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cbaker8887's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book written about the 1985 Chicago Bears from a fan’s perspective. The fans of the Chicago Bears in their 40s today have a dearth of positive experiences to hang their hat on. They have mostly been in the cold purgatory of failure and embarrassment. Thus the 1985 Chicago Bears is not only deeply nostalgic for their faithful fans, but the only positive highlight of the Super Bowl era Bears.
I found the fan’s perspective and the author relaying his chance to actually attend the Super Bowl and his reminisces about being a hard luck Bear’s fan a very engaging aspect of the book. He does a great job of showing what it was like to be a young “adult” in 1985 and experience the excitement of being able to see his favorite team in the Super Bowl. At the time this eager young cub thinks every football season will be just like “this one” with the Bears winning and competing for championships. Then years later that bitter realization that it was all just a brief fling followed by signs of promise but failure, then slippage into perpetual hibernation.
Cohen does a fantastic job of telling the story of the 1985 Bears from the player’s perspectives too. The hatred between Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan, the 46 defense and its goal of taking out the “head” or quarterback, the defiant Jim McMahon, and the rotund and entertaining William “The Refrigerator Perry, and let’s not forget that dreadful Super Bowl shuffle. Then on a sadder note, Walter Payton’s anger over not scoring a touchdown in the Super Bowl is addressed too.
And finally the book does a fine job of getting the reminences of many of the Bears’ players years removed from their glory season. From quarterback Jim McMahon, Mike Ditka, Gary Fencik, and Steve McMichael, among others, we understand how deeply important that one glorious season was to their legacy. And then to be acknowledged as the greatest defense of all-time just put icing on the cake.
While I am not a Chicago Bears fan I did enjoy the book. It is a must read for Bears fans and a fun read for football fans, especially those who remember Super Bowl XX.
I found the fan’s perspective and the author relaying his chance to actually attend the Super Bowl and his reminisces about being a hard luck Bear’s fan a very engaging aspect of the book. He does a great job of showing what it was like to be a young “adult” in 1985 and experience the excitement of being able to see his favorite team in the Super Bowl. At the time this eager young cub thinks every football season will be just like “this one” with the Bears winning and competing for championships. Then years later that bitter realization that it was all just a brief fling followed by signs of promise but failure, then slippage into perpetual hibernation.
Cohen does a fantastic job of telling the story of the 1985 Bears from the player’s perspectives too. The hatred between Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan, the 46 defense and its goal of taking out the “head” or quarterback, the defiant Jim McMahon, and the rotund and entertaining William “The Refrigerator Perry, and let’s not forget that dreadful Super Bowl shuffle. Then on a sadder note, Walter Payton’s anger over not scoring a touchdown in the Super Bowl is addressed too.
And finally the book does a fine job of getting the reminences of many of the Bears’ players years removed from their glory season. From quarterback Jim McMahon, Mike Ditka, Gary Fencik, and Steve McMichael, among others, we understand how deeply important that one glorious season was to their legacy. And then to be acknowledged as the greatest defense of all-time just put icing on the cake.
While I am not a Chicago Bears fan I did enjoy the book. It is a must read for Bears fans and a fun read for football fans, especially those who remember Super Bowl XX.
epl's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting book about the 1985 bears that covers a lot of NFL and bears history to put the rabid fandom around the team in context. Draws on a lot of other sources but also mixes in some original interviews/reporting.
dsheffield206's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.75
makraemer's review against another edition
4.0
Great book if you are a fan of sports, football, Chicago, or the Bears. Lot's of football history, plus many insights into the characters that made up the 1985 Chicago Bears Superbowl team and some of the players they played against.
jpbooks13's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.5
It’s fun and Informative, and is equally a history of both the NFL and the bears, not just 1985. It reads too much at times though like hagiography. Go in knowing it’s not objective and you’ll enjoy it.
blevins's review against another edition
4.0
This one took me back to 1985 when I fell in love with the motley group of personalities that made up the Chicago Bears. Although a die hard Pittsburgh Steeler fan, I always loved watching running back Walter Payton and watched a lot of Bears games just to see Sweetness. Sadly Payton played on a bunch of crappy teams before the tail end of his career. So, when the Bears became unearthly good in '85, I was already watching them play along w/ the Black n Gold obviously. There were so many personalities on the team--McMahan, The Fridge, Singletary, Hampton, McMichael, Ditka, Ryan and on and on. One of my favorites was Gary Fencik--a guy who would lay you out if you crossed the field in such a manner that would result in suspension today...but don't get me started on that, ha. What made this so good was not only the highly readable way that Rich Cohen writes history, but I loved the fact that he injected his own personal, intimate obsession with the team, the city and all the elements from his life. The book has scenes where there is actual comedy as a result. I was not expecting that. Terrific sports writing and memoir seen through the prism of fandom.