When Long Snapper Pat Mannelly graduated from Duke in 1998 he thought he'd take a job trading stocks at Morgan Stanley not in the NFL.
More than 13 years later he's about to become the longest-tenured Bear.
Monday night at Soldier Field Mannelly will break DT Steve McMichael's record of 191 games in a Bears uniform. He's got just a few weeks on Olin Kruetz and about two years on Brian Urlacher.
His family -- including father-in-law and baseball player Tommy John -- will be on hand as he is honored. Manelly's 13 years is half what his father-in-law's career amounted to. Tommy John put in 26 years after a surgery that bears his name extended his career.
How long can Manelly go?
"As long as the man upstairs allows" Mannelly said, to which I said "Who is that?
Jerry Angelo or God?" Mannelly laughed and said "Both! Aren't they the same?!"
