Loss breaks new ground for some old Bears
At some point during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl on Sunday, Dennis Gentry received a text message from 1985 Bears teammate Thomas Sanders that read, ''What the heck is going on?''
Gentry shrugged -- undoubtedly a common theme among Bears fans agonizing over the 29-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Gentry shrugged -- undoubtedly a common theme among Bears fans agonizing over the 29-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
''It was a good game ... if you take away the turnovers,'' said Gentry, who attended a Super Bowl party near his home in Crawford, Texas. ''The turnovers killed them.''
(AP)
''It was a good game ... if you take away the turnovers,'' said Gentry, who attended a Super Bowl party near his home in Crawford, Texas. ''The turnovers killed them.''
No kidding.
Watching Rex Grossman fumble away the ball and sail passes into the waiting hands of Colts defenders made Gentry cringe. The way things were looking early -- with rookie Devin Hester returning the opening kickoff 92 yards for a score -- Gentry figured he'd be contrasting the two Bears championship teams today.
Well, not exactly.
''I haven't checked,'' Gentry said, ''but I'm sure I'll have some e-mails.''
Brian Cabral, another member of the '85 Super Bowl-title team, watched from his home in Colorado.
''I'm disappointed for the Bears,'' Cabral said. ''The defense was spending a lot of time on the field. It didn't seem like the offense could get much going.
''Was it hard to watch? No, not all. I was just patiently waiting for the Bears to regain the momentum at some point.''
It didn't happen.
Despite Thomas Jones' 112 rushing yards, Muhsin Muhammad's four-yard touchdown catch and the defense forcing three turnovers, the Bears couldn't keep pace.
Cabral saw no reason to criticize his former team despite the Bears' obvious shortcomings Sunday.
''There were a whole lot of teams sitting back and watching this game at home,'' he said. ''The Bears earned the right to be here. This says a lot about them.''
Gentry, a former kick returner, pointed to another reason why fans shouldn't be down on the Bears: Hester.
''I tell you, that dude is awesome,'' Gentry said. ''What I accomplished in 11 years, he did in one. There's just something about that guy -- he just visualizes himself scoring. I hope they put him on offense next year.''
Meanwhile, there were a number of '85 Bears in town to watch the action. Three of them -- quarterback Jim McMahon, linebacker Jim Morrissey and tackle Keith Van Horne -- signed autographs while watching with fans at Harry Caray's restaurant.
Tackle Chris Zorich, who played with the Bears during the 1990s, also attended the party.
''You can't make turnovers, and you can't make mistakes in a game like this,'' Van Horne said. ''Everyone said keep Peyton Manning off the field; that's the opposite of what happened.''
When it was over, Morrissey speculated about what the Bears players likely were going through.
''They feel terrible,'' he said. ''They worked the whole year just for this one game, and they fell a little short.
''When you come this far, there's no consolation.''
Contributing: AP