Maybe there's hope the money-grubbing NFL after this altruistic act.
Either that or they're just plain stupid.
While the league seems to be doing everything they can to alienate fans by trying to squeeze every last cent out of their product with streaming telecasts, they just missed the very golden opportunity to maximize their exposure with two interesting Chicago Bears games.
To put it simply, they blew the wide-open dunk on the fast break. And they did it twice. They must not like the money.
Season opener is a divisional matchup against the Vikings đ´ââ ď¸đťâŹď¸ pic.twitter.com/i856Rpgfi7
â CAPTAIN CEEBEE đ´ââ ď¸đťâŹď¸ (@Bears_Hype_Man) May 14, 2025
The obvious season opener for the Bears was not Minnesota but against the Detroit Lions, whether in Detroit or in Chicago. You couldn't get greater interest in a Bears game nationally than a matchup with their coach facing his old team, especially after the bad feeling toward Johnson for leaving Dan Campbell and the Lions before they could make it to a Super Bowl.
It would have been a little like the 1987 season opener, a real classic dubbed Super Bowl XXI 1/2. Tht was the Bears-Giants battle that never occurred in the 1986 playoffs because the Bears played like garbage and lost to Washington in the playoffs. The Bears routed the Giants and Lawrence Taylor in this much-anticipated battle to open the '87 season to tremendous ratings.
The most-watched NFL game in 2024 was Giants vs. Cowboys on Thanksgiving with 38.8M viewers. Other top games included Bears vs. Lions (37.5M), Chiefs vs. Bills (31.2M), Chiefs vs. Ravens (28.0M), and Chiefs vs. Bengals (27.9M). The Cowboys had the single highest-viewed game,âŚ
â Grok (@grok) May 14, 2025
Johnson is constantly being hung in effigy in Detroit for being the traitor and now the league has a perfect season opener for prime time to feature this rivalry. Everyone would have been watching.
And what do we get?
Bears and Vikings on Monday night, Packers and Lions on Sunday afternoon at 3:25 p.m.
The NFL holds cities/states ransom to build multi-billion dollar stadiums and then takes games away from those cities to play games overseas.
â Vikeologist⢠(@Vikeologist) May 13, 2025
The NFC North openers are fine. But for the past decade Packers fans have tried sticking it to Bears fans by saying they really don't have a rivalry with Chicago anymore, it's with the Vikings.
Good then, go play the Vikings. Have fun. Let the Bears play the Lions in the opener when they have a matchup that should capture the imaginationâthe coach against his old team.
Eventually the Bears will face the Lions, but who knows what happens by the time that game is played? Both teams might have injuries and have losing streaks.
NFL really wants you to believe that they care more about reach and definitely don't want you to think they're just money-hungry psychos. The problem is that they're transparently money-hungry psychos and think people are dumb enough to believe otherwise. https://t.co/9IKRQM2gLS
â Garrett Searight (@GarrettSearight) May 13, 2025
The interest would be negligible. In fact, odds are at least one of the teams is struggling at that point and the national interest wouldn't be there. It might not even be the Bears. The Lions did have their coaching staff gutted and they could have a drop-off in effectiveness.
As for the other missed open-court dunk, it's the rematch of the Hail Mary pass. This one was set up for the Christmas Day game after the Bears and Commanders were both slated to play on Saturday, Dec. 20, the Bears against the Packers and Commanders against the Eagles.
Hail Mary rematch incoming!
The Bears will head to D.C. in Week 6 for a primetime showdown with the Commanders, per @jpfinlaynbcs. A rematch of last yearâs wild finish, where Jayden Daniels launched a game-winning Hail Mary that shook Bears fans to their core and put his name⌠pic.twitter.com/DzyrjLucdG
â IG: NFLPreme (@premefootball) May 14, 2025
Tyrique Stevenson's bone-headed play, the ridiculous way Matt Eberflus' defense handed the game-ending situation against the Commanders, might be the most recognizable play from the 2024 NFL season. It's definitely not the defining play but easily is recognized as "The Hail Mary."
A rematch is a natural for Christmas with the whole country watching.
After the Hail Mary last year, Commanders vs Bears will get primetime treatment this year. Sources tell me Chicago @ Washington on Monday Night Football Week 6. pic.twitter.com/dpOxWEWtPY
â JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) May 14, 2025
Instead, JP Finlay of NBC in Washington reported it's a prime-time game for Week 6 but on Monday Night Football just like the Bears opener with Minnesota.
Maybe they're trying to breathe new life into MNF because viewership last year took a 14% drop in 2024 from the 2023 season.
The NFL seems to go out of its way to stumble into mistakes and it's little wonder their ratings are dropping when they give away the gimmees afforded them by Bears-Lions for the opener and Bears-Commanders wrapped up in a Christmas package.
Didnât expect this. That matchupâs getting great ratings regardless.
Bears or Lions, even the Raiders wouldâve been an interesting opener, and those teams wouldâve brought big #âs too. https://t.co/L7JV15zIhk
â Rob FortĂŠ (@RobertEForte) May 12, 2025
X: BearsOnSI