Ok. This is only about football so maybe "terrified" is too harsh of a word. But considering how much I have emotionally invested in this Chicago Bears' season, it might be accurate in this case.
This isn't about the terrible game on Sunday. Even before that game ended, I looked at it as a freakish outlier. It was pouring rain the entire game. There were literally puddles on the field and the ball was as slippery as a greased pigskin. Not for one second did I think that the team that had scored 59 points one week earlier had suddenly forgotten how to play football. I mean even the Vikings only managed to score 9 points against what the Bears generously refer to as a "defense". The conditions were horrible and so were both offenses. Even with all of these problems, if the Bears had managed to hold onto the ball at the two yard line instead of fumbling on first and goal, they would have won this slop fest. Or if Quarterback Caleb Williams had not been shot by a sniper inside the five yard line as he was rumbling into the end-zone, the Bears also would have won. I am not throwing away all of my hopes for an exciting season based on one Sunday... but there was one thing that made me feel like I would never feel joy again.
That Caleb Williams injury. Late in the fourth quarter Williams rumbled toward the end-zone. As he turned the corner, he was shot by a sniper... or at least that is what it looked like. As soon as he hit the turf, I (and literally everyone else in Chicago) screamed, "Oh Shit! He just tore his Achilles!" In case you don't know, that is the injury that automatically means you will miss the next year of your sport. It is a season wrecker. For some, it is a career wrecker.
After injuring his leg, Williams was helped off the field. He could not put any pressure on his right leg. After a few minutes in the blue tent, the Bears put Williams on a cart and drove him to the locker room. As Williams rode in the back of the cart, he removed a towel that was covering his face. He had obviously been crying.
This is where sports fans and writers will take a fork in the road. Some will call Williams a pussy for crying. That is the wrong fork. I will tell you that he was crying not because of pain but because of the realization that he would not be able to win another football game for a year. I want my sports leader to have that kind of passion. It is the same insanity that. lead Michael Jordan to be the best basketball player ever. The idea of having the sport taken away form you is so powerful that you are willing to cry in front of millions. That's not weakness. that's not being a pussy. That is caring. That is drive.
As a Bears fan, I had to suffer through Smokin' Jay Cutler. The only way he would cry is if he missed a paycheck. that guy did not give two shits about winning. I am so happy that my team is now lead by a guy he is crazy about competing and winning. Its a nice change.
The criticism of Williams has gotten worse since Sunday. Yesterday it was revealed that Williams might actually not missing any time. It was "only" a pulled hamstring, not an Achilles tear. Instead of people celebrating that the season may not be lost, idiots are calling Williams soft for crying. The dud though his year was over. he desperately wants to win the Super Bowl. He though that was taken away. I'm glad he cried. More importantly I'm glad he isn't done for the year.
People who have not played a sport drive me crazy when they act like they know how a professional athlete feels. Pulling your hamstring hurts like crazy. it causes your body to shut down to protect itself. God forbid Williams interpret that as a threat to his and his teammates' season. I haven't played either. that's why I wait to hear from people who have or the player themselves before I decide how they should feel. Actually no I don't. I never decide how other people should feel. I'm not them and they aren't me. We all have different experiences. People need to just calm the fuck down and stop assuming everyone should react the way they'd like them to.
Williams will hopefully be playing soon. That's all I care about.
Oh and for anyone calling Williams soft, he hasn't missed an NFL game in two years. In one of those years his line and coordinator were so bad he was sacked 68 times. 68 times and he got back up 69 times. So please. Shut the fuck up about him being soft. You sound stupid.
