The Chicago Bears are spiraling out of control this season. I'm not sure how the rest of the season will play out, but it does not seem very promising. Maybe the change at the offensive coordinator position will help, but I'm not confident in Thomas Brown moving the needle that much now that Shane Waldron has been fired. What I do know is that this team is lacking in leadership, focus and work ethic. Three traits that Matt Forte displayed consistently during his 10-year career. Well, Forte is back in Chicago and ready to compete.
Matt Forte will not be hitting the gridiron though. He is here to hit the pickleball courts! That's right, Forte is partnering up with Smirnoff SMASH Vodka Soda by participating in their upcoming SMASH tournament on November 20th. The event is open to anyone who registers. If you want a shot at playing against Matt Forte, register now as spots are very limited.
I was lucky enough to talk with Matt Forte about the upcoming event. During the interview, we talked about more than pickleball. We discussed the Chicago Bears stadium situation, the firing of Shane Waldron, and even the Sports Spectrum podcast he is now co-hosting. He spoke to the fact that he is still a very competitive person and he's excited to be partnering with Smirnoff and getting back into some competition in the city of Chicago. He talked about how he has to keep his competitive drive going because of his two boys.
"I'm a guy who still works out. I still remain athletic. I did not just fall off a cliff because of retirement. I got two boys and they play sports and I want to dominate them as much as possible."
This wasn't the first time that Matt Forte has played pickleball. In fact, he's a former champion!
"I grew up, actually, I played pickleball in 7th and 8th grade...it was a sport I had not even heard of, and when I realized it was not like tennis, but you used a whiffle ball and this paddle. It was actually really intriguing. A teammate of mine in Little League that went to school with me, we actually ended up winning the 7th and 8th-grade tournament in those years. "
- Matt Forte
Forte went on to talk about how he is a fan of both Tennis and Ping Pong -- loosely related sports to pickleball. He has also played pickleball sparingly since retiring. With that experience plus his athleticism and competitiveness, he feels good about next week's tournament. Again, if you are interested, definitely go check it out.
Per the Smirnoff events team: Smirnoff is inviting pickleball enthusiasts and newcomers (21+) alike to enjoy complimentary bites from food trucks, DJ entertainment, a bar stocked with the four bold and unexpected flavors of Smirnoff SMASH Vodka Soda, and some SMASH-ing merch at SPF Chicago. I told Forte I was interested in trying the Orange Pineapple flavor but he highly recommended the Watermelon Lime flavor. If you are going to try any of their SMASH flavors, please drink responsibly.
Now onto the Chicago Bears part of the conversation...
Matt Forte weighs in on the Chicago Bears stadium situation
In another interview, Matt Forte stated that Soldier Field is his favorite stadium he has ever played in. He spoke about the stadium's history, the columns, and even the Walter Payton statue (that can obviously be moved). I asked him if he'd be disappointed if the Chicago Bears were to pick up and move.
"If they were to move to Arlington Heights, I would not love that because I feel like Chicago Bears, especially, even though we practiced way out in Lake Forest, the game has to be in Downtown Chicago...As long as they keep the history of the stadium around...as long as they keep those main artifacts up, that would be pretty cool."
- Matt Forte
Matt Forte does go on to say that maybe it is time for new history here in Chicago and maybe it's time to move on from the 1985 Chicago Bears. Personally, the Bears would be better off from a business standpoint if they moved to the Arlington Heights location, but I understand the history and the importance of remaining downtown -- especially on the lakefront.
Where have the Chicago Bears and Shane Waldron gone wrong?
Matt Forte and I went on to discuss the current state of the Chicago Bears as a team -- especially the state of the coaching staff. As we all know, Shane Waldron was fired this week and I wanted to hear what Matt Forte had to say about the situation.
"When it comes to where they are at now, I think it could be a good thing. Maybe Thomas [Brown] will lean more into the running game and establishing the run and focusing on that. It is obviously exciting when you have a new, first-round, first-pick, former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. And yeah, you want to throw the ball and do all the bells and whistles and stuff, but when it comes to NFL football you have to be smashmouth. You have to have a physical type of run game to complement your defense. Very rarely can a quarterback come in and take the full shoulder and change the game on his own. It takes everybody and that is why football is so great. It is the ultimate team sport."
- Matt Forte
Forte has inner knowledge of how this Bears organization runs from top to bottom. He has been in multiple locker rooms. He has seen some work and some not work. He has seen offenses succeed and offenses struggle. We talked about what he thinks has been going wrong with the Chicago Bears offense.
"The offensive coordinator's job is to do is to put guys in position. If you are playing against tough defenses, 50/50 is not good enough. You are gonna have to put them in positions like 75/25, 80/20, 90/10. Whereas you have the benefit of knowing where you are going, and the defense has to react. They are always going to be a step behind because they are reacting. But if you are on your heels all the time, they get paid too."
- Matt Forte
Forte goes on to call out specific plays that should never be happening. He mentioned the game against Indianapolis and called out the option play to D'Andre Swift. He mentioned the "Refrigerator Perry" play with Doug Kramer. He even talked about the fake run, faked the reverse, and then threw to the reverse play that went for an eight-yard loss. You can tell he's still dialed into this team but is frustrated like the rest of us Chicago Bears fans who want to see the team run more high-percentage plays -- especially in those situations. He was also frustrated with the Hail Mary situation.
In this short interview, I could tell how competitive Matt Forte still is as a person. It is exciting to see him continue to embrace the city of Chicago by giving back where he can. We at BearGogglesOn wish him the best of luck in the pickleball tournament next week!
