Chicago Bears

my first memory of actually caring about the bears was watching them blow the doors off the titans 10ish years ago

1989 NFC championship game. I remember being conflicted because I really liked watching Joe Montana. The game was brutal and I remember my dad being really distraught over it. I was too young to remember the Superbowl unfortunately. Also remember liking Mike Tomczak because he was good for throwing at least 2 or 3 bombs every game and I'd geek out jumping up and down. I don't actually know if he was any good or not but he made the games fun to watch.

Halloween-ish, Maybe 94. Anyway, it was a Monday night game at Soldier field and the Packers were backed up inches from their own goal line and Favre threw a 99 yard TD pass to Sterling Sharpe.

Edit: just checked, it was September ‘95, and Robert Brooks. Regardless, and sadly, it set the tone and my expectations for the last 28 seasons.

A video montage of Walter Payton highlights accompanied by Nobody Does it Better by Carly Simon during the NFL Today show, probably in 1978. If I could ever find that clip again I am sure I would choke up, more than a little bit. It was beautiful.

I also remember the 1977 playoff blowout loss to Dallas 37-7 but I prefer the answer above.

I remember seeing Jack Pardee at church once, and my dad pointing out who he was. Not sure if that was before or after the memories above.

Another early memory - also not sure how this one sits on the timeline - is going to training camp in Lake Forest and seeing Walter. Back then you could show up and be an arm’s length from the players as they arrived and left. I also remember my dad pointing to Doug Buffone and saying… “that guy’s name is Doug Buffone, he’s a buffoon.” I was 7 or 8 and didn’t know what a buffoon was. And looking him up years later I found out he actually wasn’t a bad player.

Mike Brown, interceptions walk offs back to back weeks watching with my dad

That was the first season I really say down and watched every game and cared

No particular game is my "first memory," in that I was always aware of being a Bears fan, even though I didn't know what was happening, but the Sunday tradition of going to Whitey's in the DC area starting in second grade was something I looked forward to each week. All our games blend together in my memories of going there, tbh. While we did watch our games at Atlanta and Washington in person, which remain my only NFL games I've personally attended, it wasn't until that playoff loss to the Eagles in the '01 season that a solid memory comes to mind, since my dad had promised to take me to see us play Green Bay if we'd've won, that really cements itself as my first Bears memory, to the extent that when we played the Eagles in the playoffs after the 2018 season, my gut told me what the result would be...

Our game in Washington in '01 is when I learned that scoring a safety is a thing, since seeing a five on the scoreboard led me to ask my dad how that's possible

Reggie bush taunting Brian urlacher in the NFC championship game, and then losing to us

Rex grossman getting hurt in 2004

I remember sitting in my best friends living room watching the 85 Bears play green bay in week 8 I think of their Superbowl season where Payton rushed for almost 200 years. A fan was born.

Nathan Vasher 108 yd field goal return

I distinctly remember rooting for Chris Zorich, because I was a huge Notre Dame fan.

I haven’t been watching NFL very long, only since 2015. My earliest memory was being in work watching us take on the Chargers and Lamarr Houston gets back to back sacks on Rivers late on in the game.

Walter Payton leaping over everybody to score a touchdown. Walter Over The Top.

I remember owning a Bears jersey as logn as I can remember being alive,

My parents got me a #8, which was maybe for Vince Evans? Or someone else? Or just a generic jersey, since this was the early 80s after all.

In 1985, we had Bears day at school, and I proudly wore my number 8 jersey. But some kids made fun of me for wearing a Muary Buford (yes, the punter) jersey. I guess they had a point.

learning the Super Bowl Shuffle in 1st grade of the Antioch Lower Grade :)

Devin heater returns

Mine was watching the “We are who we thought they were” game.

1963 Championship year.

Guess that makes me an old codger.

December 6 1981. My Grandfather allowed me to pick a team between them and the Vikings.

5 bucks vs free chores. Huge Stakes back then. If I won, I'd be kid rich. Back then you could buy a new saddle for your pet Brontosaurus for 10 bucks. (Seriously a Full bag of chips was 25 cents.)

I asked him to describe the type of scheme they used. Team histories. Recent success. I carefully considered all this new information.

Then I decided a Bear would totally eat a Viking. So, I picked Bears.

Bears won 10-9.

Bears QBs went 4/11 1 TD 2 Ints. Walter Payton had 112 yards.

Here's the Boxscore from that game.

https://www.footballdb.com/games/boxscore/minnesota-vikings-vs-chicago-bears-1981120607

It was dark, warm, wet. A sudden burst of light. An intense pressure like I'd never felt before. Father, dressed in white, pulls me forward. Mother bites the cord.

85 bears

At the age of 8 in Wellington, New Zealand my mum bought me a Bears sweatshirt. Nfl highlights were on for 30 min per week. I looked for them everytime.

48 years later me and my family live in Perth, Australia (best place in the world to live) and I think, did my mum do this to me because she loved me or had I pissed her off?

Da Bears.

Playing the Favre Vikings lol

I remember the bears drafting rashawn Salam.

That was the first disappointment and they haven't stopped since

It think it was either 1979 or 1980, thanksgiving against the Lions, we ran back the opening kick in OT to win.

1a) 1986, my Mom and I took a bus...a bus, 10+ hours from Springfield, IL to Dallas to watch the Bears play the Cowboys. We stayed at the same hotel as the Bears and my mom let me hang out in the lobby all day and night before the game looking for players for the autographs. I got nearly 3/4 of the team's autographs, including some coach's who signed. Some notable ones:

Walter Payton

Ditka

Singletary

Neal Anderson

Doug Flutie

Steve McMichael

Dan Hampton

and many, many more.

It was such a great experiences.

1b) I was so excited as an 9 year old, I think I started getting rude when asking for autographs. I made the mistake of going up to Mongo (McMichael) and just yelling "Autograph!" and sticking my pen and book at him. He looked right at me and said "No, you didn't ask nicely". Well, he was right, and I knew better. A couple hours later, he was coming back from where he went, and I asked, "May I please have your autograph?". He grunted, and signed my book... I said, "thank you" and walked away. This "Mongo" story has stuck with me for the next nearly 40 years.

1c) One of the autographs I got on this trip was from RB Coach Johnny Roland. He was an NFL player himself, but coached two of the Bears best RB of all time...Payton and Anderson. I wrote him a thank you letter when I got home (and a few other players I met) and he wrote back. He thanked me for being a fan, and sent a care package box filled with a felt pennant, a book, and a bunch of Bears swag. This was better than Christmas morning for me, it was a personalized care package from the man who coached God.

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No matter how old I am, or how the team performs poorly on the field, I still remember the feeling of opening the care package from the team, I can look at all the autographs and remember how it felt to stand in the elevator with Singletary or watch Payton step out of a limo and walk up to me for an autograph.

And, I remember my mom taking me on a 10+ hour bus ride, each way, for this experience.

This is why I am a lifelong Bears fan.

This one dates me, but that’s ok. I was born in Chicago in 1969 and in 1973 my parents moved to a northern suburb called Deerfield. I went to Walden Elementary school and I had Kindergarten with Brian Piccolo’s daughter Kristi. Brian died when she was an infant so she didn’t really know him. With that said, our kindergarten teacher and principal sure knew about him. They would tell stories every so often about the Chicago Bears and what he did on the field and the community. One of my earliest life memories was playing with blocks and tinker toys with her in class. She wasn’t there the whole year and after that I never saw her again. My family were Bears fans, but that solidified my fandom.

I'm not American. My love for the Bears got started a bit later in life. 18/19 years ago, I had been out drinking on a Sunday evening. Landed home steaming drunk and put on the TV. Flicked through a few channels and saw that one of the channels was showing a Sunday night NFL game. I saw Urlacher sack Joey Harrington twice, and the Bears won. The rest of history.

I’m old enough to remember the 1963 championship team. Because of NFL rules, the game was blacked out in the Chicago area. However, my recollection is we got the game (sorta) on our B&W TV from a Milwaukee station which, I think, illegally boosted their signal strength to get more viewers from the Chicago area.

My dad took me to a game at old soldiers field and we saw them play the Lions with Barry Sanders

Watching the monsters of Midway vhs tape as a child that documented the 85 Bears.

Bobby Douglass

Oldest thing I can actually remember is sitting away from my family on Thanksgiving and watching Barry Sanders run wild on us.

My old man taking me to a bears packers game at old soldier field and is getting our teeth kicked in by Brett favre lol

My first memory as a fan is meeting Walter Payton at training camp. This was after he retired and we saw him while walking into camp at UW Platteville. I went to ask him for an autograph and he said no and started walking away. Then he turned around with the biggest grin ever and was like “just kidding. Of course you can have my autograph.” My mom was so star struck she forgot to take a picture.