- Super Bowl Championships: 1
- Last Super Bowl Championship: Super Bowl 20
- Claim to Fame: The Bears have the most Hall of Fame members with 27 and the most regular-season wins in the NFL (749)
- Claim to Shame: Chicago has only made the playoffs four times in the last 23 seasons
Love them or hate them, the Bears have some serious roots. Chicago holds the records for most wins by a franchise (739), the most Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees (27), and the most retired jerseys (14).
Once a company team for a food starch business, the Bears would later become one of the first teams to assemble what we know today as the National Football League, in 1921. Fun fact: the Bears were originally named the “Staleys” but were soon renamed to reflect the city’s baseball team, the Cubs.
The Bears were dominant in their early years, winning four titles from 1933-1943. Following the golden years of the 30s and 40s, the Bears struggled to win much of anything until Mike Ditka took over the reigns in 1982.
Ditka would coach the team for ten seasons while leading the Bears to their first – and only – Super Bowl title in 1985.
Playing in a tough NFC North division alongside the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions, the Bears have largely struggled in the modern era. However, 2018 may have marked a turning point. The team improved from 5-11 in 2017 to 12-4 last year, good for first in the NFC North by 3.5 games.
The defense was the best in the league by almost any metric, including the all-important defensive efficiency (by a wide margin).
Most expect regression in that area, as it’s almost impossible to sustain that level of defensive dominance year over year (takeaways, in particular, tend to regress). But the good news is that the offense should be a little more effective with Mitchell Trubisky entering his third year as starter.
While the recent past is one to forget for Bears fans, the current air in Chicago is filled with optimism and promise.
