#85 bears

Oh what an amazing Super Bowl Weekend it would've been to have had a 40 year rematch between the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears. Here's a tribute to the Monsters of the Midway, the 1985 Chicago Bears!

Yes or no? Tell us in the comments below. Read both sides of the story and vote on 4b.

Hate to impede my tone on this blog with a serious post, but gotta give respect where respect is due. I hated the ‘85 Bears. Technically, I saw this team win the Super Bowl at the venerable age of 13 months. There’s home video of me beating on a wooden block and singing the Super Bowl Shuffle. I had an infant size Jim McMahon jersey and Kevin Butler was my favorite player because I figured he was my namesake (despite my father also being a Kevin.) 

As I grew older, I found Bears teams of my own to love and loathe. Every new quarterback was my favorite. Steve Walsh. Erik Kramer. Jim Miller. The 2001 season with five miracle comebacks seeming like some kind of football destiny written for my team. The playoff game against the Eagles, when the offense disappeared and the Bears never really had a chance. The magnum opus of draft picks; Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman. The 2006 squad that captivated the nation with playmakers like Urlacher, Briggs, Tillman and Hester. Attending the NFC Championship against the Saints. Seeing my team earn their right to compete for the Lombardi. Hester’s Super Bowl opening return. 

Those were my teams. The teams I watched fail and succeed. And like the ‘72 Dolphins then and now, I was constantly reminded that my Chicago Bears would never be the Chicago Bears. Lovie wasn’t Ditka. The defense wasn’t mean enough. Too much smiling on the sidelines. The ‘85 Bears became the Infinite Jest of historic football teams. The band touted so highly you know could never live up to their hype. So I began to resent them. 

Tell anyone you’re from Chicago, near Chicago, Illinois or a Bears fan and their first response will be; 

A) How do you feel about Jay Cutler

B) DA BEARCE

What’s often lost is the fact that the SNL Superfans skit was making fun of Chicago fans. A caricature of a fat and ignorant fan base that may have been authentic in 1985 but since became a rallying cry for those who had to decree to every open ear that their Bears team was the only Bears team.  

And I think that was my issue; the ‘85 Bears had always been defined by their fans, and not their work itself. 

I never knew about the letter the defense wrote George Halas to save Buddy Ryan’s job. I never knew the intensity and depth the scout team exhibited to create that defense. Hell, I never knew Ditka and Ryan hated one another. The most recited headline I saw after the 30 for 30 debuted was “Same Familiar Story, But What a Story it Was.” Except it wasn’t the story I knew. I knew Walter Payton was the best ever and Ditka was an asshole. I knew the defense was dominant and McMahon was a decent QB with an insane attitude. I didn’t know Ditka and Ryan are still the only two coaches carried off the field together. 

30 for 30: The ‘85 Bears showed me a side of the story that’s never been a part of my narrative; the side that actually matters. 

The 1985-86 Chicago Bears team was truly a team of destiny. From Sweetness to the Super Bowl Shuffle, from Jim McMahon's headband to Mike Ditka’s backhand. 

Sport this design to remind yourself, though its been 30 years, we will never stop talking about the ’85 Bears. (Yes...there are 85 of them).

Unisex Tee: http://www.chitownclothing.com/product/the-85-bears-t-shirt

Women’s Tee: http://www.chitownclothing.com/product/85-bears-women-s-t-shirt