How could they all forget?

I was waiting for one of those human interest stories to come on at the end of the local news.  Maybe a segment on one of the sports talk radio shows ?  A story buried in the Sports section of the local tabloid?  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Not one mention of one of the most historic days in Chicago’s history.  No stock footage of the Super Bowl Shuffle.  No “Where are they now?” stories about how fat William Perry has gotten or how thin the old “Black and Blues Brothers” offensive line has ended up.  No snapshots from the Superdome.  Nothing.

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!!!

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