Feel Free to Make Fun of the Chicago Bears Because Who Cares if Andy Dalton is Fine?

The Chicago Bears named their starting quarterback on Wednesday night when someone in the team social media department tweeted a simple, clean photoshop of Andy Dalton in a Bears uniform with the caption, "QB1." This must have been disappointing for Nick Foles to see, but it's nothing compared to how people on Twitter reacted as they roasted the Bears like a pair of ugly shoes.

As some people have pointed out, it's not really fair to Andy Dalton. All he did was sign to be a starting quarterback. It's something he's done with a decent amount of success. He's a three-time Pro Bowler. He's taken his team to the playoffs four times. When his career ends, he'll have put up some good numbers. Hooray for Andy Dalton!

On a more serious note, who gives a sh*t? Yes, Dalton has been mostly fine, when surrounded by talent, but who isn't? Mitch Trubisky has won the same number of playoff games as Dalton (zero). Has Dalton had a really nice career? I guess? This is the most pass-happy era in football history and he's got fewer 4,000 yard passing seasons than Derek Carr. Carson Wentz had a good season more recently than Dalton.

But that's not really the point. It doesn't matter if Dalton is a decent quarterback. Year-in and year-out Bears fans are promised a new franchise quarterback. That's not Dalton. It was supposed to be Trubisky, but it wasn't. The question is, was it better or worse that the Bears actually had Trubisky?

The franchise has existed for a full century and every single year it seems that they are connected to a big name quarterback who never ends up on the team. Last year there was a rumor that Eli Manning was considering the Bears and then Dan Patrick said that Tom Brady almost signed in Chicago.

This year it's Russell Wilson. Super Bowl-winning, prime of his career Russell Wilson. Rumors were hot and heavy, but there is no indication that any serious discussions even took place, no matter what offer they reportedly made. Still, the Bears had not given up hope as recently as last week.

So why should anyone cheer Andy Dalton for being on the roster? This is not the bright future the fans were promised. You don't get excited about Andy Dalton. You settle for Andy Dalton. And when the social media team proclaims this is QB1 in March, you have every right to point and laugh.