Trubisky. The ironborn are masters of one type of combat (naval), while the Bears are only dangerous rushing the ball.
It makes sense. Until the Bears develop a professional and consistent aerial attack, they'll have to resort to a power running game built around Jordan Howard and their three-headed monster at tight end with Adam Shaheen, Dion Sims, and Zach Miller. Much like the Greyjoys losing their former patriarch, the Bears have also moved on from Jay Cutler.
If you keep in mind the history of the family and Chicago, there's also the note of a once-great family isolated to it's Iron Islands in irrelevance, much like the Bears mired in obscurity on the national scene for the better part of a few decades. Yes, this gets deep. One can only for a character re-draft in some time in this important designation.
Now let's cast a couple of individual Bears as Game of Thrones characters.
Leonard Floyd as: the Night's King
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This one was too obvious. I mean, come on. Floyd already has the pose down for the series' primary antagonist.
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And if you note the intimidation factor of Chicago's rising best pass rusher, this equation comes all the more together for Floyd.
Akiem Hicks as: The Mountain
This selection was even easier than Floyd. The most monstrous, freakishly sized player on the Bears roster in Hicks terrorizes opponents weekly as a dominant pass rusher and strong interior run defender.
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In that light, the 6-foot-5, 336 pounder is comparable to the Mountain, a force of pure power and face of destruction. Two immovable objects who have yet to face their true maker.
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There are definitely plenty of more comparisons Bears players could have in relation to characters on Game of Thrones. For now, as the new season premieres, there's but a baseline in mind.
Hopefully in again, an all-important study, a team character re-draft is held in a few years and the Bears are instead cast as Jon Snow or Daenarys Targaryen - faces of great families who have risen back to the top.
Robert Zeglinski is the Bears beat writer for the Rock River Times and is an editor for Windy City Gridiron. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.