So the Bears having multiple winning seasons means nothing? The Bears of 85 were not a fluke. They were one of the greatest teams in the history of the NFL.
The problem was that they were all mostly assholes, they let Wilbur Marshall go and they lost McMahon to a total cheap shot.
So I think you are wrong.
sigh The Pats were beaten by a damn good QB. As much as it pains me to say it, “Go Colts!”
I would have liked it.
I was about 13 when the Pats/Bears played, and living in Maine. It was the first time in my life that I really REALLY got into a sports team. I had all this “good luck” shit I did during the playoffs that year, and I was pretty upset when they lost. Especially since they got killed.
Yesterday, I told my wife, mostly jokingly, “if the Pats get to play the Bears, that’s going to exorcise a lot of childhood demons.”
Alas.
Still, I like the Superbowl match-up.
I would’ve liked to have seen an all-Michigan Greise/Brady QB faceoff.
I suppose that I’ll get piled on for saying this, but I’m having trouble seeing this being anything more than interesting trivia. It was real news when the first African-American coach was hired–it was a CHOICE to be made and that made it historic. But in a way,* this* was pure happenstance, and was bound to happen sooner or later.
I mean, if coaches and teams were appointed or elected to the Bowl, it might be more newsworthy. But coaches and their teams get to the Super Bowl by doing their jobs and doing them exceptionally well. Dungy and Smith have taken their teams to the championship, but their race had nothing to do with that. They are great coaches with talented teams who really came through for their fans. But black, white, yellow, green, or purple with orange polka dots–they would still be great coaches with talented teams. And they deserve to be playing the Big One.
What I’m really liking about this matchup is the friendship between the two men–I hope this will lend itself to an even higher spirit of sportsmanship from their teams! 
I agree. This is going to be a good game from many different facets.
Chanteuse,
It’s mostly interesting trivia–but of my favorite sort. I’m not a football fan. I’d like to see the Colts win the game, partly because I kinda like the Colts, and especially Peyton Manning, and partly because if the Colts win I never have to listen to talk about Peyton Manning being a good quarterback who can’t win the big one again. I thought it was kind of cool that not only does an African American coach get to coach in the Super Bowl this year, but one gets to win the Super Bowl this year. Is it a big deal? No, not really.
I will be very much interested in the outcome when it is a green coach against a purple one with orange polka dots.
GO PURPLE WITH ORANGE POLKA DOTS!!!
Another trivial point:
Correct me if I’m wrong but are the Bears and the Colts the closest teams stadium wise (geographically) to play in the superbowl?
Chicago to Indianapolis is 181 miles says mapquest.
The closest others I could find were Superbowl 3 (Jets/Baltimore) and Superbowl 35 (Giants/Baltimore). Baltimore to East Rutherford NJ is 192 miles.
Foxborough and Philly 294 miles.
Looks like it is. And to think, it could have been an all Indiana Super Bowl. IIRC, years ago the Bears organization wanted a new stadium and they wanted the Chicago taxpayers to foot the bill. The owners threatened to move the Bears to NW Indiana if they didn’t get their stadium. Well, the Chicago taxpayers told the owners to stuff it, thereby calling the bluff. The owners learned a valuable lesson in negotiations: never demand a new facility when your team sucks.
You either win it or you don’t.
Except in the playoffs, when it matters, every single other year. Every one. That’s a fluke. Sorry.
Let’s close on a note of agreement, then. 
In fairness, that was a rush job. Nobody in NE had any expectation they’d get to the SB until it happened. They were the last wildcard team, played on the road for every game, and had Tony Eason at QB. But suddenly the bandwagon pulled up, everybody in NE jumped on, and we needed a retort to the Bears crap.
The '85 Bears were a fluke because subsequent non-'85 Bears teams didn’t win the superbowl? :dubious:
In any case:
1985:15-1 won superbowl
1986:14-2 lost divisional playoff without starting QB because of injury
1987:11-4 lost divisional playoff
1988:12-4 lost NFC championship, Walter Payton had retired by now.
52-11 in that time frame, I believe, but am not sure that that’s the best record over a 4 year span in NFL history. You say the '85 team was a fluke when they have 3 great seasons following it and losing 2 of the playoff games when two huge members of that championship team didn’t play? :rolleyes:
Their opponents had guys hurt too, remember?
There’s no trophy for having a good regular-season record. The postseason is what mattered. The Bears never even made it *back * to the game, did they?
One-hit wonders.
Actually, when speaking of NFL championships, the Bears have nine. The only team with more is the Packers, who have 12.
So I guess that would make them 9-hit wonders.
I’m glad not to have to suffer through watching a rematch of the Bears/Pats… I’m already seeing enough of the '85 Bears without them trying to find the remains of the '85 Washington Gene… I mean, Patriots.
I hear ya. It’s just that this isn’t the first I’ve heard it. I mean, confetti was just starting to fly after the Colts win, and the commentator mentioned it. And I keep seeing it in news blurbs. You’d think that that was the most important thing!
To me, the most important thing was that the Colts won! 
If Dallas couldn’t go, then I wanted San Diego to go. But if it couldn’t be the Bolts, then I’m glad it was the Colts!
And hey, I did say it was interesting trivia!
To take this a step further.
1984: 11-7. Lost NFC Championship game to Super Bowl Champ 49ers.
1985: 18-1. Won Super Bowl. Most wins in a season ever.
1986: 14-3. Lost NFC Divisional Playoff without their starting QB.
1987: 11-5. Lost NFC Divisional Playoff to Super Bowl Champ Redskins.
1988: 13-5. Lost NFC Championship game to Super Bowl Champ 49ers.
1989: 6-10. Missed playoffs in first year without McMahon.
1990: 12-6. Lost NFC Championship to the Super Bowl Champ Giants.
1991: 11-6. Lost NFC Wildcard Game.
They went 6-6 in postseason games over that span. They were perennial contenders in the era where the NFC dominated the AFC to a degree that makes the last few years of AFC superiority look like a mild curiosity. They almost certainly would have won the whole thing in '86 with a healthy McMahon and his constant injuries probably cost them a dozen wins over that span. Certainly they could have seized a couple more Super Bowls and let down in a few playoff games they should have won, but those were against legendary competition.
To claim that the Bears were a fluke shows your complete and utter lack of football acumen.