Imrem: 'What ifs' after Super Bowl season continue to nag

All these decades later, too many "what ifs" accompany the most glorious, uproarious season in Bears history.

As you might have heard, Tuesday is the 30th anniversary of the Chicago Bears' victory in Super Bowl XX.

I remember all sorts of details from that season like they happened 30 minutes ago.

No, that's not true because I can't remember what happened within the past 30 minutes.

Why did I just walk into the kitchen? Where did I leave the car keys? What did you say Panarin's first name is?

Ah, but 30 years ago is fresh on my psyche … for better and for worse.

Like most people around here, I enjoyed that team. However, maybe I'm alone in being nagged by what followed.

The better, of course, is the 46-10 smackdown the Bears applied to the Patriots for the franchise's only Super Bowl victory.

The worse is that game remains the franchise's only Super Bowl victory.

The Bears underachieved after that championship season, which was regrettable at the time but tolerated because at one time winning one time was so precious in Chicago sports.

Since, however, the Bulls and Blackhawks demonstrated how to win once and win again and win again.

Mere months after the Bears won the Super Bowl, they were back in training camp with mostly the same players but an entirely different team.

Football writers from around the country came to chronicle the further exploits of fabled characters like Iron Mike, Sweetness, the Punky QB, the Fridge, Danimal, Mongo, Samurai and the rest.

I gushed to a prominent West Coast newspaperman that it sure looks like the Bears can't help but repeat as champions.

After all, I pointed out, the Bears had a defense for the ages and were one of the NFL's youngest - if not the youngest - teams in 1985.

Heck, I boasted, the Bears might win the next two or three Super Bowls.

The veteran football analyst shook his head, snickered a little and smirked a lot as if to say, "You naive little human."

Experience told him that the competition in the NFC was too tough with the likes of the 49ers, Giants and Washington.

But he also knew that the opposition didn't pose the biggest challenge to the Bears. The Bears posed the biggest challenge to the Bears.

Wild and crazy didn't cut it in the NFL anymore, and those were some really wild and crazy guys.

Well, the Bears went on to have a few more terrific regular seasons but made a habit of losing early in the playoffs.

The "what-ifs" haunt as the Bears still wait for another Super Bowl championship.

Like, "what if" general manager Jim Finks was promoted to club president and didn't resign shortly before owner George Halas died in 1983?

"What if" Halas' grandson Mike McCaskey realized he wasn't football savvy and let a football man run the club?

"What if" head coach Mike Ditka hadn't diverted his eyes from the prize and toward building his personal brand?

"What if" quarterback Jim McMahon's body had been less fragile, McCaskey allowed Jerry Vainisi to hold things together as GM, the Bears acquired the right backup quarterback, free-agent linebacker Wilber Marshall was paid to stay here …?

What if? What if? What if?

Sad to say, I remember what the 1980s Bears didn't do as much as I remember what they did in Super Bowl XX.

Now, what if I left those keys in the car with the doors locked and the motor running?

mimrem@dailyherald.com