”DA BEARS!!”
This is the prevailing hymn Sunday as players leave Soldier Field at game`s end. The league demands that these troop movements be rapid and orderly, so as to avert injury or, perish the thought, emotion. When in doubt, think dull.
But when the scene shifts away from public`s domain and goes to the tunnels beside this cement block on the lakefront, even the NFL cannot legislate against passion. A clean kill is a clean kill, and that makes for a chant.
”DA BEARS!!”
The problem for the Bears on this occasion is that it is the Washington Redskins doing the honors. They wax the home team 20-7 in no uncertain fashion to remain undefeated, so they have even more fun at the losers` expense, and after it`s too late to serve any penalties for taunting beyond the call of duty. Michael Jordan doesn`t go to Washington, but Washington shows up here for the slam dunk.
”DA BEARS!!”
Many of the Redskins chirp this little ditty as they adjourn to the locker room, the same bathhouse they know from previous celebrations. Twice during the Bears` glory seasons, the Redskins come to Chicago without much chance of derailing the Monsters of the Midway in playoff temperatures. Yet twice the Redskins prevail, the latter en route to victory in Super Bowl XXII, and Sunday, they are at it again.
”We do what it takes to win,” says Wilber Marshall. He is not a part of the choir, only a part of the equation. The Bears have pride and tradition and all that right stuff, and Marshall can speak from the heart because he did four seasons here, one of which ended in a ring ceremony at New Orleans. Marshall wouldn`t dare forget, and besides, the NFL doesn`t drop flags for fond recollections.
”I had some great times here,” says Marshall, who had a pretty good time Sunday with 10 tackles and an interception. ”I made a lot of great friends, and the fans have always been nice to me. They were nice to me today. And they`ve got a good football team over there. This wasn`t easy. But we believe in ourselves, too, which is all that really matters.”
What Marshall means to convey, without throwing any darts or humming any sarcasm, is that the Bears do not have a patent on this intangible called pride. The Redskins, too, have confidence and continuity and are there every season, perhaps even with an elevated brand of commitment, too. The Redskins are as reliable as death and taxes, which is why Chicago is a road trip now for Marshall instead of a home.
”The people, I hope they understand,” he says. ”I`ve got a family to feed. The Bears, maybe they thought I wouldn`t be able to move. But I thought I would be, and I did.”
In 1988, the Redskins hire this linebacker extraordinaire away from the Bears as a free agent. The process doesn`t constitute illegal procedure in the NFL, only unlikely procedure. But Washington`s owner, Jack Kent Cooke, doesn`t seem to care. In a league where it doesn`t necessarily pay to pay or pay to win, he pays anyway. This is an oddball approach, to be sure, and not entirely popular with lodge brothers, but 6-0 suggests Cooke can live with the problem. His coach, Joe Gibbs, might be the best at what he does, and he is compensated accordingly. Everywhere else in professional sports, almost all the employees make more than the boss, but not in Washington. Assistants rarely bolt, for similar reasons, and when Cooke sees a Matt Millen out there, Cooke takes a step forward instead of a step sideways. The Redskins don`t rebuild as well as they regenerate.
”When the guy on top cares, it shows,” says linebacker Millen. ”I`ve been three places in this league-the Raiders under Al Davis, the 49ers under Ed DeBartolo, and now here with Jack Kent Cooke. They all want to win the Super Bowl every year, even if it doesn`t mean making that much more of a profit.”
Marshall is not anxious to compare organizations. He notes that the Bears prefer to grow from within. He also notes that the Bears reward Neal Anderson with mega-dollars now because the Bears realize Anderson can move elsewhere in the industry. You make your choice, and Marshall obviously is happy with his. ”Whenever we have a shutout,” says Larry Peccatiello, in his 11th season as the Redskins` defensive coordinator, ”Wilber buys everybody lunch. Of course, he can afford to.”
Marshall`s contract, however, contains no clause preventing him from hugging Mike Singletary and Walter Payton after Sunday`s no-contest. Bonds last longer than stocks, and let some referee with a hanky and a whistle try to find a rule against that.
