Growing up a Chicago Bears fan, tight end Cole Kmet certainly knows the pain and disappointment that has come with this franchise for the last few decades.
Their last shining moment was an impressive 2006 season that culminated with a Super Bowl appearance — their first since the legendary 1985 season — but it ultimately ended in disappointment. The Bears lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 followed by — what else — a disappointing offensive showing.
While Kmet was just eight years old at the time, he remembers his reaction to the Super Bowl loss. And it might’ve been similar to that of many Bears fans — he cried.
Cole Kmet told @JeffJoniak that He cried when the Bears lost in the Super Bowl in 2006.
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) May 14, 2020
It’s been 13 years since that Super Bowl appearance, and Chicago has made the playoffs just twice since. More frustration for a franchise that has 100 years of history — both good and bad.
As someone that never got to see the 1985 Bears win a Super Bowl, I can’t help but wonder if that 2006 team was as close as I’ll get to seeing them win it all. For Kmet, he has a chance to do something about it — to contribute to this offense in a way that they were severely lacking last season.
The truth is, you don’t know if you’ll ever make it back to that championship stage. The 2007 Bears certainly didn’t achieve the same heights that the 2006 squad did, due to poor quarterback play they couldn’t overcome. The 2009 Bears could say the same following a magical season in 2018, where they fell a missed field goal short of advancing in what could’ve been a special postseason run.
It’s something that the 2020 Bears are looking to rewrite the narrative on — that the chance for achieving greatness does come again. And Kmet will certainly have a say, as the life-long Bears fan gets to play tight end for his hometown Bears. Hopefully the next time he’s crying at a Super Bowl, it’ll be because the Bears won a Super Bowl. Hey, a Bears fan can dream, right?
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