Anyone who doubts that sport reflects the society at large hasn’t examined the Bears of late. The Bears embody almost everything that’s good–and that’s disappointing–about the 90s so far, especially compared with the 80s. There’s an air of political correctness about the Bears this season, with Dave Wannstedt as head coach. The Bears played the Minnesota Vikings a week ago last Monday and the Green Bay Packers last Sunday–two long-term black-and-blue division rivals–but in both cases the hype and the competition were sporting and gentlemanly. There were only the routine vendettas played out in the media–a little to-do between the Bears Richard Dent and the Vikes’ Mike Tice and, of course, the one between Jim McMahon, now with the Vikes, and Bears owner Mike McCaskey; then nothing whatsoever out of the ordinary with the Packers. And in both cases the Bears took a licking like men and left the field with their chins up or their heads held high, having laid it all on the line or left it all on the field or whatever honorable phrase one chooses.
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Wannstedt, like most of his coaching brethren, is prone to cliches, but he never begins a statement “In life…,” and this alone is such a refreshing change it’s hard for a fan not to be elated. The members of the Bears no longer leave the field wondering who will be called inept or gutless after the game or who will be singled out for abuse in the media on Tuesday, after the films have been screened. And that’s an improvement for both the Bears and their fans. It’s important to remember that nobody who recommends political correctness is trying to make our lives boring; they’re trying to make our lives better, better than anyone has any right to expect. And the Bears’ lives, it seems, are better today than they were a year ago. Mike Ditka is gone, and with him has gone the laissez-faire economy (with his relentless hucksterism) and the social Darwinism (his survival-of-the-fittest motivational techniques) that made him such an emblem of his era.
The problem is the Bears have no great talents. So while Wannstedt’s first year coaching the Bears is now on its way to being a disappointment, it’s also about as encouraging as one could have imagined. The offense is a mess because it is almost devoid of Super Bowl-caliber players, but the defense has been splendid. Everyone knows that fans of the Bears treasure defense above all else, so there’s hope yet for Wannstedt.
The Eagles, to be sure, were fresh from the loss of their quarterback, Randall Cunningham, with a broken leg, and had to rely on Bubby Brister, who had one great season with the Pittsburgh Steelers and then played his way out of town. He had a miserable day, and the Bears pounced all over him.
