For as long as I can remember, the Chicago Bears have been the worst team in the entire league in both the National Football League (NFC) and the American Football League (AFC), (minus the Cincinnati Browns). Yes, the Bears have one Super Bowl win under their belt, but that was during the 1985 season. They have some playoff wins, but not any big victories since 2007.Â
My dad, who was born and raised in Chicago, has always rooted for the team no matter how bad the season was. Being his daughter, I have been expected to root for them as well.Â
After hiring head coach Ben Johnson in January 2025 and putting together an impressive 11-6 season, the Bears’ bandwagon is officially filling up, especially by those who have lost hope in their own teams. The 2025 season for the Bears was an absolute rollercoaster for longtime fans, largely due to their starting, second-year, quarterback Caleb “The Iceman” Williams, earning his nickname known for making the game-winning passes in the last minutes, even seconds, of the fourth quarter.Â
The defining moment from that season was their wild card round win against the Green Bay Packers, where they came back from a 3-21 deficit to win 31-27. Being that they are rivals, the Bears fans went to great lengths to show their dominance over the Packers. Some of the new traditions that came out of this win are the cheese grater hats that blew up on social media. Even Williams wore a grater hat while grating cheese on camera as a play on Green Bay’s iconic “Cheesehead” hats. It was the ultimate fan trolling, or as my Packers fan roommate put it: “You can’t have heated without the rivalry,” referencing Rachel Reid’s “Heated Rivalry.”
The spark that came from the Wild Card win for the Bears set up an explosive start to the next season. The Bears’ first game of the 2026 season was very promising to loyal and new fans. The Bears were in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a game against the Carolina Panthers. Across all four quarters, the Bears offense was relentless, bringing the victory home to the Windy City, 59-37. For this game, Williams did not use his usual method of clinching the win in the last quarter, but instead truly dominated the whole game. The 2026 season is just getting started for the Bears, with Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson stepping up their game.Â
So if you need a new team or are new to the sport, BEAR DOWN!