Chicago Bears: These quarterbacks have made us who we are

This was a thing that happened. Most Bears fans of proper age of blacked it out, and rightly so. But as a child at the time, I loved Doug Flutie. Every small child did, because he was our size. And he threw a Hail Mary at Boston College that worked, and every kid loves Hail Marys because it’s the only play you can run during recess in kindergarten.

Seriously, my older brother used a Boston College game as an excuse to get out of shopping with my mother because he claimed I wanted to watch it, and my ability to say the words “Doug” and “Flutie” were his evidence (note: I could say maybe five other words at the time. Or this one).

Most Bears fans will tell you Mike Ditka‘s affection for Flutie torpedoed the ’86 Bears. And I mean they’ll tell you this unsolicited. In the checkout line at The Jewel. We hold onto things here.

Of course, after washing out in Chicago where he would have been ritually killed by the defense had he remained five minutes longer, Flutie  went on to a very successful career that probably could have gotten the Bears more than the one Super Bowl than they had. Maybe he learned you don’t go to dinner at the coach’s house, especially when that coach is stealing all the players’ endorsements.