NEWSLETTER
The conditions were worse over at Goose Island than it was for Cody Parkey when he was kicking last week. But through rain, sleet, and snow, kickers are expected to deliver. Especially when there are prizes on the line.
There were 100 fans who tried their hand (foot?) at making a 43-yard field goal with NFL tickets on the line and no one really came all that close to reaching the happy ending of successfully splitting the uprights. What a shame. I thought the Bears would get a kicker out of this! The big winner? No, it wasn’t a brewery getting an early January PR bump. HOWEVER, Madeline Kenney of the Chicago Sun-Times reports Goose Island will donate $20,000 to the charity of Cody Parkey’s choice, which was Lurie Children’s Hospital.
So at least a dark moment in Bears history turned into something good for people in need. After the week we’ve had as fans, we needed a happy story to round things out.
As for the kicking display, well, let’s just say no NFL kickers are in danger of losing their spots to any of these contestants.
The event was off to an auspicious start:
First kicker, who got here 5 hours before the event, starts with this.. it’s going to be a long day pic.twitter.com/7tjLuSuH0u
— Madeline Kenney (@madkenney) January 12, 2019
And to think, we thought Parkey’s misfire was painful:
does this count as tipped #chicago #fgchallenge #doink pic.twitter.com/cKglRPuGOg
— Michele Steele (@ESPNMichele) January 12, 2019
The first of many L’s we hope the Packers take in 2019:
Down goes Rodgers! #fieldgoalchallenge pic.twitter.com/O5JgKKbwBI
— Ryan Smith (@RyanSmithWriter) January 12, 2019
One of the conditions of this kick should have been a miss resulting in Vic Fangio returning to the Bears:
Someone yelled “You stole Vic Fangio” 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/2i9XziDFAe
— Madeline Kenney (@madkenney) January 12, 2019
One missed field goal, one botched PAT, and whatever this was made for a tough day for Adam Vinatieri:
Tough day for Adam Vinatieri 😅 pic.twitter.com/nCudZhWpYZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 13, 2019
That’s what you get for being an Eagles fan:
An Eagles fan went to Goose Island’s Cody Parkey-inspired field goal competition and got a warm Chicago welcome. pic.twitter.com/yT9nC2sKBD
— Andy Wittry (@AndyWittry) January 12, 2019
This compilation of failure should serve as as subtle reminder that kicking should be left for the pros. Even if sometimes, the pros hit at just a 75 percent clip.
