Those who’ve known Bears GM Ryan Pace since his youth are not surprised about the blockbuster trade he pulled off Thursday night, parting with three draft picks just to move up one first-round spot to choose North Carolina QB Mitch Trubisky.
“Ryan’s always been a bit of a wheeler-and-dealer,” said grade-school friend Thomas Mann. “He was the kind of kid who was always in the mix at lunch, trying to swap one kid’s dessert for his ham sandwich.”
Added Mann: “Sometimes it would pay off huge and he’d wind up with this great meal with tons of awesome stuff. Other times, not so much.”
One of those times, Mann said, a 10-year-old Pace got “all worked up” over a classmate’s moldy apple and instantly offered his entire lunch in return for it.
“It was crazy,” said Mann. “Ryan’s lunch had all this great stuff: his mom’s awesome PB&J sandwich and two chocolate Snack Packs. The other kid wasn’t even going to eat the apple.”
