On Monday night, the residents of Chicago were elated.
Maybe it was because the Bears played a completely different brand of football than they did in Week 2, as Chicago dominated the Philadelphia Eagles, winning by a score of 27-7.
Maybe it was because Chicago defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s unit came up with three takeaways, including rookie sensation Dillon Thieneman’s first career interception. Or perhaps because Bears fans realized that the team can do more than stay afloat in quarterback Caleb Williams’s absence.
There may not have been a happier Chicago resident, though, than the man who led the Bears to victory in his first start in almost three years: veteran quarterback Case Keenum.
Based on his stat line, you might not have known it had been 1,009 days since he started an NFL game under center. Keenum didn’t even know it’d been that long himself - he only learned when ESPN’s Laura Rutledge brought it up in their pregame interview.
Keenum’s joy was obvious. It seemed as if each time the camera cut to him on the sideline, the veteran QB had a smile on his face, and he played with that energy, too.
But the best part of the night, and the part that deserves more focus, was Keenum’s attitude off the field.
Monday’s game meant a lot to him - it was the first time his two children were able to watch him play in person.
Video of the pregame hugs he shared with them on the sideline got plenty of airtime on ESPN, and he brought his daughter up on stage postgame for his interview with Scott Van Pelt, which gave us the most adorable “Monday Night Postgame” show of all time.
I found myself smiling along with Keenum as I watched the game and his interviews, and that got me thinking: isn’t that sort of happiness what sports are supposed to evoke? How often do we, as fans, overlook the joy of the game?
Of course, Keenum’s situation is unique, and doesn’t come around too often in the NFL. Most players are fighting to prove themselves in the league, are stars chasing greatness, or are somewhere in between.
I’d say it’s worth appreciating that joy when it comes around, and we all ought to look for more of it from the players we watch on Sundays.
And with that joy, Keenum did not just make his kids proud, as he said was his goal before the game.
He made Chicago proud, too.
