The Bears got a gift from the sky on a rainy day in Chicago, and Richard Hightower was quick to treat it like a coaching bonus.
The team shut practice to the public after lightning moved in, but Hightower clearly saw more than a soggy afternoon. For him, miserable weather meant a chance to sort out who can function when the elements get ugly.
“Embrace the opportunity to go out in the wet and rainy weather. You know, we got wet ball Wednesday on a Saturday, so we're fired up about that because, you know why?
Because we get to work ball security. The returners get to work that.
We get to see if the snappers can snap the ball in this type of weather. We get to see if we can kick in it.
And we get to see, you know, who is ready to rock and roll no matter what the elements are. Because as you know, we playing Soldier, and everything's unpredictable.
So, I'm excited to see who's gonna respond today.”
Richard Hightower
That’s the reality of playing at Soldier Field, where the wind off Lake Michigan can turn a normal game into something far less predictable. Hightower’s point was simple: if the Bears are going to call that place home, they need to be ready for whatever shows up, especially in the kind of weather that can rattle a visiting team.
The NFL may be drifting away from the old-school weather grind, but Chicago isn’t. The Bears are still going to be at Soldier Field for at least a couple more seasons, which makes these reps matter.
Teams can fake conditions in practice to a point, but there’s no substitute for the real thing. Hightower can’t control the rain, but he can make sure his unit is prepared when it arrives.
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