Does Zoom deserve a post?
I was listening to the Score this afternoon, and Boers and Bernstein were having a lengthy debate about Jerry Azumah. (Azumah announced his retirement today.) The debate wasn't about his status in Bears history or anything he accomplished, but whether he deserved to have a press conference announcing his retirement and how newsworthy the event was. I thought the whole thing was kind of rude and it belittled Azumah, but they did have a point. They asked an honest question that few listeners, if any, could answer, "How many Bears players have had press conferences announcing their retirement?" They proceeded to rattle off some names of likely candidates, without knowing themselves if the players actually called press conferences or not. It was kind of a worthless discussion, because nobody cares about the relevance of press conferences except the media members forced to attend. But I digress....
The answer is there probably hasn't been a Bears retirement press conference since the last of the '85 Bears retired with the team. These days, players usually retire with a team other than the one that made them famous. Press conferences need not apply. And don't forget the Bears haven't had many beloved players in the last dozen years, let alone players that retired in good standing with the team. Most have been released, traded, or left via free agency.
Boers and Bernstein agreed that the only current Bears player worthy of a retirement press conference is Urlacher. And maybe Kreutz. I agree that those are the most accomplished, longest-tenured Bears, but you don't think there'd be a press conference if Grossman, Moose, Ogunleye, Mike Brown, or any other twenty-something starter unexpectedly called it quits? Of course there would. It's 2006. Teams hold press conferences to schedule press conferences.
So what's Zoom's standing in Bears history? He was a solid player for seven years on a team that made the playoffs twice. He found his true calling as a kick returner a bit late in his career (Thanks for all the Leon Johnson, Jauron!), but nevertheless turned in a Pro Bowl performance in that role. As the star running back at a DIII college, I always felt the Bears should have tried to work him into the offense a bit. He was a bit undersized, though, so that was never going to happen.
So have a nice retirement, Zoom. When we're watching Chris Thompson doing the slip-n-slide next year as the primary nickelback, you'll be sorely missed.