No one respects the fact that the Bears have been disrespected.....or something like that. I admit that the "no respect" thing is a little far fetched, but for Golic to act like the Bears have no reason to feel disrespected because they have been favored in 16 out of 18 games in the point spread is ludicrous. ESPN analysts (Salisbury included) have been looking for reasons all year to find a team better than the Bears in the NFC. The fact of the matter is that the NFC wasn't that good and the Bears were the best team the whole team. I can't stand when analysts can't admit when they were wrong.

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May 1, 2007 - CSFMB Civil War
“Those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it.”

I was glad to hear them or anyone at ESPN finally realize (or admit) that the Bears feel disrespected because the national media has spent the entire season trying to find any other team to be the best in the NFC despite the fact that the Bears have had the best record in the conference from start to finish.

Greenberg going through the Giants, Saints, etc. and the grudging admission from Golic - "Yeah, I guess you could say that" was somewhat satisfying.

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My Maserati does 186.

More than 40% of the folks voting have claimed the Bears should just shut up.. in one of the most ironic polls ever.

The Bears were being discussed as the best team in the NFL through week 5. It was only after they scored ZERO offensive points against the Cardinals, then lost to the Dolphins, that there were reasonable questions about them. Bears fans need to relax, the media has had every right to question them.

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Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ~ Benjamin Franklin

I agree Scholar, but after those two games the national media did ALL they could to not say the Bears were the best team in the NFC from then on out.

When all eight of the ESPN.com experts pick the road team to win a conference championship game, when history indicates that a dome team has never won a championship outdoors, when the road team has three fewer wins than the home team, I can see why the Bears felt disrespected.

Let the record show, Gould had one field goal in the Arizona game.
Ryan is right, after the Arizona game the national media looked for any NFC team to tout other than the Bear. None of it matters to me, they can shut everyone up with a win on Sunday.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

That, they won't reason.

I don't deny the bears have flaws. But I remember when the bears almost (should have) lost to Arizona, the espn analysts jumped ship right away and annointed two teams to be better than the bears: the Giants and the Cowboys. Both teams were 3-2 at the time. Now why is it that other teams are allowed to have bad weeks, but not the Bears.

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May 1, 2007 - CSFMB Civil War
“Those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it.”

That is the question OakBrookJoe I've been trying to answer all year. Only thing I could come up with is they think the nation cares about the Cowboys and all those guys are in love with any team with the first name "New York."

except with the last name "Islanders"...

I think Golic gave the answer this morning, "The Bears aren't sexy." (Sorry Rex) They aren't an entertaining team for a non-Bears fan to watch. The offense is bland, grind it out with the occassional bomb. The defense isn't dominant they are just real good - but they generally don't generate a lot of sacks. The Bears play bend, but don't break. They keep teams out of the end zone but they don't punch you in the face.

The sexiest part of the team for national media is Hester but you can't count on him every single week to do something great. But, you could tell the excitement the analysts would have for the KICK RETURN because it was potentially the most exciting part of the game to them.

People generally care about offense so it's easier to sell Barber/E.Manning, then Romo/Owens, then Brees/Bush - rather than Grossman/Jones.

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My Maserati does 186.

First off, I think Salisbury should be stripped of all analysis related titles.

Secondly, I think the fact that the Bears were so inconsistent was fair reason to not be considered the favorite for the majority of the season. As impressive as the New Orleans victory was, it seems everyone is forgetting about the previous game with a very mediocre Seattle team where they needed overtime. It would be one thing if the Bears have played at the level of the NO game all year long, but they certainly haven't.

So, what I'm trying to say is, I agree with the poll results...just shut the hell up and play the game.

Wait, he already did that himself! Just ask his phone.

Thank goodness you specified which titles, otherwise that Grey Cup championship could have been in doubt.

Salisbury voted himself as MVP of analysts during this mornings show. I switched the station.

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SideshowBob311: "Sadly enough, I think we're the "intelligent" portion of the sports radio fanbase".
"I make fun of whoever sucks, including me"- Harry 11/30/07

There is no bigger fan of Salisbury than Salisbury. Surprisingly, this is not because of an ego problem - its just than no one else in existence likes him.

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Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ~ Benjamin Franklin