I remembered a few rough hits between the Bears and Packers during that ’85 season, like Walter Payton getting ridden out of bounds and over the bench and Matt Suhey getting popped with a late hit just for standing around but I had no idea of the backdrop for these plays.  I had no frame of reference.

Back then, I didn’t really know about the Bears-Packers rivalry.  My parents were immigrants so I didn’t have the advantage of being taught about the rivalry from birth.  I had to learn about the rivalry firsthand.  Then this play in 1986 happened and my hatred for all things green and gold was emblazoned in my forever.

Yes, it’s the Charles Martin body slam of Jim McMahon that ended Jimmy Mac’s 1986 season and effectively ended the Bears’ hopes of a repeat trip to the Super Bowl.

Martin wore his hit list on a towel that included the Bears players he wanted to take a run at.  No, seriously.  Check it out.

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This season marks the 25th anniversary of the 1985 Super Bowl Bears.  We’ll look back at all of the games leading up to the last Lombardi Trophy being hoisted at Halas Hall.  To take the full trip down memory lane, check out Run The Ball for a complete DVD series of every game of the histiric 1985 Bears season. Tell them Bear Goggles On sent you!  You can also get your ticket to join the ’85 Bears in their Glory Days Reunion here.

The Bears headed to Minnesota to face the division rival Vikings for a Thursday night matchup.  Starting quarterback Jim McMahon had spent a couple of nights on this short game in a Lake Forest hospital due to back spasms up near his neck.  He didn’t practice and wasn’t expected to play, so things didn’t look good for the 2-0 Bears in their first road game of the season.

Steve Fuller filled in for Jimmy Mac and the Bears actually got off to a 3-0 lead and ended up the first quarter 3-3 as Kevin Butler and Jan Stenerud matched field goals.

The Bears continued to struggle on offense and headed to the halftime locker room down 10-6.  The start of the third quarter wasn’t much better and the Vikings lead swelled to 17-9 before Bears coach Mike Ditka caved in and allowed McMahon, who had been chirping in his ear that he was good to go, to come into the game.  McMahon connected on touchdowns on his first two passes, going for 70 and 25 yards respectively to bring the Bears back.

The Bears put up 24 third quarter points and pulled away from the Vikings to take home a 33-24 victory.  It was one of those games that let you know that this was a special team that was meant to do special things.

Check out the McMahon TD passes, leading to a big come-from-behind victory over their division rivals to move to 3-0:

Jim McMahon ended the day 8 out of 15 for 236 and 3 TD’s while Walter Payton chipped in 62 rushing yards.  Kevin Butler added 4 field goals.  On the defensive side, Steve McMichael had 2 of the Bears’ 4 sacks and linebackers Otis Wilson and Wilber Marshall each added an interception.

For the complete box score and game stats, check out Pro-Football Reference and tune in each week as we chronicle each game of the historic 1985 season.  You can find the game summaries filed under the Flashback category.

BEAR DOWN!!!

Part of the whole Super Bowl hoopla are all the commercials and of course, as a die-hard Bears fan I wanted to see the Super Bowl Shuffle remake commercial by Boost Mobile.  The 30 second spot that aired did not do justice to the full video that I uploaded from Boost Mobile’s website.  Check it the commercial and then the full video after the jump:

Boost Mobile Commercial

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They grow up so fast, don't they?

The Bears and Packers renew their rivalry as they open the season in prime time Sunday night.  It’s the 178th meeting of these two charter franchises.   Wikipedia does an awesome job chronicling the rivalry that’s been going on almost as long as the Cubs’ World Series drought.  Damn, that’s a long time.

Through the better part of the 90′s and early 2000′s, the Packers pretty much owned the Bears.  No coincidence that coincides with Brett Favre’s run with the Packers.  Lovie Smith made it his priority to beat the Packers and has done a pretty good job keeping his work, sporting a 7-3 record against the Pack under his leadership.

If you need to get any more fired up for the game, check out the video after the jump.

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January 26, 1986 is a day that had a profound impact on the lives of many Bears fans and this one in particular.  It is the day the Bears won Super Bowl XX by a then-historic 46-10 margin.  This won’t be the case in two years when the Bears commemorate the 25th anniversary of Super Bowl XX, but on this 23rd anniversary of the lone Chicago Super Bowl title, there was nothing.  Did they all forget? 

Old Doc Brown is at it again to help us relive the the glory that was January 26, 1986.  The top shows back in January of 1986 were the “Cosby Show”,” Family Ties” and “Murder She Wrote”.  Yes, “Murder She Freakin’ Wrote” was a top show.  What were we thinking???    “That’s What Friends are For” by Psychic Friend Dione Warwick and “Say You Say Me” by Lionel Richie topped the charts, but not too far down the list was the ‘Super Bowl Shuffle” by the Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew.  Iron Eagle, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and Rocky IV were big at the Box Office.  Two short days later, sadness cast over the country as the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy reminded the nation that football, for all that it is, is still just a game.

I was able to find the Sports Illustrated writeup of Super Bowl XX in the SI Vault here.   The article gushes with superlatives of the ’85 Bears and the ferocious defense that devoured the Patriots.  I will always contend that if not for the early Payton fumble on a crossed up play call by quarterback Jim McMahon, the Bears would have shut out the Patriots and been the first and only team to shut out their opponents throughout the playoffs.  As dominant as any defense could be, I don’t know that any team could ever match the 10 points the Bears gave up in the run through that postseason.

A couple of interesting takeaways from the article:

At the time, the Bears set records for margin of victory (36) and points (46).

The Patriots field goal at the 1:19 mark was the fastest score in Super Bowl history until  Devin Hester shattered that record with his 14 second kickoff return at the start of Super Bowl XLI.

The article was prophetic in saying:

The events of the next few weeks and months will determine if this is the beginning of a mighty defensive dynasty (only one of the 11 Bear defenders who started Sunday’s game is older than 28) or a culmination.

Even though the Bears made a few more playoff appearances, as sad as it is to say, I guess it was the culmination.  Don’t worry Bears, I didn’t forget about you!  Happy Devin Hester-eth anniversary of Super Bowl XX.  When Super Bowl Championships are as rare as honest politicians in this town, they should be celebrated and remembered!

BEAR DOWN!!!

Wouldn’t that really be poetic justice?  After all his years of whipping the Bears and now being thrown away by his team, he could jump the border and be quarterback for Chicago.  I don’t think anyone would blink an eye to take the ball away from Rex Grossman and put it in the hands of Favre.  Plus it would be good for football.  The Monday Night Football match up between the Bears and Packers on December 22nd would become a highlight for the season schedule.  I think it’s pretty much settled, Brett Favre should sign with the Chicago Bears.

We can get his number 4 jersey all ready for him and get him out on the football field pronto.  Hell we can even start training camp right now if that would make him happy.  Whatever you want Brett, we aim to please to Chicago. 

The move would return balance to the football world in Chicago.  I don’t think any of us have fully recovered from the sight of Jim McMahon in the Packers uniform when he was Favre’s backup in 1996 and won his second Super Bowl ring.  Ever since that day Chicago has been a black hole for quarterbacks and has cursed the soil of Soldier Field.  The sight of Favre in a Bears uniform may serve to counter the McMahon curse and restore balance to the force.  McMahon tried to fix the blasphemy of his actions by wearing his Bears jersey when the Packers went to the White House but the damage still exists.  Brett Favre, you are the only one who save us.  You are the only one that can piss off the entire State of Wisconsin enough to allow Bears fans to dance in the street. 

Imagine how much fun it would be to make the playoffs with your hated rival and win the Super Bowl one last time.  You are even guaranteed two chances to play the Packers and show them why Aaron Rogers looks like Yianni in a helmet.  You proved last year that you know how to play well with young running backs and talented young receivers.  We have both of those covered.  We have a great defense like you had in Green Bay that can cover for your occasional mistake.  Believe me, our defense is extremely skilled at covering the mistakes of their quarterback. 

I think it’s settled, Brett Favre, you should come down and play for the Chicago Bears.