85 Bears 30/30

[jsglow]

Very well done. Just finished watching.  It was so easy to be a fan my first years in Chicago.  Catch it if you can.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

It was really good. Chicago will always be a Bears town first. Also, eff Charles Martin.

[Danny Noonan]

Also, eff Charles Martin.

Funny, I was just talking about this play this morning with my father who is a Packer fan. What gets me is how quick some Packer fans dismiss the play.  If that was done to Favre or Rodgers it would be a different story.
As a side note- I was at the Division playoff loss against the Redskins where Flutie missed a wide open Willie Gault  twice because he could not see over the line- all I could say was, eff Charles Martin.

[Tugg Speedman]

Just finished watching it, it was tremendous, as is all the installments in this series.

Highly recommend it.

[rocket surgeon]

  as a life-long, die-hard packer fan, they were pretty awesome and fun to watch except against my pack.  they sure did have personality.  that being said, no excuse that they could build upon that and continue to at least be decent.  let's start with that insanely brutal super bowl shuffle.  ok, lots of fun, cute and all, but that was symbolic of where their minds were at.  it was like, ok, we made it.  then the flurry of restaurant openings, sports bar openings, playboy mansion, etc etc.  hey, i'm not against not capitalizing on success and having fun, but it became bigger than the game and cost them quite possibly a few more good runs

[JWags85]

  as a life-long, die-hard packer fan, they were pretty awesome and fun to watch except against my pack.  they sure did have personality.  that being said, no excuse that they could build upon that and continue to at least be decent.  let's start with that insanely brutal super bowl shuffle.  ok, lots of fun, cute and all, but that was symbolic of where their minds were at.  it was like, ok, we made it.  then the flurry of restaurant openings, sports bar openings, playboy mansion, etc etc.  hey, i'm not against not capitalizing on success and having fun, but it became bigger than the game and cost them quite possibly a few more good runs

I don't know if it was quite that.  I mean, McMahon being purposefully injured changed 1986.  They likely repeat if that doesn't happen, regardless if the Flutie nonsense was the right move afterwards.  They had only one loss all year even with McMahon playing poorly.  Still need your leader.  1987 was a weird season with the strike and then by 1988, Payton had retired, the team was different, and they lost to the beginning of the Niners dynasty.

They absolutely should have had more than 1 SB IMO, but I don't think it was due to distractions as much as you think.

[rocket surgeon]

I don't know if it was quite that.  I mean, McMahon being purposefully injured changed 1986.  They likely repeat if that doesn't happen, regardless if the Flutie nonsense was the right move afterwards.  They had only one loss all year even with McMahon playing poorly.  Still need your leader.  1987 was a weird season with the strike and then by 1988, Payton had retired, the team was different, and they lost to the beginning of the Niners dynasty.

They absolutely should have had more than 1 SB IMO, but I don't think it was due to distractions as much as you think.

in all honesty, i'm not up on the info as you and others who were closer to the action.  to be fair, there did seem to be more changes in personnel than i can recall.  some to injury, some to free agency and those that you mentioned. management however needed to capitalize on the BIG WIN and build on that winning atmosphere and attitude.  i mean, they didn't just win, they demolished their opponents.  but hey, those of us a little north aren't real disappointed but, just sayin...

[LloydsLegs]

I didn't like it that much.  Unsurprisingly, it was sentimental, which is OK (after all, it's a sports story), but not up to 30 for 30 standards.  Loved that team, and the memories, but I didn't find the show compelling. I

[Goose]

As a lifelong big time Packer fan I actually hated that team so much I loved them. When all said and done I was jealous of the action and excitement created, but was a team I could not stop watching. That team and The Bulls with Jordan were much watch TV and that does not happen often.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

I didn't like it that much.  Unsurprisingly, it was sentimental, which is OK (after all, it's a sports story), but not up to 30 for 30 standards.  Loved that team, and the memories, but I didn't find the show compelling. I

I felt the same way.  I really like the 30 for 30 series, and found this one to be pretty damn boring.

[MU82]

It was at least a half-hour too long, and that was because they repeatedly returned to the heart-strings tugs of the current-day Buddy Ryan. A little of that would have been fine -- humanized some of the guys. But it ended up being 15 minutes of Mike Singletary -- who we already knew was a great guy -- pushing Buddy around in a wheelchair. Then cue the music to the long, drawn-out showing of every 85 Bear flashing his ring. Ugh. Also, way too much Telander (and I like Rick personally).

Still, I did like lots about it.

The last time I had seen McMahon interviewed, he was barely able to form a sentence or to walk, so this update -- after he had received quality treatment -- was welcome. He was lucid, insightful and funny.  I was a young Minnesota sportswriter in '85 and I covered the incredible McMahon-off-the-bench comeback, so it was cool to re-live that.

The new Ditka interviews were mostly good. Fencik, Dent and a few others had a lot of interesting things to say.

Walter came out looking like a selfish, petulant child, sulking after what should have been the highlight of his career. That's disappointing, but I don't blame the filmmaker for telling that story. It was a big issue.

All in all, not close to being among the best 30-for-30s, but certainly watchable. Some better editing moves it from a 5 or 6 to maybe an 8 on a 10-point scale.

BTW, I'm not a Bears fan (or a fan of any other team in that division), though I did live in Chicago for 16 years.

[rocky_warrior]

every 85 Bear flashing his ring.

Notably missing was Perry's, who just folded his hands over his head...because he sold his ring a while ago, but it made news last year.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/07/31/william-perry-super-bowl-right-sells-for-super-price/

[MerrittsMustache]

The new Ditka interviews were mostly good. Fencik, Dent and a few others had a lot of interesting things to say.

Walter came out looking like a selfish, petulant child, sulking after what should have been the highlight of his career. That's disappointing, but I don't blame the filmmaker for telling that story. It was a big issue.

All in all, not close to being among the best 30-for-30s, but certainly watchable. Some better editing moves it from a 5 or 6 to maybe an 8 on a 10-point scale.

BTW, I'm not a Bears fan (or a fan of any other team in that division), though I did live in Chicago for 16 years.

Walter definitely didn't come off very well in the doc, primarily because he did, in fact, act like a selfish, petulant sulking child after the SB. That was a story worth telling, but that portion went on for too long and it wasn't exactly new info. It would have been nice to see more about how the greatest football player of all time excelled on some awful, talent-deficient teams before finally winning due in large part to the greatest D of all time. That would have helped to give some background on why Walter may have acted that way - he was an amazing player who sacrificed his body for years on awful teams, but was almost an afterthought from a media perspective when the team was great.

Also would have liked see more about how Ditka, despite his status as a god among men in Chicago, was a primary factor in the Bears' inability to get back to the SB due to his QB decisions. It was touched on - and Dent didn't hide his feelings - but they moved on from it somewhat quickly.

There were several topics that were touched on but could have gone deeper, while some more well-known aspects were rehashed. Then again, as a Bears fan, maybe I just knew a lot of the info presented that fans of other teams wouldn't know. That said, I enjoyed it but still felt like it could have been better.

[GGGG]

Funny, I was just talking about this play this morning with my father who is a Packer fan. What gets me is how quick some Packer fans dismiss the play.  If that was done to Favre or Rodgers it would be a different story.
As a side note- I was at the Division playoff loss against the Redskins where Flutie missed a wide open Willie Gault  twice because he could not see over the line- all I could say was, eff Charles Martin.

I would never dismiss that play.  Forrest Gregg was a poor coach, but he was exceptionally poor when they played the Bears.  I mean it was kind of cool when I was a 17 year old who didn't know any better, but in retrospect it was really embarrassing.

That being said, Majik Man's replay game was VERY cathartic for a lot of us Packer fans. 

[MU82]

Walter definitely didn't come off very well in the doc, primarily because he did, in fact, act like a selfish, petulant sulking child after the SB. That was a story worth telling, but that portion went on for too long and it wasn't exactly new info. It would have been nice to see more about how the greatest football player of all time excelled on some awful, talent-deficient teams before finally winning due in large part to the greatest D of all time. That would have helped to give some background on why Walter may have acted that way - he was an amazing player who sacrificed his body for years on awful teams, but was almost an afterthought from a media perspective when the team was great.

Also would have liked see more about how Ditka, despite his status as a god among men in Chicago, was a primary factor in the Bears' inability to get back to the SB due to his QB decisions. It was touched on - and Dent didn't hide his feelings - but they moved on from it somewhat quickly.

There were several topics that were touched on but could have gone deeper, while some more well-known aspects were rehashed. Then again, as a Bears fan, maybe I just knew a lot of the info presented that fans of other teams wouldn't know. That said, I enjoyed it but still felt like it could have been better.

Good points, one and all.