On December 2, 1985, the Chicago Bears traveled to Miami, Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins. It might be strange how I begin a basketball article talking about a Football game that happened in 1985, but bear with me. It was week 13, and the Bears were a clear front runner for the Super Bowl. Chicago was 12-0, winning 9 of their 12 by double digits with the closest game being a 6-point difference. Needless to say, the Bears were a heavy favorite to win the game, or were they? The Miami Dolphins were a respectable 8-4. They also had the legendary Dan Marino at the quarterback position. Still, no one thought the Dolphins had a chance.
The Bears in 1985 have been widely regarded as one of the greatest football teams ever assembled. They had everything. The defense was loaded with future Hall of Famers. Lead by Mike Singletary, the Bears defense did not give up a single touchdown in the playoffs until the Super Bowl. Chicago had Dan Hampton, Steve McMichael, William “Refrigerator” Perry, Wilber Marshall, Otis Wilson… I could go on forever.
The ‘85 Bears offense was a Who’s Who of ProBowlers. Complete with Walter Payton, the Bears seemed unstoppable. Even though Chicago was missing their starting quarterback, Jim McMahon, the Bears took the field brimming with confidence.
The Dolphins however, defeated the Bears 24-38. Miami completely shocked not only Chicago, but the NFL. Steve Fuller (the Bears backup quarterback) had a respectable game. Completing 11 for 21 while throwing for 169 yards. Jim McMahon had a cameo in the game passing for 42 yards, but it was not enough. The Bears slipped to 12-1. A strange thing happened though.The Bears won out the rest of the season, winning all three games handily. Maybe the Bears needed a wake up call.
On December 18, the Laurel Knighthawks lost to PCA. However, I think that this might have been a good thing for the Knighthawks. Maybe they needed a wake up call.
The game was probably the worst performance of the season for the Knighthawks. They didn’t pass effectively, therefore they didn’t play good team ball. This type of play resulted in Laurel struggling to break the press. The Knighthawks struggled to stop PCA from shooting the three. But the biggest problem of all was Laurel’s execution of the half court offense. The offense sputtered. The Knighthawks highest scoring player, Kai Welch, scored just 13 points.
So you might think that I am crazy for thinking that the Knighthawks are going to bounce back. Well, my evidence for thinking is valid because of this group’s recent history. Let’s look at last season, Laurel lost to PCA twice, and Jackson twice. Come tournament time though, the Knighthawks were the only team to win out. This year at Jackson, Laurel never possessed the lead all night, until the fourth quarter with one second left. I know that I am biased because I play on the Laurel Knighthawks. The way I see it though, is that who knows more about how a team will rebound than a person that’s in the locker room ever night. I have seen these guys come back from seemingly insurmountable deficit to win championships and big regular season games. It will be interesting to see how Laurel bounces back.
