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In an official announcement, ESPN revealed that they will be showcasing an eight episode feature series on Chicago Bears fans starting Tuesday, April 11.
Entitled “We The Fans”, ironically the profile show follows season ticket holders from Section 250 at Soldier Field during this past year’s dreadful 3-13 season.
Former head coach Mike Ditka and defensive tackle Steve McMichael are set to make cameos in episode one to give the program a boost before focusing on the real focal point: The fans who passionately dedicate themselves to their favorite football team and how it affects their relationships with family and friends.
The series appears to be about sports fandom hope and the common theme of bringing people together as Ditka is quoted as saying, ““At the start of the season, nobody has any wins. That’s why opening week is so damn much fun — particularly if you win. Because then the fans will believe anything.”
With that in mind, cameras go behind the scenes of a wedding, regular Sunday rituals, a family reunion, and more as they follow the typical routines of diehard Bears fans. No doubt the series will also focus on how the people dealt with one of the franchise’s worst seasons at the disastrous 3-13 record and emotional coping in that light.
That’s sure to bring some drama to a show about sticking through thick and thin.
Expect the program to feature ESPN’s top notch cinematography and editing which will add oomph to the driving force of the subject matter. No doubt an interesting narrative thread about not only Bears fans, but football fans in general will be created here.
After the two episode premiere of “We The Fans” on April 11, two episodes will air every subsequent week all the way through May 2. The first half of the program will be available on the Watch ESPN app two days before the premiere, while the remaining episodes will be available on the app immediately after they air on television.
Robert Zeglinski is the Bears beat writer for the Rock River Times and is a staff writer for Windy City Gridiron and Second City Hockey. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.