The Bears will likely be in England by the time you read this, having flown off happily on Monday after beating the Panthers 36-10 on Sunday.
The Panthers aren’t very good, but a win is a win. Now the Bears face the not-so-good Jaguars on Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, and another victory seems likely.
But these frequent trips to England that NFL teams take aren’t limited to the W’s and L’s. Consider that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is traveling to London to watch the Bears and use football time to promote the international commercial possibilities of our “city of big shoulders” and, in particular, larger debts.
“As we confront budgetary challenges, we are focused on identifying creative, non-tax revenue solutions,” Johnson said in a press release filled with bureaucratic gibberish.
What he meant was: “London and Chicago are almost bankrupt, so please invest a few euros here, buddy.”
The NFL sees a UK market of 69 million people saturated with football and increasingly interested in ‘American football’. The same goes for other global markets, which is why the NFL has played in Mexico and Canada, as well as Germany and Brazil. on the program this season. The Jaguars remain in England for another week to face the Patriots on October 20 at Wembley Stadium. They could come back with cockney accents.
The Bears have been to London three times – in 1986, 2011 and 2019 – and I was lucky enough to go with them for the first two. The second was a regular season match at Wembley against the Buccaneers, with the Bears winning 24-18. It was a boring affair, and I don’t remember much except that Matt Forte ran well, Jay Cutler threw two interceptions, and Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman threw four.
I also remember Michael Koenen of the Bucs taking the kickoff directly out of bounds rather than kicking to Bears return man Devin Hester. Clearly, the Bucs hadn’t forgotten about Hester, who ran the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown against the Colts in Super Bowl XLI in February 2007.
The main thrill of this trip came on a day off, when Mark Potash, another Sun-Times sportsman, and I took a train to Liverpool and spent an afternoon exploring the places that John, Paul, George and Ringo attended as boys. It was atop an open-air double-decker bus teetering near the River Mersey that we imagined 14-year-old George Harrison performing his guitar test for future Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
But it was an exhibition game against the Cowboys at Wembley on August 3, 1986 – just six months after the Bears won Super Bowl XX – that really got the foreign drum beating. And the reason for this frenzy was the bears themselves.
More of a traveling circus than a football team, the Bears offered not only point guard Mike Ditka, but also “Punky QB” Jim McMahon, suave wide receiver Willie Gault, famed running back Walter Payton and, most famously, William “The Refrigerator”. ”Perry.
Indeed, The Fridge was so renowned for his unusual girth and gap-toothed smile that the best-selling T-shirt that week depicted him running the football. Perry also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, standing outside Buckingham Palace in match uniform with Ed “Too Tall” Jones of the Cowboys, also in match uniform, flanking a stone-faced, red-jacketed Royal Guardsman.
The Bears took over the city, from the nightclubs to the financial district – business-minded fullback Matt Suhey visited Goldman Sachs – and it came with blessings from above.
“It’s all about a cultural exchange,” Bears general manager Jerry Vainisi said. “We want players to get out and meet people.”
That’s what they did. Early on, offensive lineman Keith Van Horne posed for a photo in Piccadilly Circus with a deranged child who asked him, “Do you mind if my friend joins us?” » The child then took a spotted rat out of his pocket and cornered it. the rodent living in its mouth.
The British scandal rags loved it all.
“THE GIANT SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS OF AMERICA – THE CHICAGO BEARS – ARE THROWING HOME TODAY, LEAVING A FEEL OF HEARTBROKEN GIRLS BEHIND,” people shouted on game day. His proof? An anonymous hotel bartender’s claim that “a muscular bear” bought champagne for “eight gorgeous girls” then took them all to his room.
It rained on match day, but Wembley was sold out, with more than 86,000 tickets purchased. Wembley promotions manager Ralph Miller said they could have sold a quarter of a million tickets.
It will be quieter this time, that’s for sure. Unless, of course, someone like Caleb Williams decides he’s ready to be the next Beatle.
