BEARS TALK WITH... MY DAD
photo from pineviewfarm.net
I recently spoke with my father, Patrick Kealy, about his attachment to the Bears, which dates back almost 30 years. Below is a transcript of that interview in which we discuss all things Bears, past and present.
JK: When did you become a fan of the Bears?
PK: I was probably 12, which would've been about 1984. I had no interest in football at all until about then, I guess. I was about 11 or 12. My brother Mike was watching a game on Sunday afternoon, and the Steelers were playing, and the Steelers were awesome then (not really awesome, but they were good), and this team they were playing were just decimating them, they were just destroying them, every offensive play they tried to run- they couldn't do anything. It was a sight to behold and the team they were playing happened to be the Bears.
And... "wow! Maybe I should start following this team. They're pretty good." So I started watching the Bears in the 84 season or the 83 season. Yeah 11 or 12, so 83 or 84.
JK: Is there any one player that drew you in?
PK: Yeah, Mike Singletary, actually. The middle linebacker. And the more I watched, obviously, [hall of fame running back] Walter Payton caught my eye because, well, he was just the greatest ever.
JK: Now, obviously, after they won the Super Bowl [after the 1985 season], they went through the trials and tribulations where they were still good, but they were losing the conference championship. What was that like when you knew the team was good enough to potentially go to the Super Bowl, but didn't make it?
PK: You know, it was really, really frustrating because they were, like you said, they were losing to teams they had no right losing to. They beat themselves and it was really not fun to watch. It really wasn't. It was like a self-destruction, implosion, watching them lose to these teams they shouldn't have lost to. It was hard. It was very difficult.
JK: And, conversely, in the 90s when they were mostly awful, except for a couple of exceptions, and they were losing to Green Bay every year, and from 96 to, I think, 2004, they had losing seasons every year except for one. So what's that like when you go through that kind of desert?
PK: You know, it was rough. It was really, really rough, but I had good friends around me. We were a bunch of Bears fans and we'd get together and watch the games and just... I mean, you'd wallow in it because there was nothing else to do. They just weren't good. I mean, 5-11 was probably their worst season [in that time], but they were never good enough to make the playoffs. You know, 6-10, 7-9 and they just weren't very good at all.
JK: Was it one of those things where you were grasping at straws- were there any players or coaches where, like, "okay, this is why, even in this horrible stretch, okay, they [the players or coaches] are still good.
PK: Well of course! You always get that. I honestly don't remember. I mean, Jim Harbaugh was their quarterback and he was no good at all. He's a much better coach that he was a quarterback [Harbaugh is currently the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and has taken the team to three straight conference championships and one Super Bowl]. Singletary was still playing for them in the early 90s, so he was the cornerstone of the team and he was great his whole career. He never seemed to lose a step to me.
But they had flashes. There was a Thanksgiving game against the Lions, and this kid named Terry Obee caught an, I don't even know, 67 yard touchdown bomb or something from Harbaugh of all people. And the Bears won 10-6. It was a ridiculous game, it was horrible, just awful. But that play, of course, made me high on Terry Obee and he was all I could talk about for the rest of the season. And next season he's going to be great. And I think he got cut the next season. He wasn't that great, but he made a great catch. You know, it was horrible.
Incidentally, John Madden gave the turkey leg [given out to players whom Madden deemed the best in the Thanksgiving games he called] to the four [Bears] defensive linemen in that game- all four of them. It was the first time more than one person got a turkey leg. Chris Zorich was one of them. And he was one of the flashes- Chris Zorich. [Defensive end] Alonzo Spellman was another one. They were great, fantastic and they should've been so much better and they just plain weren't.
JK: So this was the early 90s. So this was before [defensive tackle draft bust] Mike Haynes [was on the team].
PK: Yeah. Oh my God! [laughs]
JK: So it was before him. Basically, what's it like rooting for a team that's 1,000, 2,000 miles away?
PK: Actually, it's not all that strange. Because there's a ton of Bears fans around. A ton. You go into any bar on a Sunday afternoon and you're going to see Bears jerseys. You see hats all over the place. It's crazy. It really is. I'm really surprised how many Bears fans there are in this area, honestly.
JK: What's the ratio of Bears and Packers fans in central New York?
PK: I think there's way more Bears fans in central New York than Packers fans honestly. Way more, a ton more. But, of course, Steelers fans outnumber all of us.
JK: Finally, do you have a prediction of what the Bears could do, where you see them going this season?
PK: This season... I think they have a lot of potential. Their offensive linemen are going to be coming back, they're getting stronger. Barring any unforeseen injuries, anymore unforeseen injuries, with the offensive line coming back, [rookie cornerback] Kyle Fuller's playing out of his mind. I don't even think [injured cornerback] Charles Tillman has even been missed, which is crazy talk.
I think, legitimately, they could go 11-5 the rest of the season. I think they'll split with Detroit. They'll probably beat Green Bay next time, because it's just what they do. They'll go to Green Bay and they'll beat them. Because it's what they do. They should beat up on Minnesota both times. So, I don't think 11-5 is out of the realm of possibility. And at 11-5 I think they... might win the division. If not, they'll have a wild card.
JK: Anything beyond that?
PK: If they make the playoffs- I don't know because the NFC's stacked this year, it really is. I mean, the Eagles are crazy, the Cardinals are insane good, the Seahawks are the Seahawks, you know. It's a very tough conference. If they make the playoffs and they win their wild card game, that would be an accomplishment this year. Honestly, I do. If they actually make it to the championship game, the NFC championship, I'd be pretty surprised and very happy with the season.
