The Chicago Bears had everything rolling Sunday afternoon. Justin Fields was playing like a franchise quarterback. The Denver Broncos had no legitimate answers that didn’t amount to “we hope the other team makes a mistake and steps on a rake.” With just under 20 minutes to go, with a 28-7 lead, it looked like Chicago would finally capture its first win of the 2023 season. Huzzah! Onward!
Then, an inexplicable fourth-down/offsides decision by head coach Matt Eberflus ruined everything. And the Bears were staring down the barrel of a disastrous 0-4 start and a likely hot seat for everyone involved in this ongoing mess.
One of those people is general manager Ryan Poles. The CBS cameras captured the executive’s jubilation after Fields’ fourth touchdown pass, and the Bears had constructed their seemingly insurmountable lead. Below, please note the surrounding fans applauding Poles and celebrating with him. They also captured his despondency, his “hello, darkness, my old friend” reaction after the Bears got stopped on fourth-and-short in the closing moments. Also below, please note how stoic the fans are after it’s clear the Bears are on the verge of collapse.
Twitter user @_MarcusD3_ brilliantly captured the contrast between Poles and these fans’ emotions with a classic “a few moments later” SpongeBob before-and-after video. It tells you everything you need to know:
Ryan Poles in the skybox a few moments later.pic.twitter.com/b9AHedlpgU
— ✶Ⓜ️𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕤 ▶️ ✶ (@_MarcusD3_) October 2, 2023
If there is one sequence that sums up the mess of the 2023 Bears to perfection, it’s this spliced clip. It is a general manager finally seeing glimpses of the team he thought he built. It is a man building up hope again after a month of drama at the team facility. It is then a man who quickly realizes that his team is still mired in the abyss and that the microscope of criticism will only zoom in further. And it is fans getting excited about potential before crashing back to reality.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2023 Chicago Bears in less than 10 seconds.
This is how Twitter reacted
It’s getting to the point that it’s more embarrassing to be a Bears fan than it EVER was to be a Cubs fan when they were losing 90+ games a year. They’ve become the laughingstock of the NFL. https://t.co/AXOcuGIbfK
— Joel Hemingway 𝕏 🇺🇸🍊 (@JoelTHemingway) October 2, 2023
Poles was every Bears fan today https://t.co/LX4AlWKwbZ
— Bear Dahn (@DahB3ARS) October 2, 2023
— Zach (@Zsmith221) October 2, 2023
That is every Bears fan. We are the worst team in the NFL.
— Jersey City Liberal (@jc_liberal) October 2, 2023
Hes gotta go down with this ship. He may be the worst GM in the league, definitely worst bears have had.
— ryan (@ryanwanders) October 2, 2023
🤣
— Noel Del Valle (@chitowncopr64) October 2, 2023
Poles doesn’t looked to be pleased about the 4th and 1 play call. https://t.co/olxJaPspcg
— Bears Nation (@BearsNationCHI) October 1, 2023
The guy taking off his sunglasses takes this to another level https://t.co/clL7JzVbFW
— Jeff "More Like Non-Valuable Tokens" Krisko (@JeffKrisko) October 1, 2023
This could end up being an all time Chicago sports meme https://t.co/ItBG5zXe5N
— Jack Carey (@TheJackCarey) October 1, 2023
