CHICAGO – If the Bears new general manager and head coach want to see what their main goal is, tell them to take a look back in time to exactly 36 years ago on Thursday.
Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus will get an idea of just how much a Super Bowl title would mean to a city, because the fans showed that on January 27, 1986.
That’s when the City of Chicago held a parade for the World Champions downtown less than 24 hours after they crushed the Patriots 46-10 in New Orleans to end their 22-year title drought.
Thousands of people disregarded the near-zero degree temperatures and frigid wind chills to welcome the conquering heroes back to the city to enjoy their first championship since 1963. Fans were so eager to cheer the team that they swarmed the busses as they made their way toward the Daley Center for a rally.
Players weren’t bothered, as they climbed on top of the busses and started celebrating with the fans who were down below.
Eventually, the team made it to the Daley Center for the rally, with then team president Michael McCaskey triumphantly holding the team’s first, and so far only, Vince Lombardi Trophy for the fans to see. Mayor Harold Washington enthusiastically led the crowd in cheers and introduced a few players who came to the podium to speak.
Naturally, the enthusiastic Steve McMichael had one of the lines of the rally.
“We all have bragging rights over the whole god damn country!” said the defensive tackle to the crowd, and at that moment, he was indeed right.
Larry Hawley took a look back at Channel 9’s coverage of that Super Bowl championship parade on WGN News Now’s “Throwback Thursday,” which you can see in the video above.