<I never got the hate from the fanbase . . .>
It all started on draft day. I remember watching the draft and hearing the Bears move up one slot . . . then when his name was called was like WUT DUH FOOK! Then Ryan Pace spoke highly of him driving his beater car . . . ugh
It appears I wasn't the only one . . .
Regarding the hate of the fan base:
2 things:
1. Watson had just destroyed an Alabama team that was previously thought unbeatable to win the National Championship - and the whole world saw it… while, outside of hardcore college football junkies, Mitch was unknown, and
2. Word circulated the day of the draft that Mitch no longer wanted to be called “Mitch” but insisted on being called, “Mitchell”.
Those two things alone made Trubisky unfavorable to Chicagoans before he ever took a snap. He was considered a “reach” by many who thought Watson was the better player. And you can be many things in Chicago but soft, prissy or pretentious are not some of them. This is a city that prides itself on toughness and being down to earth. Mitch’s insistence on being called “Mitchell” while becoming a Millionaire, rubbed some people the wrong way — rightly or wrongly — just stating facts. For me personally, I did not care. He could call himself “King” for all I care just so long as he wins games… but many others did not feel that way. It was a bad PR move and, in retrospect, something his management team probably should have rolled out at some other time other than on draft day.
That said, if Mitch had been good and won games, this city would have loved him. Period. Let me repeat, THIS CITY WOULD HAVE LOVED HIM! It’s not where you start here but how you progress and where you finish. He had the power to write a different narrative for his time here, and whether you want to blame coaching or whatever, it just never happened.
