The sound of a football striking the goalpost brings back a memory that Bears fans would rather leave buried. On January 6, 2019, Cody Parkey’s 43-yard field goal attempt hit the upright and the crossbar, ending Chicago’s playoff run against the Eagles. The infamous ‘Double Doink’ was born. And during the Bears’ Thursday night game against the Patriots, Kirk Herbstreit brought that painful memory back with a twist.

“It’s a single doink,” he said after Cairo Santos’s 53-yard field goal attempt struck the upright, and Prime Video replayed footage of Parkey’s infamous miss. The comment was bound to strike a nerve with Bears fans, but it was Kyle Long, who lived through the original heartbreak, who took to X to call Herbstreit out.

“Just to be crystal clear, I’ve had it up to here having to endure the utterance of the doink,” Long wrote on X after revealing that sportscaster Al Michaels and Herbstreit were on his SL (s**t list). “I love Al and Kirk. I just have unhealed wounds. Ben Johnson and Co. are doing their best to heal those wounds.”

Amazon provided the visual callback, but Herbstreit delivered the punchline when Santos’s kick clanked off the upright. The remark quickly caught Long’s attention, prompting Herbstreit to take to X and offer a direct apology to the former Bears lineman.

“Sorry to bring up a brutal memory, big fella. Hope you and your family are well!” Herbstreit wrote on X, an apology that is unlikely to make Bears fans forget what they went through on January 6, 2019.

It was the NFC Wild Card Game. The Bears had a solid season and were considered one of the dangerous underdogs that year. They had a 12-4 record and had won the NFC North Division for the first time since 2010. Those in attendance at Soldier Field during the game against the sixth-seeded Eagles were dreaming of making it deep into the post-season, perhaps even a Super Bowl. That dream came crashing down in the final seconds.

Trailing 16-15, the Bears needed kicker Cody Parkey to make a 43-yard field goal to win the game. But Eagles defensive lineman Treyvon Hester got a fingertip on the ball, sending it into the left upright before it bounced off the crossbar and back onto the field. The miss heartbreakingly ended Chicago’s season. And Cris Collinsworth gave birth to the name that would go on to torment Bears fans since.

Herbstreit wasn’t the first broadcaster to bring up Chicago’s painful playoff memory. In December 2019, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker hit both uprights on an extra point at Soldier Field, prompting NBC’s commentators to revisit Parkey’s miss.

NBC had also mocked the incident in a promotional sketch featuring the Saturday Night Live characters known as the “Da Bears” superfans, whose teddy bear played a recording of “double doink” whenever squeezed. Three years later, when Saints kicker Wil Lutz hit the upright and crossbar on a 61-yard attempt in London, broadcasters again invoked the phrase. For Bears fans, the reference remains a painful reminder of their playoff heartbreak.

“The double doink game took a mental toll on everybody,” Kyle Long told Barstool Chicago in a 2024 interview. “It took me many years to get over that.”

In the immediate aftermath of the missed kick, as a stunned Soldier Field fell silent, Long was among the first teammates on the field, wrapping an arm around a distraught Parkey as they walked off together. He reminded Parkey that he had contributed to half of the points the Bears scored on the night, and that the rest of the team should have done more. But Parkey was inconsolable.

“This is a terrible feeling,” Parkey admitted softly after the game. “I can’t hide that.”

Parkey’s career with the Bears ended almost immediately, as the management felt that he made the tragedy more about himself. He bounced around the league for a few years since, playing for the Titans, Browns, and Saints before retiring from the NFL in 2021.

Fast forward to the present, and current Bears kicker Santos finds himself fighting his own silent mental battles. Entering Week 7, Santos was already shouldering heavy self-imposed pressure after dropping field goals in back-to-back games, missing a 56-yarder wide left in Atlanta and a 43-yarder left in Green Bay.

Santos made up for his 53-yard miss against New England by drilling a career-long 58-yard field goal, helping Chicago secure a 30-24 victory. His teammates swarmed him in jubilation, but the 34-year-old veteran was in no mood to celebrate.

“I’m having a hard time celebrating these moments, and I shouldn’t act this way,” Santos reflected postgame. “But I just feel like I’m hitting the ball way too good to have these misses happen. Even though they’re from 50-plus, I’ve been making them all the time.”

Santos delivered a solid night overall, going 3-for-4 on field goal tries and hitting all three extra points. He opened Chicago’s scoring with a 43-yarder, added a 31-yarder in the second quarter, and improved to 11-for-15 on the season (including 3-for-5 from 50+ yards).

The raw emotional weight carried by kickers like Parkey and Santos explains why Chicago’s field goal trauma remains such a sensitive subject. And while the online exchange between Long and the announcers ended amicably as friendly fire, the broadcast commentary itself triggered a far fiercer backlash from the fan base.

Social Media explodes over Herbstreit’s On-Air comments

Michaels — who was actually on commentary duty on the ‘Double Doink’ night — and Herbstreit have been working together for Prime Video and covering Thursday Night Football for five seasons now (since 2022). The NFL community has been ripping the commentators for their poor calls. And the Bears-Patriots game carried a similar story. 

Michaels has also faced criticism for his recent broadcasts, with viewers complaining about his low-energy delivery and mistakes. During the Buccaneers-Cowboys game earlier this year, he was called out for saying a pass was complete even though the ball was lying on the ground. He also faced backlash for misidentifying players during the Seahawks-Broncos game.

Herbstreit has faced similar criticism since joining the NFL commentary team. While he’s well known for his college football analysis on ESPN, some NFL fans feel his professional football commentary lacks depth. With both announcers already facing criticism, the Bears-Patriots game gave fans another reason to complain, and Herbstreit’s “single doink” remark quickly drew reactions on social media.

“It’s a single Doink.” No need to do Bears fans like that, Kirk Herbstreit,” one fan wrote, still not overtly calling out the sportscaster’s jab, but questioning the need for the attack nonetheless.

“Anytime a kick hits the uprights in Chicago…it’s like holy s–t gotta mention the word doink…or double doink…Yeah it’s getting old…A kicker doinks one every f—ing week,” a rather angry fan wrote.

“It’s not cute anymore, it’s in dead horse territory,” another wrote.

“Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels should be in the coping corner after another dismal performance,” one fan wrote on X. 

Many fans even suggested that Herbstreit should just retire and leave the commentary booth. 

“Kirk Herbstreit needs to f—ng disappear. Insufferable clown,’ a fan wrote. “Kirk Herbstreit is getting insufferable. This dude is all over the country every week. It’s impressive for sure. But my god stop acting like you know what’s going on in every locker room and on every play call,” another fan added. 

Some fans bashed the analyst for questioning Bears kicker Cairo Santos. During the broadcast, he questioned if Santos was going for a “pooch punt.” But that didn’t sit well with many fans. 

“Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels are so f—ing terrible. Why would they pooch punt there and why would Kirk even be thinking that? Al Michaels said it was a ‘good chance’ lol,” one fan wrote.

Even though Herbstreit’s apology smoothed things over with Long, he couldn’t balance it out with the fans. It seems like Herbstreit will need far more than a polite tweet to win back the court of public opinion next Thursday night.