Thread: ESPN Top 50 Bears of All Time

Originally Posted by Dagan81

I have to say that I think that Papa Bear should have been ranked a little higher than he was. Like, at number one. Without Papa Bear, there would have been no Chicago Bears. I think the NFL Network poll put out something like that, with the top ten culminating in Halas being the greatest Bear in team history.

I think the ranking was as a player Dags

Originally Posted by Dagan81

I don't know. I think Ditka got ranked as highly as he did based mostly on his coaching exploits. Yes, he was a great tight end, the first great tight end in league history. But Ditka is more revered by Bears fans for his coaching the team to its most recent span of great teams in the 1980s.

I think the same could be true with Halas. He wasn't that great of a player, or let me rephrase it this way: he is not remember for the way he played, but rather for his being the greatest coach in the history of professional football and of being one of the most influential figures in the history of American professional sports. I think the top five should be looked at like this:

1) George Halas
2) Walter Payton
3) Dick Butkus
4) Mike Ditka
5) Gale Sayers

Yes, but, the list was written from their being a player

Why wouldn't espn be Bear fans? The Bears have one of the largest national followings and is the 2nd nfl market in size. Hell ya they're fans, and now that they Bears have a good club they are all up on it; when they sucked they railed on them...unlike other teams who they ignored.

I think it's a solid list.

I didn't see them bump anything when I was watching the next day, didn't spend a lot of time on it, why would they? Dilfer doesn't like Cutler, that means he's anti Bear? He shouldn't have liked the guys previously they all sucked; I know he kinda liked Orton as a manager, but analysts are allowed to be wrong. As for NFL live, I don't watch it, not a huge fan of ESPN (not b/c they aren't pro Chicago) it's just to hard to watch. But if I'm on nfl live, a top 10 team, possibly top 5, plastering a bottom 5, possibly worst, isn't going to be something I spend much time or, if any.

Again ESPN is a for profit network, they are going to WANT the Chicago audience, and dogging/ignoring the Bears is not a way to go about it...but they are not going to sugar coat it either, if the team is bad they are going to say it...again this is not the Cheifs who when they are bad you just ignore, it's the Bears and they will talk, no matter how quickly, about them rather then ignore them altogether.