The Bears Have Joe Maddon to Thank For Club Dub and Other Bullets

It is December 21 and I still have not set any plans for Christmas or New Year’s Eve. This is weird because I’m the type who likes to make plans, set them in stone, and not have to worry about things until the day they go down. I guess I still have time, but the fact that I haven’t made plans yet makes me itchy.

  • Congratulations to those of you who were able to secure Bears playoff tickets when they went on sale yesterday. On top of already being a hot draw, Soldier Field is one of the smallest stadiums in the league with a football capacity of 61,500. That means there weren’t going to be all that many tickets available when they went on sale. Limited supply for a product in demand is always going to result in quick sales (and high prices), which leaves plenty of fans on the outside looking in. But at least we have playoff football to watch.
  • If you’re looking for tickets on the secondary market, they will cost you a pretty penny. StubHub has Wild Card/Divisional Round game tickets for $293 for the cheapest seat in the house … and that’s before fees. Hopefully, you’ve been saving for this big day or perhaps someone will hook you up with the ultimate stocking-stuffer. In either case, I’m holding out hope for you.
  • Should you want to find a more creative way to see the Bears in the postseason, perhaps a trip to Los Angeles. I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch, but allow me to provide a hypothetical. Assuming the Rams hold on to the No. 2 seed and the Bears stay at No. 3, a Chicago victory on Wild-Card Weekend would set up a Week 14 rematch in Los Angeles. Browsing through StubHub, the buy-in for a Divisional Round game in L.A. is $114. If you’re creative enough with your budget and the Bears do everybody a solid and win a playoff game, you could swing a weekend vacation around your favorite football team playing a postseason game for around the same price it would cost to see a game at Soldier Field. Sure, it’s a bit crazy. But just sleep on it and see how you feel tomorrow.
  • The back-story behind Club Dub is something else:
  • https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1076115454261972992

  • Head Coach Matt Nagy commandeered the idea from Cubs Manager Joe Maddon, which makes all the sense in the world. The parallels are clear as day. When Maddon took over the Cubs, they were a downtrodden franchise that didn’t have much to celebrate. When Nagy took over the Bears, they were a team that finished in last place in each of the previous four years and wins were few and far between. But culture change started at the top with the coach/manager allowing their players to enjoy their victories to their full extent with a fun post-game atmosphere. And why wouldn’t they? Winning is the single most difficult thing to do in sports, so why not throw down when you have the opportunity? Life is short. Enjoy the moments that bring you joy.
  • Josh Bellamy has really grown into a special teams ace with this team and has even provided some eye-opening catches, too. Over at the Bears’ official web site, he ranks the team’s top-10 Club Dub dancers. I’ll never be confused for a judge on Dancing With The Stars, but if you’ve got good footwork and loose hips, you’ll do fine on the dance floor. And judging by the athleticism some of these guys have, I’d say Bellamy has his finger on the pulse.
  • SB Nation’s FanPulse is an interesting concept. Here’s the gist: Fans across the NFL are surveyed with the idea of the data showing how they are feeling about their respective teams. Right now, Bears fans are the second most confident in the league. With their team boasting a 10-4 record as the NFC North champions, there is plenty to be proud about right now.
  • Anyone else feel confident about Jordan Howard moving forward? It looks like the 2016 Pro Bowl back is trending in the right direction:
  • Since Week 13, Howard is averaging 18 carries and 79 yards. Those seem like modest numbers, but that works out to 288 rushes and 1,264 yards on a per-16 game clip. If Howard is hitting his stride, then the Bears offense will be adding a new dimension just in time for a playoff run. As if Nagy’s schemes didn’t have enough going on already.
  • I can’t get enough Devin Hester highlights:
  • Who said Fangio was joking?
  • And now I’m dreaming of a BN/BN Bears crossover episode:
  • written by

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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