Bears Blitz

Published by Kevin Whitesell on May 13, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The 1985 Chicago Bears are my favorite team not because of their relentless 46 D; that’s just too easy of an answer to give, but rather they are my favorite team simply because of their offense.

Here is a little word association to explain my reasoning.

Jim McMahon—“Punky QB”

Walter Payton—“Sweetness”

Gault—“Speedie Willie”  

These may seem ordinary enough, but they serve as the basis for this discussion. We now go back 24 years to examine that team.

The 1985 Chicago Bears’ offense can be described in two words, style and grace. No, not what Madonna said in her her hit song Vogue, but rather the kind of style and grace that would turn a commissioner’s head and make make opposing defenses say, “Wow.”  

Jim McMahon’s style was classic ‘80s: headbands and cool shades. While I am too young to remember this, in his first public appearance, McMahon apparently held a “cold beverage” to celebrate his liberation from BYU. 

On the field, McMahon was a fierce competitor known for throwing caution to the wind in regards to his body. He led the Bears to an 18-1 record in 1985 and a victory in Super Bowl XX.

He even mooned the journalists in New Orleans, the site of the Super Bowl, who wanted to know the status of his glut injury sustained during the Bears’ playoff run.

Unfortunately for McMahon, his reckless play would lead to him battling injuries the rest of his career.

As for his shades, an incident involving a fork while only six-years-old forced McMahon to wear shades and tinted helmet visors to protect his right eye from bright light. The man played quarterback at a high level with a tinted visor and one eye.

He may not have had exuberant stats, but he sure looked like he had fun out there. Maybe McMahon was an early form of Brett Favre in regards to the latter.

McMahon was a warrior for the Bears, especially on that 1985 squad. I would have had him on my team any day.

A man I do remember vividly on that ’85 Bears team is the one they called “Sweetness.” Watching No. 34 run was like watching ballet on the football field.

Payton played on some awful Bears’ teams early in his career with remarkable success. But, in 1985 Payton and his stutter-stepping running style led the Bears to the league’s second best offense.

Payton did not score a touchdown in the Super Bowl, which to this day I still don’t understand. In my eyes, he changed the way the position is played with his rushing attempts, his receptions, and his durability. I only wished he had made it into the end zone on that January afternoon back in 1985.

“Speedie” Willie Gault never had over 1,000 yards receiving in one year during his career. In fact, in 1985, he only had 704. Willie was a decent wide receiver and kick returner, and that’s all they needed.

I remember watching McMahon just air-it-out and somehow Gault would just be there to catch the rock.

It also didn’t hurt that he was a track star back then, and what I’ve read recently, his is now even at age 45.

The 1985 Bears were a “band full of idiots” before that slogan was even popular. Sorry Red Sox fans. They invented cool. They were a pretty good football team as well. They had fun and got the job done. That is why they are my favorite team of all-time.

It also didn’t hurt that they made a music video too.

“We are the Bears Shufflin Crew.”