Obama welcomes 1985 Chicago Bears to White House
President Obama welcomed the 1985 Chicago Bears to the White House on Friday afternoon for what he called a "well-deserved and long overdue recognition" of their Super Bowl Championship season.
"This is as much fun as I will have as president of the United States," said Mr. Obama, a Bears fan and former Chicago resident. "This is one of the perks of the job, right here."
He heaped praise on players including Gary Fencik, Richard Dent Willie Gault, Shaun Gayle, coaches Mike Ditka and then-defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, and everyone involved with the "gritty, gutsy" squad he called the "greatest team in NFL history."
"This game changed everything for every team that came after them," he said. "...They changed the laws of football." Mr. Obama said.
The 1985 Bears, who went 15-1 in the regular season, never got to visit the White House following their 1986 Super Bowl win due to the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle just two days after their victory.
"Shortly after I took office someone at the NFL realized, 'hey, there's a Bears fan who lives in the White House,'" the president said. "And they called my staff and asked if we could make this happen."
After Mr. Obama's remarks, Ditka presented Mr. Obama with a Bears jersey with the name "Obama" on the back and the number "85" below it.
The president noted that when he ran for Senate in Illinois, there were calls for Ditka to run against him. Mr. Obama said he had been relieved the Bears coach decided not to do so.
"I have to admit I was a little worried, because he doesn't lose," he said.
The president also made reference to the Bears' "Super Bowl Shuffle," discussing how the team captured the hearts of the country even before 24-hour sports networks caught on. He deemed Walter Payton, who died in 1999, "one of the greatest ever to play the game," and singled out the team's defense for its toughness.
"These guys lived to wreak havoc," he said.
Check out the "Super Bowl Shuffle" music video below.