Recounting the magic of the 1985 Bears, 40 years after their Super Bowl win

There’s a million reasons why the 1985 Chicago Bears transcend time, and winning the Super Bowl is just one of them.

Monday marks the 40th anniversary of Super Bowl XX, the culmination of one of the greatest seasons in NFL history that saw the Bears steamroll the New England Patriots in New Orleans. That victory established the team as Chicago legends, and has colored the national viewpoint of the team ever since.

“Chicago has been called the ‘s’Second City’ forever,” said Dan Hampton, a stalwart on the team’s defensive line. “For that one moment in time, we were nobody’s second. We were the first.”

This team was committed and they competed hard, endearing themselves to their fans in Chicago.

“We had a set of practice rules, it was full go, man, it was live,” said former player Tom Thayer. “And it was against the best competition. We are the best offense practicing against the best defense.”

Known for their dominant defense and physical offense, the Bears led the league in almost every way that season.

“We had overcome a lot of things, and we had set in our minds the Super Bowl, right after that loss to San Francisco the year before,” linebacker Mike Singletary said.

Singletary was described as the “heart of the defense” for the team that was breathlessly talked about as a force of nature, combining gritty play that appealed to the Midwest’s largest metropolis and personalities that made them national icons.

“You know, you got the big guy like William Perry,” Thayer explained. “You got the good looking guy like Gary Fencick. You got wild guy like Jim McMahon. You got an analytical, educational guy like Mike Singletary. You got Richard Dent, who’s drafted from nowhere but became a Hall of Famer and MVP. You got movie characters like Steve McMichael and Dan Hampton. So when you look at the personalities of that football team, there’s something for everybody.”

Needless to say, everybody loved the Monsters of the Midway, both on and off the field. There was no better evidence of that than the distinction of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy while also being nominated for a Grammy award for the iconic “Super Bowl Shuffle.”

Hampton said he and some of his teammates weren’t initially onboard with the idea.

“Well, that’s the thing, I didn’t want anything to do with it,” he said. “And me and (Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichael), we were superstitious because we were 11-0 or 12-0. And we didn’t want to be part of anything that could derail this Super Bowl train that we were riding on.”

Hampton eventually came around.

“Looking back, I mean, it was fantastic. It was a great tune. All the guys had a lot of fun doing it,” he added.

Now, 40 years later, the 1985 season lives on like it was yesterday, for fans and players alike.

“I’m thinking about that year. That time. That moment. It was just… it was amazing,” Singletary said.

“You know, I always say Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It’s my favorite movie. Because what is your golden ticket?  Everybody in life has a golden ticket. And football was my golden ticket, it is my golden ticket still,” Thayer said. “And winning the Super Bowl, it’s like you walked out of the chocolate factory and Gene Wilder gave you the keys to the factory. It’s amazing.”