A year ago in the Bears’ home finale against the Falcons, the Soldier Field crowd made its voice heard: “We want Fields. We want Fields.”
The fans didn’t get their wish. The enigmatic Fields finished with a flourish before the home crowd last Dec. 31 — completing 20 of 32 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for a 99.5 passer rating; plus 11 rushes for 45 yards and a touchdown in a convincing 37-17 victory.
But once the Bears clinched the No. 1 overall pick — which they did minutes earlier that afternoon when the Panthers lost to the Jaguars 26-0 — Fields’ fate with the Bears was all but sealed. The Bears eventually traded Fields to the Steelers and drafted Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick.
A year later, the Soldier Field crowd again made its voice heard in the home finale — this time a dreadful 6-3 loss to the Seahawks on Thursday night for the Bears’ 10th consecutive loss: “Sell the team. Sell the team.”
And again, the fans are destined to be disappointed. The Bears broke tradition this year by firing a coach in-season for the first time in franchise history, but the McCaskeys are not going to sell the Bears. It will take a court order for that to happen.
The fact of the matter is that the McCaskeys feel more pride in owning the franchise than they feel shame in destroying it. To them, it’s a family heirloom and the tarnish we see is like an appealing patina to them.
In George McCaskey’s 14 seasons as chairman of the Bears’ board of directors, the Bears are 93-134 (.410), which ranks 27th in the NFL. They have one winning season (tied for 29th) and two playoff appearances (tied for 28th) and are one of five teams with zero playoff victories in that span. They’ve fired five head coaches and two general managers in that span. When their pride is every one else’s embarrassment — what else can Bears fans do? Root for the Lions?
In fact, in 32 seasons since the unofficial beginning of the McCaskey era — following the firing of George Halas-hired Mike Ditka after the 1992 season — the Bears rank in the bottom 10 in the NFL in nearly every key measurement of success. They are 231-284 (.449), which ranks 23rd; They have nine winning seasons (tied for 27th), seven playoff seasons (tied for 26th). They have four playoff victories (only the Lions, Commanders and expansion Browns have fewer).
The Bears do have one Super Bowl appearance in that 32-year span — losing Super Bowl XLI to the Colts after the 2006 regular season. But half of the current NFL (16 teams) has two or more Super Bowl appearances in that span.
If the McCaskeys were selling anything but an addictive product — football — they’d have been out of business long ago with that record of failure. But making money in the NFL is like shooting fish in a barrel with ever-increasing broadcast/media contracts (currently exceeding $400 million per team) as a foundation for operating revenue of $600 million per team.
The miserable loss to the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football exposed the Bears’ pathetic season to a national audience (the third time in the last month after the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Lions and a 30-12 loss to the Vikings on Monday Night Football on Dec. 16.)
As for the players, even if they hear the “outside noise” they are conditioned to tune it out. Linebacker T.J. Edwards said he was so wrapped up in the game he didn’t hear the “sell the team” chant. Williams indirectly acknowledged it when asked about the “frustration of this fan base.”
“This is only my first year,” Williams said. “Their frustrations go way longer back than I’ve been here. My job is to go out there and win games.”
Changes at Halas Hall will give him a better chance to do that. But, at this point, it won’t be the change Bears fans are looking for.