Before I get into the negatives here, let me preface this entire article by saying, I am just as big, if not bigger, of a Chicago Bears fan as any one of you. I truly believe that the Bears fan base is one of, if not the, best fan bases of the NFL.
Now that I have gotten the niceties out of the way, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty here. When it comes to the fans of the Chicago Bears, this fan base has to be the most divided of all the NFL fan bases.
All it takes is one day on social media (Twitter or Facebook) to see just what I am talking about. You have Mitch Trubisky truthers and stans (me) and you have those who not only despise him for not living up to the second-overall pick in the 2017 draft but find him to be a complete bust.
The perfect example is what Chicago Bears fans want in the 2021 NFL Draft
Let’s be honest, this is just the main icing on the cake. As we sit here less than two weeks before the 2021 NFL Draft, I ran a poll on Twitter to see what position the fan base wants to see Ryan Pace select in the first round. I did this based on comments all throughout social media and even those from within the FanSided chat itself. No matter what scenario is played out, it seems like nearly half are not happy.
What position do you want to see the #Bears draft in the first round?
— Rob Schwarz Jr. (@ChiRuxinBGO) April 9, 2021
As you can see, most want an offensive tackle drafted in the first round, however, a close second want a quarterback and if you add in the wide receiver position, it’s nearly a 50/50 split. This is evident by literally every single mock draft we have done here at Bear Goggles On. When an offensive tackle was selected, people screamed, but they need a quarterback. When a quarterback was selected, others were going nuts saying, who is going to block for him?
The thing is, there are only a few offensive tackles worth taking in the first round. The same goes for the quarterbacks. In my opinion, only three offensive tackles are worth selecting at 20 — Penei Sewell, Rashawn Slater, and the guy I am most hopeful for, Christian Darrisaw. Teven Jenkins is worth a first-round pick, but I’d prefer him 25th or later should Ryan Pace shock everyone and trade back (more on that later).
In order to land a quarterback, the team will most likely need to move up. That’s fine as long as they don’t move up too much for certain guys. Justin Fields and Zach Wilson are worth moving into the top five, but I would not do that for Trey Lance or Mac Jones. This is why other positions are more likely to be taken in the first round, no matter what fans are going to think.
Let’s take it a step further. While providing ways for the Chicago Bears to trade up for certain players, plenty complain saying the team must trade back. However, when discussing how the team can trade back, plenty either ignored it or hated the idea. When it comes to running a football team, the Chicago Bears have made plenty of mistakes in the last few decades. This alone is likely why the fan base is so split. I didn’t even touch on the Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy debates.
All of this said, the passion and love for this team, even while they struggle, is why this fan base is one of the best in sports — even if it is one of the most divided too.