When you think Chicago Bears football, one of the first names that come to mind is Dick Butkus. The Hall-Of-Fame linebacker was as Chicago as it gets.
Born and raised in the Windy City, Butkus starred at Illinois before being drafted third overall by the Chicago Bears in 1965. It was then that he made his mark as one of the finest players in NFL history.
In his nine-year career, he was spectacular. Butkus was a two-time NFL defensive player of the year, made eight Pro Bowls, and was an all-pro selection eight times, five on the first team. He made the all-decade team for both the 60’s and the 70’s, and has been named among the NFL’s ten best players ever by numerous outlets.
Since then, he’s been a legendary figure, almost godlike in the Chicago area. When he speaks, Chicagoans listen.
Meanwhile, the Bears have been a disaster as of late. The franchise has not won a playoff game since the 2010 season, and has been mired in mediocrity for seemingly an entire generation. The team made a Super Bowl appearance in the 2006 season, but that’s their only appearance since the legendary 1985 Bears won the title.
And, Butkus has had enough. He spoke out about his frustrations with the franchise.
Dick Butkus is "disgusted" with how bad the Bears are, sees "lack of effort." https://t.co/rBlt97jb2h
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 12, 2023
Here are some of Butkus’s comments.
“There’s no reason why they should be this bad. . . . I get a little disgusted,” Butkus told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I really get hot watching them, especially with a lot of lack of effort things. I don’t get it. I really don’t.”
Butkus said he can’t put his finger on why the Bears haven’t won a playoff game since 2010, but he thinks the McCaskey family that owns the Bears is not without blame.
“Why have they been so bad?” he said. “Is it the scouting department? What’s the answer here? To tell you the truth, I don’t know. . . . Look at the teams that are winning and look at their organization. The ownership is the ones that hire. It starts from them too. They shouldn’t be void of any criticism.”
Surely, this will be big news in Chicago.