GO TO PREVIOUS SECTION: November 30 to December 6

PART VI, continued

December 7th to December 13th

December 9, 2005

One of my fondest childhood memories is sitting in Orrington Elementary School in the middle of the day, and hearing one of my classmates exclaim to all of us: “It’s snowing! It’s snowing!” This happened every year from kindergarten through fifth grade, and to a lesser extent in middle school...whenever it happened we would all run up to the windows, press our faces against the glass, and stare in awe at the snow. I mean, it’s snow.

Amazingly, the teacher always allowed this to go on, at least for a few seconds until everyone had seen it. They understood: there was a magical quality about snow. It wasn’t like rain, which was just depressing. You could play in snow. Snow was fun. It held Possibilities. Snow meant sledding and snow angels and snow ball fights and snow men. Snow meant winter, and winter meant Christmas—(and for some of us, Hanukkah). Christmas, in turn, meant presents and vacation, two wonderful concepts that kids love. When the first snow fall of the year came down, it served as a reminder of everything good about being a kid.

Now, of course, snow means shoveling and bad driving conditions and higher heating bills, but that’s really more a knock on adulthood than snow. We had our first snow fall yesterday, and I watched it with the same joyful, hopeful, awe-inspired feelings that I had growing up. The driving was brutal, but Meghan and I managed to get along without a car. She walked to her one class of the day, and when she returned we walked two blocks to Subway for some lunch. The sun was out, and it wasn’t that cold, and we marched around in our coats and gloves and water-resistant pants, taking in the beauty of the seasons. The woman at Subway was not looking forward to driving home, but she was still happy with the snow.

“I’m just so glad that we’re going to have a white Christmas,” she said, smiling.

We got our sandwiches. We trudged back home. Meghan brought her cameras, and took some pictures of snow-capped pine trees and branches; it’s like Idaho again. Later that night, some people our age were outside throwing snow balls and skating behind their cars. In the morning, the shovels and snow plows were out, clearing the way for all of the adults out there. Winter, officially, had arrived.

Meanwhile, in Chicago…

The Bulls are 9-8, and though they’ve wobbled back and forth around the .500 mark, they are beginning to find their offensive identity. Luol and Ben continue to score off the bench, and with Ben moving into the starting lineup for the injured Hinrich, Jannero Pargo got his first big minutes of the season, coming off the bench to drop 23 on the Magic. Shades of Game 5, sad as they are...

Now that the Bears have been in the NFL’s national spotlight for going on three weeks, the stories have turned from positive—“Do the Bears have the best ‘D’ in the league?” “How do they stack up against the ’85 team?”—to negative, with every angle now focusing on the so-called quarterback controversy between the struggling Kyle Orton and the now-healthy Rex Grossman. Orton had a bad game against the Packers—and considering that this was Week 13, it was probably his worst game of the year—but one game does not a season make. This guy is 9-3, he’s done what the team has asked him to do, he has his teammates and coaches’ respect and confidence, and now they’re going to just up and give his job to a guy who has played six total NFL games?

Not only is that ridiculous, but there has been no indication of Lovie even considering anything like that.

As for baseball, the “hot stove” is in full effect. The Marlins finished off their roster-gutting by sending centerfielder Juan Pierre to—drum roll please—YOUR! Chicago Cubs! I’m very excited about this move—I love Pierre—but I still think that the Cubs’ success in 2006 will be dictated by Wood, Prior, and Zambrano. Those three guys are the main reason why the Cubs have been NL favorites since 2003, and it’s up to them to get this team back to the playoffs.

But even with Pierre in town and the Bears cruising, the best story of the day is easily the retirement of Scottie Pippen’s number. I can’t even begin to say how thrilled and happy I am that PIPPEN 33 is going to be hanging in the rafters right next to JORDAN 23, as well as the jerseys of Jerry Sloan and Bob Love. The ’90s Bulls were MY team, Michael and Scottie were the leaders, and while Jordan’s banner has been up since 1995 (after his first retirement), we Bulls fans have been waiting a long time for Pippen to join him. This is a great day in Chicago sports.

December 11, 2005

While Ric has hosted our New Years party for the past five years, his parents have been throwing a Christmas party since we were kids. My parents got their invitation today; yet another reminder that the year is nearly over.

The Bears lost 21-9 to Pittsburgh earlier today, ending their awesome eight-game winning streak. I wasn’t surprised by the loss. Mike Brown and Chris Harris both missed the game with injuries, and we were on the road against a proud and scared Steelers team that had lost three straight and needed a win to stay in the playoff hunt. I was really more concerned with seeing Kyle Orton improve. And he did. I think.

I had to go back to Buffalo Wild Wings again, which is really getting annoying. It’s nice to have a place to watch the game, but I definitely prefer watching them at home. Meghan was working, so I just showed up and found some Bears fans to watch the game with. It was like Yogi’s all over again, but with less fun, fewer Bears fans, and worse food.

As always, Sunday has been a day of updates and connections with the people I love. I talked to Nana after the game; she was very disappointed with how the team played but was staying positive, as they are “still doing alright.” I talked to MJ, just to say hey, and I talked to my parents. Then I talked to Luke, who has been taking a certain amount of joy lately from the national Orton vs. Grossman debate. He loves digging in to me: “Jack,” he says in a playful voice, “they’re saying that it might be time for a switch.”

Like me, Luke has been very happy with Orton’s play, though he recognizes that Orton needs to improve if the Bears are going to go deep into the playoffs.

Quarterback controversy. Gimme a break. This whole Orton vs. Grossman debate has gotten out of hand. The world of sports journalism insists upon becoming more and more about sound bites and controversy and less and less about thoughtful arguments, logical reasoning, and good reporting, but I always feel that the media is a reflection of the people it is playing to. We sports fans have become lazy.

If you really believe that the Bears would be better off with Rex at quarterback than with Kyle Orton, then fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But the number of fans who are talking about this so called “QB controversy” is amazing. Why do we so willingly buy into the Sports Controversy of the Month?

Take a second to review the facts here. Grossman’s college numbers are slightly better than Orton’s, but that can be partially attributed to the Florida offense. I guess you could say that Rex’s pro numbers are better than Orton’s, but Orton is 9-4 in 12 starts with no injuries, while Rex is 3-3 in 6 starts with three injuries.

I like Rex Grossman. I think that he has a future in the NFL. I think that he has a future with the Bears. He could very well end up leading us to a Super Bowl one day...

...but this isn’t One Day. This is today. It’s not like we’re talking about McMahon vs. McNown here. How can we say with such certainty that Grossman is the better NFL quarterback right now? What are we basing it on? His career playoff victories? (0) His 300-yard passing performances? (0) His career winning percentage? (.500)

Let’s keep things in perspective. While the Bears have succeeded by treating Orton like a professional starting quarterback rather than a rookie quarterback, he is still a rook. He has played 13 games. He isn’t exactly seasoned. If you’re giving up on Orton 13 games into his career, then I suppose that you’d have given up on these young losers as well:

Johnny Unitas, rookie in 1956: 110 of 198 for 1498 yards, 9TD/10INT, 55.6%, 74.0 quarterback rating

Joe Namath, 1965: 164 of 340 for 2220 yards, 18/15, 48.2%, 68.6

Bob Griese, 1967: 166 of 331 for 2005 yards, 15/18, 50.2%, 61.6

Roger Staubach, 1969/1970: 67 of 129 for 963 yards, 3/10, 51.9%, 51.9

Terry Bradshaw, 1970: 203 of 373 for 2259 yards, 13/22, 54.4%, 59.7

Phil Simms, 1979: 134 of 265 for 1743 yards, 13/14, 50.6%, 66.0

John Elway, 1983: 123 of 259 for 1663 yards, 7/14, 47.5%, 54.9

Steve Young, 1985/1986: 267 of 501 for 3217 yards, 11/21, 53.3%, 63.1

Troy Aikman, 1989: 155 of 293 for 1749 yards, 9/18, 52.9%, 55.7

Donovan McNabb, 1999: 106 of 216 for 948 yards, 8/7, 49.1%, 60.1

Will Orton end up as good as any of these guys? Who knows. But that’s the point.

Every time I hear some yahoo talking about the negative effects of television and video games or hear us referred to as the “A.D.D. Generation,” I want to slap them around with my PS2 controller. And then Orton/Grossman debates rage on after one bad performance in a win (vs. Green Bay) and one medium performance in a loss (vs. Pittsburgh), and I start to think they’re right.

THIS IS THE NFL, PEOPLE! Quarterback is the toughest position in the league, arguably the toughest in sports. Are we really going to sit here and say that Kyle Orton’s career as a starter is finished because he is not going to the Pro Bowl in his ROOKIE SEASON? Are we really that shortsighted/impatient/dumb?

The Bears will go into camp next season with Orton and Grossman fighting for the starting QB position. Lovie will say what he always says: “Every player has to earn their spot.” “Every job is up for competition.” “We play whoever gives us the best chance to win.” Or perhaps Grossman will be given the job because he is one of the team’s largest and most important investments, or perhaps he will get the job simply because it is beyond obvious that he is the better player. Grossman may very well beat Orton out in camp, and if that happens, then great. But how can you say that Kyle Orton should lose his job to a guy who is less proven simply because Orton is not a top flight QB as a rookie? It smacks of lazy analysis and knee-jerk conviction.

December 13, 2005

The Bears released Bobby Wade today. Apparently the San Fran game hurt him much more than we thought it did, and although he never again was quite so bad, he also never really improved after that point. It’s a shame, in its way. I really like Bobby Wade: he always seemed like the type of guy you’d want on your team…except of course for the fumbling, which was a major problem.

“The type of guy you’d want on your team.” That’s a fun one. What is the type? Is it T.O., a guy who seems like the ultimate “me” player, but who always performs on the field at a high level, is never in trouble off the field, and has led his team to the postseason three of the past four full seasons, including a trip to the Super Bowl a year ago? Is it Ray Allen, a guy who is a good citizen and by all accounts a nice guy, a perennial all-star…but no real playoff success? Would you rather have him or Tim Duncan, a guy who has always seemed a little bit whiney but who has been the number one man on three championship teams in seven seasons? Do we slide personality aside in the name of winning? Do we slide behavior aside in the name of winning? Who to choose…who to choose…

In this case, it was pretty easy. Bobby Wade was fumbling way too much to be an effective return man. You have to protect the ball, particularly on special teams. And since he wasn’t really standing out anymore as a receiver, particularly not with the Moose signing and the speed of Berrian and Bradley, well, that was that. I hope he picks up somewhere. We shall see.

******

And later…

I finally get Meg settled in to watch Shawshank. I am very excited about this. Beyond the basic joy of watching the movie, and the added joy of experiencing someone else’s first time with it, I’ve begun tossing around the idea of doing Shawshank for the camper show next summer. Not as a musical, but as a straight drama. It’d be perfect: not a lot of set changes, all-male cast, and it promotes positive values of inner strength, determination, friendship, and loyalty. Just imagine seeing Red walking towards the beach on the Pacific while “Narrator Red” sits to the side in his elder clothes and makeup, talking about hope. It’s damn enticing, no?

We’re getting near the end, and we’re both wrapped up in the story, and then Meg figures it out…

“…it was blank, but the post mark read ‘Ft. Hancock, Texas.’ Ft. Hancock. That’s where he crossed.”

She swings up on the couch. “Oh man! Oh man! Ft. Hancock, Texas! We were there!”