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Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football
Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football | Rich Cohen
9 posts | 3 read | 3 to read
The gripping account of a once-in-a-lifetime football team and their lone championship season For Rich Cohen and millions of other fans, the 1985 Chicago Bears were more than a football team: they were the greatest football team evera gang of colorful nuts, dancing and pounding their way to victory. They won a Super Bowl and saved a city. It was not just that the Monsters of the Midway won, but how they did it. On offense, there was high-stepping running back Walter Payton and Punky QB Jim McMahon, who had a knack for pissing off Coach Mike Ditka as he made his way to the end zone. On defense, there was the 46: a revolutionary, quarterback-concussing scheme cooked up by Buddy Ryan and ruthlessly implemented by Hall of Famers such as Dan "Danimal" Hampton and "Samurai" Mike Singletary. On the sidelines, in the locker rooms, and in bars, there was the never-ending soap opera: the coach and the quarterback bickering on TV, Ditka and Ryan nearly coming to blows in the Orange Bowl, the players recording the "Super Bowl Shuffle" video the morning after the season's only loss. Cohen tracked down the coaches and players from this iconic team and asked them everything he has always wanted to know: What's it like to win? What's it like to lose? Do you really hate the guys on the other side? Were you ever scared? What do you think as you lie broken on the field? How do you go on after you have lived your dream but life has not ended? The result is Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football, a portrait not merely of a team but of a city and a game: its history, its future, its fallen men, its immortal heroes. But mostly it's about being a fanabout loving too much. This is a book about America at its most nonsensical, delirious, and joyful.
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LiterRohde
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#ColorMePretty | 29: #ComplementaryColors

📷: Google Books

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DGRachel
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Still #TBR, but one of the few books I own that are #bookswithsports.

#booksacrossoceans

57 likes2 stack adds
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DGRachel
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I've been a Bears fan since I was 10. The SuperBowl Championship team was #funfunfun to watch. My parents taught me that being a fair-weather fan was bad, so I've stood by Da Bears ever since, even though they've been awful for most of the last 30 + years. 😭😭😭

#rockinMay

Cinfhen Awww, I love a girl who's tried and true 💜👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 7y
DGRachel @Cinfhen I just wish they wouldn't make it so hard! 😂😂😂😳😭😭😭 7y
hlgreenfield I don't really follow that sport at all, but since I'm a cubs fan I low-key root for the bears even though I know zero about it! 7y
See All 8 Comments
Kristy_K I've been thinking about reading this. Is it good? 7y
DGRachel @Kristy_K I haven't read it yet. I picked it up for the Book Riot Read Harder challenge sports book category, so I'll get to it sometime this year. 7y
Zelma Another Bears fan here! 👋 it has been rather painful, especially lately. Maybe there's hope for some improvement this year? 😬 7y
stacybmartin I read this one - it's a little slow in the beginning but definitely picks up! 💙 7y
DGRachel @stacybmartin Good to know, thanks! 7y
55 likes8 comments
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CareBear
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"Put down your book and pet me, Mom." #catoflitsy #readathon

JDMagnus Tell her you can't because Readathon is a matter of life and death 😆 7y
TheLibrarian My cat does the same thing! 7y
55 likes2 comments
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CareBear
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Oh my, it's been a long week! Finally home from work and switching between these two books. Struggling with My Brilliant Friend.

rachelm It's rough for the first half. Best of luck with it! Just finished the last one 7y
45 likes1 comment
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stacybmartin
Mehso-so

Well, it's a sports memoir. So, got slightly boring in the long-winded NFL history. The saddest part is the damage that has been inflicted on players' brains and bodies. CTE is no joke.

49 likes1 stack add
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stacybmartin
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Today's #labsoundtrack - my dad is a HUGE Bears fan so I figured I'd get some background on the Super Bowl Shuffle team.

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Lauren_reading
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Ditka and Payton - two of the greats. And only 1 week until football season!!! Monsters was a great book, I love to watch football, not necessarily read about it, but this was good! #augustofpages #bookphotochallenge #booksandsports

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Lauren_reading

Ditka and Payton - two of the greats. And only 1 week until football season!!! Monsters was a great book, I love to watch football, not necessarily read about it, but this was good! #augustofpages #photobookchallenge #booksandsports