1985 Chicago Bears

There was something in the air in Platteville, WI, in August 1985. Throngs of new tourists suddenly showing up to watch the team practice. Jim McMahon, soon to be dubbed the "Punky QB" in pop-culture lore, sported a mohawk as a result of a mistake he made while cutting his own hair. And a gargantuan first-round pick, defensive tackle William Perry from Clemson, struggled to stay alive in the sweltering heat. Mike Ditka set the tone, as he told the team that this was their year. "Put a chip on your shoulder, and don't let anyone knock it off until we win the super bowl!", became the team's rallying cry. The Bears started opening day off shaky, as Tampa Bay led them at halftime. The team prevailed, however, and defeated the Buccaneers 38-28. The next week the defense dominated, shutting down New England in a 20-7 win, despite Walter Payton being held to one of his lowest rushing totals in his career.

The following Thursday night at Minnesota, Jim McMahon was forced to the bench by Ditka because of missing practice with a sore neck (many attributed this injury to McMahon's habit of head-butting his offensive linemen after scores). With Steve Fuller at the helm, Minnesota led 17-9 in the third quarter. Ditka gave in to McMahon's urges, and put him in the game. The rest, as they say, is history. McMahon fired 3 touchdown passes, #1 being on his very first play in the game, to lead the Bears to a 33-24 victory. The following week, Chicago destroyed Washington 45-10 in a rematch of 1984's divisional playoff. The next week, they beat Tampa at home, 27-19, then travelled to San Francisco to pay the defending world champions back for the championship game lost the previous year. The 49ers had no chance, as the Bear's defense kept Joe Montana on the ground for much of the game. The 49er game also featured the debut of a new American hero- "The Refridgerator" William Perry. Ditka inserted Perry as a running back at the end of the game to pay back SF coach Bill Walsh for doing the same with Guy McIntyre the year before. A star was born. To go along with a winning football team, Chicago now possessed a group of pop-culture icons.

Perry's legend grew on national television the following Monday night against Green Bay. Perry served up two crushing blocks for Walter Payton, and scored a touchdown himself, in a 21-7 victory. The following week against Minnesota, he netted his first sack in a 26-7 Bears victory. The Bears finished the first half of 1985 at 8-0.

On November 3rd, Chicago went to Green Bay for a grudge match-rematch. The Packers fought all the way through the game, as they felt Chicago had humiliated them on Monday night 2 weeks before. The Bears still came away with a victory 16-10, featuring William Perry the wide receiver, who caught a short touchdown pass just before halftime. In the next 3 games, the Bears were clearly on a roll. They beat up on Detroit, Dallas, and Atlanta by a combined score of 104-3. The pinnacle was a 44-0 defeat of the Cowboys in Dallas, their worst loss at home ever. These 3 losses set up disappointment at Miami on December 2nd. The Dolphins defeated the Bears 38-24, and ensured they would remain the only unbeaten team in the modern era.

Ironically, Bears players gathered the following day to record the "Super Bowl Shuffle" video and single. Some players were invited, but refused to participate. After the Miami loss, the team did turn it back around, with 3 wins over Indianapolis, the New York Jets and Detroit, to finish the regular season. The playoffs were upon the Bears, and they controlled their destiny with home field advantage throughout the post season.

The playoffs began as Chicago hosted the New York Giants on January 5, 1986. The naysayers were primed for a letdown. Hadn't the fans of Chicago paid attention as the 1983 White Sox and 1984 Cubs struck out of the playoffs so quickly? The Bears did not listen, as they shut out New York, 21-0. "It's going to get better," stated defensive leader Mike Singletary, as the Bears had a matchup with the Los Angeles Rams in their second Championship Game appearance in as many years.

Coach Mike Ditka started the week off by telling the press that "In life, there are teams called Smith, and teams called "Grabowski"....We're Grabowskis!" The term became a rallying cry for the Bears, who were proud of their blue-collar image in a blue-collar city. Just as they had the week before, the Bears shut out Los Angeles 24-0. They dominated the game and shut down NFL Leading Rusher Eric Dickerson. The NFC Championship game featured some high drama of its own in the final seconds. Down 17-0, Los Angeles was desperately trying to put points on the board. As QB Dieter Brock dropped back to pass, he was sacked by Richard Dent, and fumbled the ball. Just as Wilbur Marshall picked up the ball and ran in for a touchdown, it started to snow. Many surmised it was George Halas giving his mark of approval on the team.

Super Bowl 20 in New Orleans was almost anti-climactic compared to the weeks leading up to the game. Jim McMahon mooned a news helicopter, was accused of calling all the women of New Orleans "sluts", and Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan was rumored to be leaving the team for Philadelphia. The night before the game, Ryan told his defense that "No matter what happens, you'll always be my heroes." After many tears were shed, Steve McMichael impaled the wall with a chair, and the team was ready to take no prisoners the following day.
The Bears won Super Bowl 20 by a score of 46-10, by far the largest margin of victory in a super bowl to that point. Buddy Ryan did in fact leave the team shortly after the victory, but not until after he was carried off the field along with Head Coach Mike Ditka. The Bears were undoubtedly the most dominating team in history in 1985, so talk of a dynasty was ripe in everyone's minds in Chicago.