Our teams didn’t win big on the whole, but they entertained us. And they did it against the backdrop of sickness, fear, desperation, vast social protest and a political landscape gone mad. Maybe we can be a bit thankful for that.
Sweet goddess of mercy, it’s almost over. The Year 2020, that is. No, the pandemic isn’t through with us. No, the economy hasn’t climbed out of the ditch. Yes, half of us still want to give the other half a knuckle sandwich — and vice versa, of course — and that’s when we’re feeling generous. Oh, and sports — it’s still a colossal mess, too. Or is it? Games are going on. In fact, they did for much of an awful year. And now, the calendar soon shall turn, and thank goodness for that. But not yet. First, let’s all take a deep breath and — here, in one space — mark the moment in time that was 2020 on Chicago’s sports scene. It won’t be warm and fuzzy. It won’t be pretty. Why is this starting to feel like the buildup to a punchline about the Bears’ offense? Our sports scene was beyond volatile, and that’s going by coach and front-office shake-ups alone. Most of our teams didn’t exactly win big — like we needed more disappointment — but, hopefully, they entertained us. And they did what they did against the backdrop of sickness, fear, desperation, vast social protest and a political landscape gone mad. Maybe we can be a bit thankful for that. Now, can we just talk some sports? A glance back at 2020 for our teams: BEARS All of us — from coach Matt Nagy to your Aunt Bev — entered the season with a decision to make: Should it be Mitch Trubisky or Nick Foles at quarterback? Aunt Bev didn’t have the final call, but she was prepared to offer her two cents if asked. We all were. Trubisky kept his job but was yanked for Foles, a former Super Bowl MVP, during a perplexing 5-1 start that prefaced a less-perplexing six-game losing streak. Before the downturn ended, Trubisky had the huddle again and proceeded to do well enough that the question became unavoidable: Should the Bears stick with him? The defense was good, but not always. The playoff hopes remained alive, but barely. And Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace are on pink-slip watch. CUBS Postseason bubbles in California and Texas went on without a team that never — what’s that word again? — hit. Any postscript has to begin with the failures of Kris Bryant, Javy Baez and other core stars to put the bat on the baseball. Painful to watch.
