Bears underdogs, even in 'Madden' world
Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith on Wednesday wondered out loud why his team is once again considered underdogs versus Green Bay. It's a situation the Bears have found themselves constantly this season.
Well, add another situation to the list. ESPN simulated Sunday's NFC Championship on “Madden 11,” and even in the video game world the Bears are considered underdogs.
The simulation shows the Packers escaping with a 24-17 victory over the Bears. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers tosses three TDs and passes for 313 yards. Jay Cutler threw one TD and one interception with 221 yards in the air, while Matt Forte ran for 96 yards and a score with a 5.3 yards per carry average. In the AFC championship, the game has Pittsburgh over the Jets 21-19. A mustard and cheese Super Bowl? My stomach's churning.
If it's any consolation for Bears fans, the Madden simulations were 50 percent accurate for the last round of playoffs.
The world of fake football doesn't even favor the Bears. But it's only fake football and it's no time to go statgeek on fans when there's totally tangible variables like “Bears weather” to consider. We're sure Lovie will unveil this on Friday as bulletin board material to the team.
The last Bears-Packers playoff game was in 1941. On Sunday, at 69 years and 40 days, that's the longest period in days in NFL history that two teams have faced each other in the postseason.
Courtesy of the Historical Text Archive, we've got some stats from back then.
America was going through World War II in 1941 when the hourly minimum wage was 30 cents per hour. A quart of milk costs 14 cents, while a loaf of bread cost 8 cents. A gallon of gas cost 12 cents.
Now consider StubHub lists tickets for Sunday's game between $70 and $7,000. Football helmets aren't the only thing that's changed since then.