Spending in a Bear Market
Time will tell if the Chicago Bears’ trade for Jay Cutler on April 2, 2009 ranks as one of the best in Chicago sports history. When it first happened, the football buzz around the city was louder than it had been since the 1985 Bears won the Super Bowl, led by Walter Payton. The incredible part was that early April is the one time of the year that football is almost completely forgotten… the Cubs were gearing up for another long season, and the young Bulls and Blackhawks were just finishing successful seasons and heading into the playoffs.
The rarity of these big, franchise-quarterback trades is what has drawn the incredible attention. Realistically, there are only 5-10 top-tier NFL quarterbacks in the entire League … Many teams are just getting by with serviceable starters. For 50 years, the Bears had been in that ‘just getting by’ category, and many years were not even doing that. The glaring lack of talent at the position has been made even more noticeable by the success of the quarterback that was a mainstay in the division-rival city to the North, and in the Pro Bowl – Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers.
The most telling statistic, and the reason why the Bears have had only five winning seasons since Favre joined the Packers in 1992, has to do with their own ineptitude at quarterback. Since Favre launched his streak of 253 consecutive regular-season starts on Sept. 27, 1992, the Bears have made their way through 21 different starting quarterbacks. That figure leads the league.
But now, the Bears have their own Pro-Bowl quarterback. And that’s something only a handful of other teams in the League have. They had to give up a lot to get him, but the feeling of team management was that the opportunity for gain was worth the potential risk. Time will tell if that is true, but the optimism in the city is at a level that it hasn’t been in decades. Team ownership is already smiling as well, because jersey sales have spiked in response to their bold move.
I write this article not only because I am a Bears fan :), but also to focus on this Risk/Reward question. At Progressive, we think of ourselves as consultants first and technicians second. The question of Risk/Reward is a daily one being discussed by our clients when it comes to their business technology. Like the Bears, our clients are not afraid of risk, but they want a clear understanding of the technology and the return on their investment before making a decision. We welcome the opportunity to discuss with all of our clients this Risk/Reward question. We also invite any new clients to contact us if they feel that a second opinion may be necessary as part of their IT due diligence.
To talk about the risk/reward question or a potential game-changing move for your business, please call us at 682-4990 or Email Us.
