Say it ain't Rideau!
Here it is, Chili Fans, the opening of the 2009 Bears season! And while last year was deemed by some as a "pleasant surprise", here at Chicago Football Chili we expect our Bears to win all of the time!
So it is with great pleasure that we start the season by playing our noble (but ultimately doomed) foes from the nearly-Great White North. There's nothing quite like the smell of smoked cheese curds, and we are but a week away from that sweet sensation.
Lots of excitement around Chili Camp about the 2009 quarterbacks. Not that we weren't enthralled with Rex Grossman and Kyle "the next John Elway" Orton, but we really like the new face of the franchise. Well, maybe not "like". We find Jay Cutler not so pleasant as a personality just yet. But hey, we just met him. He flings a few 300-yarders and we'll update him to "quite engaging". And the backup this year is Caleb Hanie, which, for those of you who kept up with the site last year will know, is something I'm happy about. Yeah, the man-crush continues, though it is starting to be tempered with a little bit of skepticism now.
The young backup didn't have quite as stellar a pre-season as last year, which has us wondering if he's just a snake oil salesman like that other Mr. Haney we know (you might be too young to recognize the citizens of Hooterville, and if that's the case we suggest you just Wikipedia Mr. Haney for your tutorial).
But the real disappointment out of training camp this year came when I saw the Associated Press note that Brandon Rideau was cut from the squad for the fourth straight season. Rideau is a joy to watch in camp, year after year. And he's always great in the pre-season games as well. So yeah, I was a bit bummed.
But then...OH MY GOD! Can this be true?!!
Associated Press prints a correction...
FIRST SENTENCE: "In a Sept. 5 story about the Chicago Bears' roster moves, The Associated Press erroneously reported that receiver Brandon Rideau failed to make the season-opening roster for the fourth straight year."
This is great! Way to go Brandon! WOO-HOO!!
But wait, there's more...
SECOND SENTENCE: "This was the third straight year he did not make the roster."
Oh.
Well, then you guys just suck. What kind of heartless, soulless jerks would ever yank the collective chain like that? Harsh, people. Just harsh.
But Rideau or no Rideau, our Bears are primed and ready for the real games to start, just like we are here at Chicago Football Chili. We've got a great prime-time matchup over on the site this week. Glad to have you back.
Let the games begin!
CHILI DAN
