How I Became a Bears Fan
For as long as I can remember, Ive been a sports girlie. My first love was the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. My parents got cable just to watch the season. We’d have family friends over and the excitement over championship games was more than infections. I specifically remember drawing the words “CRAZY” in multicolor bubble letters in my sketchbook during one of the games.
From there it was Space Jam, Babs Bunny (the OG bad bitch sports girlie), Sporty Spice. I just loved it! I’ve always been a tomboy at heart, but it wasn‘t until my 7th or 8th grade that I fell in love with football. My younger brother was in peewee league and I was (at first) begrudgingly dragged to his Saturday games at my soon to be high school. I sat in the stands away, alone, with my headphones and Walkman on, probably listening to an emo mix my bestie had made me. I’d get my little game day snack - a hotdog, chips and a pop.
His team was actually good. They had a QB with an arm, a decent wide receiver and my brother played safety. He was so little, but he played with a lot of heart. One of his best friends big cousins was one of the coaches. It was a family affair! Every game would start with “We Ready” by Archie Eversole over the loud speakers. I was SOLD, ya’ll.
Not too long after this it was Bears Super Bowl, high school games with the drumline and sneaking sips of waterbottle full of liquor, watching a football game was always a community event .
Bears Sundays became a household staple. Coming home from college, I would always pick up a Lou Malnatis pizza and a 12 pack of Blue Moon to watch with my Tatay and brother. I gathered friends in my backyard and pulled the flat screen outside. We went to bars for $1 beers and wings. Through all the ups and downs and straight up heart ache, I’ve stuck with my Bears.
My brother once described professional sports like tribalism. You don’t choose who you are a fan of. You are born into it and you are loyal to it. As many of the bandwagons fans of the Jay Cutler, Urlacher and Briggs era fell off, I stuck with my team. I entered every season with high hopes and watched trainwrecks in their entirety hoping for the impossible bc, Any Given Sunday, right?
As we usher in the era of Caleb and Ben Johnson, I am excited and it has been incredible to expand my love for the Bears into my other love: fashion and events. But I will never stray too far away from the core of this fandom and that is the love of the game. So as we all lean into our excitement for this team let’s not forget. Once you’re a Bears fan, you’re a fan forever. Green Bay will always SUCK and we Bear TF down ALWAYS.
<3 xO
