My dad, the Chicago Bears and me

Watching the Chicago Bears with my dad was everything.

To celebrate Father’s Day and the end of Dad Week, the FanSided.com editorial staff is looking back at the sports and entertainment we will forever associate with our dads.

Baseball was my first love as a sports fan. Watching the Chicago Cubs with my dad and my two younger brothers was my entry point into sports. Summers, vacations and birthday parties were planned around Cubs games. My dad’s 50th birthday was spent in the Wrigley Field bleachers with all of his brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, his sons and his dad, my grandpa. It was a day I’ll never forget.

But as I got older, I stopped playing baseball and started to get more into football. Watching the Chicago Bears games on Sunday with my dad became our national pastime.

Coming back from church and flipping on the TV while my dad made a breakfast that I still strive to emulate in the kitchen form some of the best memories I have from my adolescence.

The Bears weren’t memorable for most of my youth and adulthood, but it didn’t matter whether they won or lost. It didn’t matter if our quarterback couldn’t throw a spiral. All that mattered was being with my dad for the three or four hours the game was on.

I was probably around 10 or 11 when I really started understanding the gameplay and we would talk about what was happening, predict what may happen next and react to the big hits and game-changing plays. That blossomed into me wanting to play football. I kinda wanted to do it to impress my dad. Have him watch my games and be proud of what I was doing.

Now, I have a career writing about football. That doesn’t happen without those Sundays watching the Bears with my dad.

Sunday, Sept. 17, 2006: Bears vs. Lions

The Bears hosted the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field for a Week 2 game on Sept. 16 in 2006. Chicago had a good roster but questions about quarterback Rex Grossman lingered.

Grossman threw four touchdowns in a 34-7 win as the Bears got off to a 1-0 start when Jon Kitna and the Lions came to the lakefront. It was a game I’ll never forget.

I remember Bernard Berrian streaking up the field on his 41-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. It was a career game for Grossman and arguably the best performance either my dad or I had seen from a Bears quarterback.

I remember leaving my dad’s, telling him I love him and waving from my car as he waved back from the driveway.

That was the last game we watched together.

Two days later, my dad was killed in a car accident on his way to work.

The next few days were an absolute blur but I remember most every second of them. From telling people what happened to picking the casket and dropping off the suit my dad would be buried in to meeting with our pastor to the funeral and service on Saturday.

And then it was all over, just like that by Saturday afternoon. I should have known what I was doing that Sunday afternoon. I would have gone to my dad’s to watch the Bears play the Vikings.

Now, what am I supposed to do?

It’s insane to think about what happened in my life in between Bears games.

While they were game-planning for the Vikings, I was writing a eulogy for my dad and planning a funeral. They were trying to figure out the injury report designations and what plays to run on third down. I was 24 years old and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life, without my best friend and biggest supporter by my side.

From that point on, sports seemed entirely insignificant to me.

I care about sports and how people use them to come together like my dad and I did, but I don’t love them to the same degree as before.

Sunday, Sept. 24, 2006: Bears vs. Vikings

That Sunday, my brothers and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with a couple of my cousins for the game vs. the Vikings. They didn’t want us to be alone that day. I did want to be alone. I didn’t want to do anything. But I’m glad I did.

We didn’t watch the whole game there, my brothers and I went to my dad’s for a few minutes to take care of a few things, but none of us could stomach being at our dad’s for long without our dad there.

On the drive home, we listened to the end of the Bears game on the radio. The Bears were losing the whole game. It looked like it was going to be the first loss of the year after Ryan Longwell kicked a field goal to extend the Vikings’ lead to 16-12 midway through the fourth quarter.

I remember sitting in the car and hoping the Bears could find a way to win. I wasn’t praying for the Bears to win, but I was doing what sports fans do when they wish and hope for something good to happen.

And like that, Tommie Harris forced a fumble and Adewale Ogunleye scooped it up. The Bears had a chance. It wasn’t some miracle or divine intervention. I didn’t think my dad was looking down and saying, let’s give them a chance to win, but Grossman threw the game-winning touchdown to Rashied Davis and I remember crying again.

The Bears won that day. I watched a lot of the games the rest of the season at my cousin’s house. My dad would have loved that we were spending so much time together.

Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007: Bears vs. Colts

The Bears kept winning that season. They ended up going to the Super Bowl. Of all years, why did that have to be the year they go to the Super Bowl?!

Pretty much the entire Schmidt family that lived in Illinois at the time was together for the Super Bowl. I don’t know how many times someone said, “your dad would be loving this right now.” I know the intentions were good, but at the moment, it just made me sad.

When Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, I had an out-of-body experience, where I could see everyone celebrating around me, I was standing and celebrating too, but at the same time, I don’t remember hearing anything and I remember tears welling up in my eyes and I knew he was with me, with us.

I don’t get to watch the Bears games with my dad anymore, but I still have his number in my phone. There are times when I still reach for it and want to call him. I don’t know if that goes away.

When I get to watch Bears games with my brothers and people in my family, it’s not a sad occasion anymore, it’s carrying on a tradition and keeping the memories of my dad alive.

And someday if I’m a dad with kids of my own, I look forward to doing the same with them and telling them stories about their grandpa.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I wish we could catch a game today.

For more stories like this, explore our Dad Week hub on FanSided.com.