Carimi: 'I Wanted To Be A Bear'
CHICAGO (WSCR) After hours of waiting, Gabe Carimi heard his name announced as the 29th pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. And the 6'7″ 314-pound, Cottage Grove, WI native couldn't be more excited to be headed to Chicago.
"I thought this would be the best situation for me to have a great career with a great organization, with a great fan base," Carimi said on the Mully and Hanley Show. "I mean honestly, this is where I wanted to be, I wanted to be a Bear."
And not only did the Bears also want Carimi to be part of one of the league's charter franchises, it seems as if Carimi to the Bears was destined to happen.
"I was actually born in Lake Forest, Illinois," Carimi said. "I'm actually coming back home."
Although he grew up a Packers fan, Carimi now admits he can see how wrong he was all those years as jokingly described it as one of the "worst decisions" of his life.
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Carimi started 49 games over his four-year career, at the University of Wisconsin, on a team that won a lot of games based on their toughness and physicality.
"I'm hoping to bring a physical presence to the offensive line, which they already have," he said. "And just keep bringing that Bear-toughness, in Bear Nation."
Much of Carimi's job as a Bear will be to keep quarterback Jay Cutler upright and able to make plays, and he doesn't foresee it taking him too long to start doing just that.
"I definitely think I'll be able to come in and help out immediately," Carimi said.
And knowing the added protection he just received, it didn't take Cutler too long to welcome his newest body guard to the organization.
"He sent me a text," Carimi said. "He was one of the first people to text me and congratulate me, and I sent him a text back saying 'I'm so happy to block for you, and I'm going to give you all the time you can ask for, and work my buns off for you.'"
Carimi isn't only excited to play for Cutler, but he's excited and ready to help the Bears reach their ultimate goal, and he wanted to make sure the fans knew exactly how he felt.
"I'm pumped to be a Bear," he said in his message to the fans. "You're going to have a hard working guy, and you know, we are going to bring this team to a Super Bowl during my years there becuase I'm planning on having a long career with you guys."
