Sure, he can throw a football, but can he book a reservation?
That's what the Chicago Bears wanted to know when they prepared to meet with Mitch Trubisky ahead of a private workout in March. Bears general manager Ryan Pace asked his college prospect -- in this case Trubisky -- to handle making the reservation. Pace has done this before -- he believes this tests a player's reliability.
So how did Trubisky do? He booked a reservation at Bin 54, a celebrated steakhouse in the area, and even got the group a reservation in a private area of the restaurant (the Wine Cellar, ooh la la) that was an ideal fit for the clandestine affair. The cherry on top? The name for the reservation: James McMahon, party of six.
The booking, of course, was a nod to Jim McMahon, the quarterback of Chicago's lone Super Bowl winner.
"That told me he was prepared, that he did his homework," offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, who was at the dinner, told the Chicago Tribune. "You knew this moment wasn't too big for him. He still was having fun with it."
After dinner, the party walked to the parking lot, where the Bears first learned of the fabeled 1997 Toyota Camry -- a clunker with 130,000 miles on it -- that Trubisky drove around campus. The Bears loved what that said about Trubisky as well and it was the same car the quarterback drove to rookie camp last week.
And there's a happy, positive story about the Chicago Bears and their rookie quarterback! You don't see these too much these days. Wait, you want more positivity around the Bears. Check this out!
Maybe the Bears aren't so doomed after all.