I’m writing this in a terminal at Chicago O’Hare International Airport where Cubs gear is plentiful, White Sox gear less so, and Bears gear is nigh impossible to find. Despite the NFL’s understandable lack of representation in the middle of July, I’m reminded of a trip to Chicago I once did not take to see the 49ers.
This trip wasn’t sports-related. My friend got married so the weekend-long jaunt to the Windy City didn’t require a game to attend. In fact, Sunday’s Cubs game was rained out even if that was the purpose of coming.
The 49ers game I’m reminded of came all the way back in early December of the dismal 2015 season.
My mid-20s were when I got my first “real” job and lived by myself with the means to take a gander at the 49ers’ schedule and decide. I was going to make a road trip. Seeing a game in the bitter Chicago cold was something I’d always wanted to do, so this was as good a time as any to go.
I figured out before the season what days I’d fly in and out, where I’d stay, and which friends in Chicago I could see. The purchases could all wait though. Procrastination is sort of my thing (hence why I’m writing this on my way out of the city).
The Tomsula-era in 2015 began with a bang. A resounding 20-3 thumping of the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. Then the losses started stacking up and by the time it came for me to begin planning my trip in earnest, the 49ers were sitting at 2-6 and rumors were swirling that Blaine Gabbert was going to start in Week 9 against the Falcons.
That was the end of my dream of going to Chicago because your boy wasn’t going to go across the country to watch that guy orchestrate an abysmal, boring offense. Even a win over the Falcons in his debut didn’t change my mind.
Going into Soldier Field the 49ers were 3-8 coming off consecutive losses to the Seahawks and Cardinals. It wasn’t even cold in Chicago that day. I would’ve gone to Chicago in hopes of needing to weather impossibly cold elements. It was 50 degrees that day with a light breeze. That’s downright pleasant.
I watched from home as Gabbert connected with Torrey Smith for a 71-yard touchdown on the 49ers’ first possession in overtime. That’s all I remember of the game I was hellbent on going to for half the season.
A quick look back through the box score helps illustrate how ridiculous the contest was.
Jimmie Ward had a pick-6, the only one of his career to tie the game at 6-6 in the first quarter. Phil Dawson missed the extra point.
Matt Forte plunged in from five yards out to put the Bears up 13-6, then Shaun Draughn (!!) scored the 49ers’ second touchdown to tie it. Someone named Ka’Deem Carey scored his first-career touchdown to put the Bears ahead 20-13, and then Gabbert tied it with a 44-yard rushing touchdown in the final two minutes that I have literally zero recollection of. Even watching the highlights didn’t jog my memory.
Perhaps I would’ve remembered more of the game had I spent hundreds of dollars to fly, stay in a hotel, and watch it in person. But those aren’t the kind of memories I’m really willing to pay for.
There are a lot of things in life I regret not doing, and places and events I wish I’d attended. This one doesn’t come with any regrets though. My first trip to Chicago was to see my friend marry the love of his life. That’ll stand out far longer than a Blaine Gabbert comeback win overtime ever will.