Because I adore all of you so much, I have decided to give you a special gift: a weekend article! Now I know what you're thinking: WOW! This is like Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Ramadan (don't want to alienate any readers)) in May. Consider it a thank you for keeping up with the blog.
My beef today is with those criticizing Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher for shooting back at Bears legend Gale Sayers after he criticized Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, coach Lovie Smith and Urlacher himself.
Sayers said in response to a reporter asking him about the Bears, that "Cutler hasn't done the job ... Urlacher, I don't know how good he's going to be coming back [from a forearm injury that kept him out almost all last season] ... If Smith doesn't do it this year, I think hes gone. Nothing came together for him the last couple years."
Urlacher responded to these comments by saying "How many championships did Gale Sayers win? How many playoff games did he win when he played? None. None. None. Does it bother me? There are enough people throwing daggers at us right now, why does one of our ex-players have to jump in? There are enough experts talking (expletive) about us, so why does a Bear, an all-time great, have to jump in? I just don't like that."
Bears legend Dick Butkus and former coach Mike Ditka have also entered the fray, both of whom are obviously siding with Sayers, Butkus being his old teammate, and Ditka being an old school kind of guy.
Look, I'm all for respecting your elders, and I realize in the sports world, it's dangerous to take on a legend. But if Gale Sayers is going to dish out criticism, even if it was in response to a reporter, he has to be able to take some as well. The idea that Sayers should be able to call out the Bears and not have to face a retaliatory response just because he is a retired player is ludicrous. No one should be allowed total immunity from criticism, especially when they are calling out others themselves.
I don't disagree with what Sayers said, or the way that he said it; he's right, the Bears have not been and are not a very good football team. I also don't disagree with what Urlacher said because he's also right. Both of their statements are factual. The important thing here is that both have the right and a good reason to say what they said. Sayers, a Bears legend, is allowed to call out his former team and should say what he thinks about his former team when asked. As a retired player he is a quasi-representative for the Bears. But Urlacher, should be able to defend himself and his teammates as well, instead of just having to sit there, taking Sayers' criticism.
Urlacher made the perfect move here. Some people say that it's better just to sit back and take the criticism if you are an athlete, and not let anyone get in your head; to prove your worth on the field. I say forget that. If someone calls you out, don't only prove it on the field, jab right back at them. This type of feud is what fuels teams to perform at their top level, and increases team chemistry. Whenever a retired player calls out his former team, it gives that team something to prove, and a team on that type of mission is going to play aggressively, and physically, exactly how a football team is supposed to play.
The Bears may not have the talent to even come close to making the playoffs in a division with the Packers and Vikings, two of the best football teams in the league, but this quarrel between Sayers and Urlacher may help them during the season. A team leader like Urlacher, responding to the former Bear Sayers, may cause a bit of dissension in the Bears family for now, but will only help the current Bears team in the end, and therefore benefit the entire Bears family in the long run. For those who think Urlacher needs to be put back in his place or is overstepping his boundaries, their argument will either be strengthened or damaged based on how Urlacher and the Bears play on the field this season. But in the game of football, a game based on team unity and physicality, having extra incentive to prove your worth and letting a little hate flow certainly can't hurt.
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