Because of the multitude of great Mexican food options in Chicago, I don’t eat Chipotle often. But every once in a while I get a taste specifically for Chipotle. It happened last night and it was delightful. Use this as a reminder to treat yourself to something nice whenever you can.
If you say it out loud, it’ll sound like it was an Ernie Banks spring training catchphrase from the 60s. Nevertheless, I’m going to type it (and say it out loud while I do so): The Chicago Bears will be must-see TV in 2023. Don’t want to take my word for it? Fine. Kay Adams speaking about the Bears-Chargers Week 8 matchup on Sunday Night Football captures the spirit of the thing:
“You cannot deny that they are two of the most exciting quarterbacks to watch in the entire league. And I think they are going to light things up in primetime. I think this is a highlight factory waiting to happen. When they make those lists at the end of the year, like the 10 best plays, I wouldn’t be surprised if multiple plays come from this very game with Justin Fields and Justin Herbert.” Nailed it.
Kay brings up another important point later in highlighting that this game is a show of faith in these two teams from the league, its TV folks, and schedule-makers. To have Bears-Chargers in primetime feels like a vote of confidence in these teams being entertaining and relevant going into November. That isn’t a sign of faith the league was showing the Bears last year. Because even though Chicago’s football team had a bunch of primetime games, it was a front-loaded schedule. And while I dig a noon start on a Sunday, I’m not opposed to scheduling my entire day around a primetime Bears game.
The Bears show up twice in Jordan Schultz’s list of top-5 games in 2023:
Let’s give the schedule-makers credit for piecing this together:
The @NFL schedule is out! Amazingly, there are approximately 1 billion possible schedule combinations for every team. In the past, the process was done by hand on a cork board in a conference room. Now, it’s powered by @awscloud. See how we helped the NFL sort through more than 1… pic.twitter.com/uYes29VSne— Adam Selipsky (@aselipsky) May 12, 2023
I’m still miffed by the back-to-back scheduling of my top two destination trips, but I’ll ease up my criticism. It’s a tough job putting these schedules together.
No, Chicago doesn’t show up on the “winners” side of the winners and losers of the NFL schedule release post by Awful Announcing’s Joe Lucia. But the Bears don’t show up as losers, either. So, for me, that counts as a win.
Lucia’s last point might be his best. It also might be his most painful to read as a fan:
LOSER: anti-technology fans and/or fans on a budget
This season, NFL games will be airing on the following platforms: ABC, CBS, Fox, ESPN, ESPN+, NBC, NFL Network, Peacock, and Prime Video. This doesn’t even take simulcasts into account, which will air on ESPN2 and Nickelodeon. If you don’t live in your team’s local market, throw in Sunday Ticket on YouTube. Even if you don’t watch every game on all of those platforms, you’re probably going to need juggle between various services and networks to watch all of your team’s games. That’s a lot of effort, especially if your team seems to be playing every other game on a different network.
Sure, the NFL is going to make a ton of money. But at what cost? I’m not predicting that these decisions will drive fans away. However, I feel as if access to the game is getting difficult and I don’t think that is good for the customer. I’ll follow this curiously wondering how this will all play out for everyone.
An important list you should be keeping tabs on as a fan:
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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NEWSLETTER
