September 8, 1985: Where were you?
I was a couple weeks after my 9th birthday. I had just started 4th grade. I remember my 4th grade teacher; she was an old nun named Sister Ewalda. She was sick most of the year, so we had plenty of subs. I think we took more spelling tests that year than all the other grades combined. I am pretty decent at spelling, so I guess it worked. Anyways….
30 years ago today the 1985 NFL football season began. Our Bears hosted the Tampa Bay Bucs on a hot late summer day. How will this season turn out?
Well, it didn’t start off well. The juggernaut Bucs led by Steve DeBerg and James Wilder in their bright orange uniforms and awesome helmets put up 28 first half points. Yes, that’s not a typo. The vaunted 85 Bears defense, the monsters of the midway, were horrible in the first 30 minutes of this season. This would prove to be the exception to the rule as this defense would only allow more than 20 points in 2 full games from here on out.
The adjustment started at halftime. They didn’t allow a point the entire second half. Trailing 28-17 after 2 quarters, the Bears outscored them 21-0 in the 2nd half to notch their first win of the season.
Led by 4 total tds by Jim McMahon, 2 rushing and 2 passing (one to McKinnon and one to suhey), along with 120 yards on the ground from sweetness, a field goal by some rookie kicker named Butler, and a defensive td by Leslie Frazier, the Bears provided plenty of excitement for the home crowd. Just the tip of the iceberg boys.
I don’t think I’ll be able to watch each and every game again. Hell, I can barely write this blurb. Depending on how bad this year’s team is, I may start.
I may want to take that trip down memory lane all the way. It’s this team that set the gold standard. The bar which no Bears team, heck, no team period, has measured up to for one magical year. The 85 season was off and running.
The Bucs were on their way to a 2-14 record, while the Bears fared a little better. 30 years to the day… The day it began. And they’re off!
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