How did you become a fan of the Chicago Bears?

With the Chicago Bears’ 100th anniversary celebration taking place this weekend, we wanted to talk to you guys, the fans. After all, the Bears’ fan-base is full of some of the most intelligent and passionate fans in all of sports. Sure there are some meatballs out there, but you can’t deny their passion. And yes, there are a few cynical fans, but their negativity comes from a passionate place too.

At the end of the day, we’re all Bears fans and we all want our team to win a championship.

Today, I want you guys to tell us how you became a Bears fans in the comment section. We’ve done these in the past, but with so many new faces I wanted to get us all a refresher.

I’ll go first, and since I’ve given my story on her a few times, I’ll make it brief.

My first favorite team was the... Dallas Cowboys. Yes I know, but it was the 70’s and they were America’s Team. I didn’t know any better.

But my cousin was a huge Cowboy fan too, so I had to switch my allegiance. No, not to the Bears, but to the Pittsburgh Steelers! Mean Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swan, and the fact that they seemed to always be the Super Bowl champs made it an easy choice to annoy my cousin.

But then my stepbrother told me that Franco Harris was soft and that I should cheer for a team with a tough as nails running back like Walter Payton. I ignored him for a while, but since I did live in Illinois, the Chicago Bears were on every week, so watching their games was easiest.

It may have taken me a minute of really watching Sweetness run the ball that I opened my eyes and converted to a full fledged Bears fan. This was the early 80s, so the Bears hadn’t become the iconic 85 Bears yet, but watching Payton run was incredible. All eleven guys on defense knew that number 34 was getting the ball, but they couldn’t stop him.

Payton made me a Bears fans.

What’s your story?