Once More, with Feeling

The Sun-Times reported it first, and other places have followed suit. It sounds like the Bears will announce tomorrow that Griese will be the starter next Sunday. If that's true, it basically means that Grossman's done.

The most recent post on Laurence Holmes's daily Bears blog (link over there on the left) does a terrific job of bringing up some of the aspects of this decision that effect Grossman's life, not just his job. It's an aspect of football that is woefully undercovered in the mainstream sports press, and even, for the most part, in sports blogs. For guys who are playing in NFL, it's not just about being sports stars: it's also about their actual careers and their actual lives. I thought of that earlier when the Bears suddenly traded Chris Harris. All of a sudden, Harris had to pick up and move to a completely different state, with nothing building up to that moment. Although being a professional athlete is the childhood fantasy of so many people, a fantasy that I myself entertained, there is a lot about being a professional athlete that would be pretty terrible.

And now Rex Grossman's hopes for a NFL career are suddenly far less sure. Although the pure Bears fan part of me agrees that the Grossman experiment has to be concluded, I've always liked the bit of the actual Rex Grossman that I've had access to as a fan, and I feel genuine sympathy for the situation he has likely quite suddenly found himself in. With all sincerity, I'd like to wish him good luck.

Anyway, read Laurence Holmes's post.