I can’t take this

October 16th, 2006 | Posted by PostmanE

My heart really can’t do it. My throat is shot; my head is throbbing; my chest is pounding arhythmically.

I consider myself a pretty healthy guy. But I can’t take this.

Somewhere between the slamming on the table in front of me, the shouting at Rex Grossman, the silent resignation … and then the sudden pouncing jubilation, the kind rare and powerful enough to induce roommates to jump around in their living room, hugging each other violently, dropping to their knees with their heads in their hands … somewhere in there, you realize the power all this has over you and that it might not be healthy or normal in any way.

A midseason game, a regular Monday Night contest against an average team with a rookie quarterback, somehow felt like a playoff win. It somehow felt like a comeback win over the Packers. The newfound expectation of success - it does terrible things to a fan.

Anyway, three big points from the game, if you made it down here:

1. Brian Urlacher can take control of a football game whenever he wants. Granted, the Cardinals refused to block him in the second half. Whatever. He flew around, made every play, had a possessed glare that is ususally reserved for nostalgic ideas of players of old. When I’m 50, Urlacher is the player I’ll be telling my kids about. That was made official Monday.
2. Matt Leinart is pretty good, too. Not great yet, of course; that hit he took on the backside, though not his fault, could have been prevented with a little more pocket awareness, but still. Leinart guided a good offense over a great defense for most of his first primetime appearance, and barely lost. You’d feel terrible for him, if he wasn’t so smarmy. The rest of the Cardinals? Feel bad. Real bad.
3. The Bears might have a long way to go before they’re the “team of destiny.” As a matter of fact, as miraculous and mythical as this win was, the Bears showed the entire country they’re still weak in the secondary, have what is essentially a rookie quarterback at the helm and are prone to huge mental and emotional lapses.

All of that considered, the Bears are 6-0, a needed bye week is on tap and everyone can settle and remember they haven’t won anything yet. Except the craziest, most emotionally affecting game I’ve seen since Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS.

I don’t want to get into that conversation. My chest and heart are already fucked; I fear my lower portions may go next.

(As you might be able to tell, I’m a Bears fan, but upon re-reading this thing, it occurs to me I don’t exactly seem sympathetic to the Cardinals. Trust me, I am. I feel genuinely terrible for the team, Denny Green - his post-game presser just about summed it up - and especially their fans. No one deserves this sort of thing. Not in Week 6. Not ever.)