Thursday open thread: Will you be watching Bears vs. Ravens tonight?

We made it, everyone! The offseason officially moves into the presesaon at 8 p.m. on Thursday evening, as the Chicago Bears will take on the Baltimore Ravens in the 2018 Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

Not only will this be Detroit Lions fans’ first chance to just see football again for the first time since the Eagles won a thrilling Super Bowl over the Patriots, but it will be an opportunity to see one of the most hyped (rightfully or otherwise) divisional rivals. Many people believe that with Matt Nagy in place, Chicago could make a big jump from last year’s disappointing 5-11 season that got John Fox fired.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

Will you be watching the Hall of Fame game tonight?

My answer: Nothing is going to stop me from watching this completely meaningless game. You could even say it’s going to take a lot to drag me away from my television tonight.

In fact, here are three reasons I will be watching tonight’s game and why every Lions fans should tune in.

1. It’s a chance to make fun of the Bears

It’s been a pretty rough training camp for rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky thus far. New head coach Matt Nagy said he doesn’t care, but Trubisky has been throwing a lot of interceptions thus far.

Bears fans have been insufferable this offseason, carelessly throwing around Rams comparisions, stating that Nagy is the next Sean McVay. If the Bears struggle even a little tonight—and let’s be honest, they will—it’ll be fun to watch Bears fans backtrack and downplay every little mistake. Especially when you know they’ll go crazy for every good play, because “those are the ones that really matter.”

2. The Ravens backup quarterbacks

They may not be a division rival, or even reside in the same conference, but the Ravens should bring plenty of intrigue to any football fan on Thursday. We all know what Joe Flacco brings to that team, and he may not even play on Thursday. But that’s ideal for the casual NFL fan, because the Ravens’ backup quarterbacks could be very exciting to watch.

First, there’s Lamar Jackson, the Ravens’ first-round draft pick. Jackson was a human highlight reel at Louisville and was a pleasure to watch each and every week. Seeing how he’ll respond to NFL level talent should be interesting.

Then there’s Robert Griffin III, who hasn’t thrown in an NFL game (even the preseason) in two years. His treatment in Washington was horrible and it didn’t work out in Cleveland (it never does), but it’s nice to see someone give Griffin another shot, even if there’s virtually no chance he’ll win the starting or backup job.

3. Duh, it’s football

I don’t care about stakes. I don’t care about watching players that won’t be playing in the league this year. I just miss football, and I will watch anything that remotely resembles an NFL regular season game at this point (except for the CFL. Nice try, John).

So my eyes will be glued to the television until about halftime. At that point, the game will likely still be on in the background, and I’ll check in every now and then.

Site note: There will be an open thread for tonight’s game. If you want to chat with fellow Lions fans during the game. Keep an eye out for the Hall of Fame Game open thread, which will be posted around 30 minutes prior to kickoff.

Your turn.