O'Donnell: Will 'The Curse of the Honey Bears' sideline Matt Nagy and karmic blue?

THE CUBS FINALLY broke "The Curse of 'The Goat.' "

The Bulls may live on into perpetuity with "The Curse of 'The Breakup.' "

And the Bears are showing no inclination to cast off "The Curse of The Honey Bears."

That's cursed.

And bad business.

Especially with the massive fanatic expectations trying to be the wind beneath the wings of Matt Nagy, Khalil Mack and crew as final preparations begin for the 2019 season.

The Honey Bears were the short-lived sideline enhancers who high-kicked from 1976 to 1986.

Their final performance came at halftime of Super Bowl XX in New Orleans, one of the greatest days in franchise history.

They closed their show in perfect sync to Prince's "Baby I'm a Star" and then it was over.

"Mike Ditka came back to where we all were sitting on the flight back to Chicago the next day and told me it was all wrong, although he used much stronger words," said Cathy Core, the "Mama Bear" and primary choreographer for the squad's full run.

"The decision had actually been made one year earlier, in 1984. But our contract had a season to go, so our finale was the last time the Bears won a Super Bowl."

The odd thing, according to Core, was that when George Halas and Jim Finks brought her in to discuss organizing a glitz-catching pep team in 1975, the Papa Bear made it clear he wanted it to be a forever thing.

"Mr. Halas specifically said that he wanted 'dancing girls' - and that's what he called them, 'dancing girls' - forever," Core recalled.

"You've got to remember, the Bears were just starting to come out of a very bleak period. Jim Finks had been in town for only a year and the team had just gotten Walter (Payton).

"So Mr. Halas wanted something to pump up the game experience for fans and keep pace with other NFL organizations."

But Halas died in 1983.

One year later, daughter Virginia McCaskey - then 60-something - and grandson Mike McCaskey arbitrarily declared that the Honey Bears were kaput.

Thirty-five years after, the void stands.

That despite the fact that only five other NFL teams - the Bills, the Browns, the Packers, the Giants and the Steelers - will enter the new campaign cheer-less.

Eight opposites - the Ravens, the Rams, the Saints (for sure), the Seahawks, the Patriots, the Titans, the Colts and the Eagles - have forged even deeper into new-mill mores, adding males to the mix.

Forgetting about any imaging concerns, the anti-Papa stand of Mrs. McCaskey and associates simply isn't good for the bottom line.

From the insightful perch of fabled former team exec Ken Valdiserri:

"It simply accentuates why the Bears, in the third-largest market, are valued at an NFL-modest $2.9 billion, according to recent Forbes (magazine) team valuations.

"That's the same value as the Bulls.

"The Honey Bears were a valuable asset and today and in years gone by would be minimally a six figure-plus 'marketing asset' and a 'community extension' enabling them to have more of a market presence while reaching all target demographics and metrics in nontraditional efforts."

But don't expect to scour major sales pipelines for orange-and-blue pep-specific merchandise anytime soon.

Concluded Core - who went on to help fuel all six Michael Jordan championships as founder of the Luv-a-Bulls and was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2014: "If Mrs. McCaskey had such strong opinions back in 1984, I don't really see things changing in 2019. The uniforms are more revealing, the music is more eclectic and the dancing is more provocative."

And the Bears karma could somehow remain as cursed as ever.

STREET-BEATIN': Media certainly can't say that Tarik Cohen doesn't know how to make an entrance. In a review of the Polaris Slingshot - the autocycle Cohen flew into Bears camp on Thursday - Car and Driver magazine reported: "The Midwest tripod gets more stares than Lady Gaga in her meat dress." … Also on the run 'n roll beat, Le'Veon Bell, the ultra-independent fresh New York Jet, told reporters all answers to his yearlong holdout can be found in his online single "Target." (So, YouTube, jam and transcribe.). … Three three-homer games in consecutive MLB nights - capped by Nelson Cruz's bye-bye tri vs. the White Sox Thursday night - begs the Manfred Meatball Q.: How soon until the sport sees someone hit five home runs in a game? (Joe Adcock, if he were still alive, would be among the favorites to do it.). … Dave Leitao and DePaul men's basketball isn't the only regional program fritzing the NCAA's third rail. A more enchanted outfit has been firewalling for months. … With a parade of fill-ins softer than Baby Archie's royal bottom, vacationing Mike Mulligan was sorely missed on WSCR-AM (670)'s morning redundancy this week. Buttoned-down David Haugh continues to move closer to becoming the new Corey McPherrin. ... Megan Rapinoe's book deal with Penguin Press came as no surprise. Soccer's answer to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is expected to underscore her support of inclusive rights, equal pay and selective "emergency my way" of extra items in express checkout lines (regardless of gender). … Northwest suburban-based Frank Calabrese has a promising 2-year-old named Big Dreaming - the last foal of the late, great Dreaming of Anna - who won't be making his career bow on the plastic of Arlington Park. Track management's bizarre move to empty the display case honoring Calabrese's many AP championships is making the decision to stay away that much easier. … The sad and premature passing of Steve Huang - a sports veteran of both The Tribune and The Sun-Times - is a reminder that no newspaper writer dare think of trying to soar without great editors. And Huang, 51, was an All-Pro. … And candid QB Baker Mayfield - perhaps the greatest energizer to brave Cleveland since shock theater pioneer Ghoulardi - on his No. 1 lesson from college: "Don't run from the cops."

• Jim O'Donnell's Sports & Media column appears Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com.