An awesome halftime speech by new Superintendent Garry McCarthy spurs the team on toward victory - it was almost like seeing "Knute Rockne: All American" in person:
- When the Chicago Police Department’s football team was down by 20 points at halftime today to the Fire Department’s squad, Acting Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told the police team about a game in the 1990s where his New York City cops were up 21-0 at the half against that city’s firefighters.
Recalling that New York City’s firefighters came back and beat the NYPD by one point, he urged Chicago’s finest to engineer the same kind of rally. And they did just that.
“I told them that this is where you show what type of character you have. They responded. There’s no doubt the character and the heart that these guys have,” McCarthy said shorty after the police team -- dubbed the Enforcers -- prevailed in overtime over the Chicago Fire Department’s team -- aptly called the Blaze -- 29-26.
The game came down to an overtime field goal made by the police kicker Chris Lenti, followed by loud chants of “CPD! CPD!” from hundreds of their fans in the bleachers behind the officers' sidelines at St. Rita High School's football stadium on the Southwest Side.
OK, OK, we're teasing about the "Knute Rockne" movie thing. Lighten up. We're giving the superintendent too much credit, but it was a very good game nonetheless featuring a 20 point comeback and a winning OT field goal, all for Police and Fire charities. What's not to like about that?