CHICAGO – The Chicago Bears know how to make a Super Bowl memorable. They’re making this one historic long before it’s played.
Dissed all season long, Rex Grossman and Co. are heading to the big game for the first time since 1985 after rolling over the New Orleans Saints 39-14 yesterday, and Da Coach leading them there makes it all the more special.
Lovie Smith’s arrival in Miami will make him the first black head coach to reach the marquee game in its 41 years.
“I’ll feel even better to be the first black coach to hold up the world championship trophy,” Smith said after the Bears won the NFC championship.
This isn’t the wild bunch, led by coach Mike Ditka and quarterbacked by Jim McMahon, that paraded down Bourbon Street, then routed New England for the championship 21 years ago. Its defense isn’t overpowering, its quarterback isn’t a renegade, its reputation isn’t celebrated.
This team, despite its impressive record, was maligned all season and never possessed the overpowering aura of Ditka’s gang.
Still, Smith’s team did it in true Bears fashion, with big plays on defense and a steady running game in the sleet and snow, ending the Saints’ uplifting saga.
