19 years ago, right now, Devin Hester made one of the most ridiculous plays we’ve ever seen from a Chicago Bear, running the kickoff of Super Bowl LXI for a touchdown.
For all 14 seconds, there wasn’t a Bears fan in the entire country who wasn’t jumping for joy.
Advertisement
Then after that, the game went straight to Prince’s halftime show and just… ended. Out of nowhere. I’m not sure what happened. The final score of the game says the Indianaopolis Colts won 29-17, but at this point, the AI can make you believe anything.
Well, anyway, at the time, I’d say that was definitely one of the most legendary moments in Super Bowl history, and a defining play in the returning Hall of Fame man’s career. And, to this point, it’s the last memorable play the Bears have had in the big game.
For the first time since 2010, the last time the Bears won a playoff game, they gave us hope that they could actually create new Super Bowl memories. (Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that Hester came back to visit the Bears at training camp this year. Maybe she should do it every year from now on.)
Advertisement
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way, as the Bears fell to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round. And of course, there’s no guarantee they’ll ever be this close again.
At least I know that’s what we’re supposed to tell ourselves. Because I don’t believe it in the slightest.
As crazy as it may seem, the Bears feel even more aligned for sustained success than they did in 2006. Back then, they had an incredible defense, a strong running game, solid pass catchers, and a dominant special teams unit led by Hester and Robbie Gould. The problem: They didn’t have a reliable quarterback, which doomed them the following year and ultimately led to them trading for Jay Cutler.
Unfortunately, the Bears ran into a similar problem with Cutler under center: while better than Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton, he failed in a very winnable NFC Championship game against Green Bay.
Advertisement
This year’s team finally exorcised the demons of that season, and they did it because they have the right combination of head coach and quarterback at the wheel: Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams.
After seeing what Williams accomplished this year when the lights were brighter, seemingly every time he was tested in the clutch, how can you not be optimistic about the guy? I mean, we’re STILL talking about what he did to get that Rams game into the playoffs, and they didn’t even win the game. The world would not be prepared for what he would do in a Super Bowl.
And given what we saw of each other from the manic Johnson and the fiery Williams, it’s hard not to believe that Hester’s heroics won’t be the last Super Bowl memories we’ll see. In fact, how about next year? It would be fun.