The 2019/2020 season is shaping up to be an interesting one for the NFC North. Last year, out of nowhere, the Bears won the North and Khalil Mack had a dominant season of ripping the ball out of the arms of opposing offensive players every week. The previous season the Vikings dominated and one year earlier the Packers won the division. Interestingly, the early prognosticators are picking either the Packers or Vikings, not the incumbent Bears, to win the North. Here is my biased (Skol!) prediction not only for each team in the NFC North, but for the psychological make up of their fans.
Bears – Even with the 6 Championships Da Bulls won, Chicago is a football town. The old SNL skits on Da Bears fans is real, every year they think the team is way better than it actually is. Ditka won one championship to Phil Jackson’s six, yet Ditka is treated as a god and was actually recruited to run for governor of Illinois while Jackson is completely ignored. It is a good thing for Ditka he didn’t become Governor as the majority of Illinois ex-Governors are in prison including the dimwitted Rod Blagojevich who said of selling Obama’s vacant senate seat “I’ve got this thing and it’s f—— golden” and “I’m just not giving it up for … nothing”. After the surprising success last season, the blindingly optimistic Bear fans must be thinking Superbowl this year. So, in 2019 the table is set for a wildly disappointing season. The defense will be good again, but the offense will rely upon shaky QB Mitch Trubisky and the Bears have a very tough schedule. The NFL is not the NBA and there is parity, the good teams one season often don’t back it up and the Bears have the Packers and Vikings ready to knock them out. Biased prediction – the Bears will suck, and their fans will get depressed. Da Bulls will also suck so Chicago fans will need to wait for baseball season to fully heal.
Packers – While the Bears have a strong team and questionable QB, the Packers have a bonafide star at QB and a questionable team. They have not won the North for 2 years. Any injury to Aaron Rodgers and it is curtains again for Green Bay. Psychologically for Packers fans winning is literally “life and death”, as there ain’t much more to life in Green Bay other than the Packers. Supposedly the Packers had a good draft, but their new coach’s name is LaFleur, which means flower in French and does not instill any toughness (not quite as bad as when the Bears had Lovie!). Biased Prediction – Packers suck this year and it is 12 months of mourning in northern Wisconsin.
Lions – Many people forget the Lions are in the NFL and not on the Junior Varsity, but it is a fact they are a real NFL team. I feel pity for Lions fans over the last 5 decades. Pain. Unbiased prediction – More Pain.
Vikings – Psychologically, Vikings fans are some of the most fatalistic fans in all of sport. Losing 4 Super Bowls and then losing 4 more NFC Championship games, most of which on flukey plays, has made Viking fans brittle. Even when the Vikings are kicking butt, fans expect the team to implode at the most crucial moment possible, and the team always delivers by imploding. The Vikings this season are similar to the Bears with strong defense and reliance on a questionable QB, Kirk Cousins, to lead the offense. Cousins is a great QB, until he actually gets into a game that matters. Important games are his kryptonite. Prediction – Vikings will steamroll in the regular season and get their fans hopes up. Then in the playoffs, they will be in a crucial game with the lead in the fourth quarter, and find a new and unique way to lose the lead and the game. More pain. Amplified and Real Pain.
2019 / 2020 NFC North Final Prediction
Bears – Disappointment and Pain
Packers – Depression and Pain
Lions – Pain. Everlasting and Infinite Pain
Vikings – Euphoria then Pain
– Darren McKellin is a long term resident of Japan who has lived 4 years in Wisconsin, 7 years in Minnesota, 16 years in Chicago and keeps his US abode in the state of Michigan.
Disclaimer – This article is for amusement purposes only. The author understands very little about sport and even less about the NFL. We hope all take the content in jest, especially Bears fans.
