Funkier Than the Average Bear

With the Super Bowl upon us, frequent contributing writer Debbie McGuire, A.K.A. my mom, remembers a special moment in time when music and sports collided like two angry linemen.

This is the 25th anniversary for a great music video. No, this group did not make it into the music hall of fame, nor did they win any great awards for their music.

25 years ago, in 1985, the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl. 80’s dance music was in style, Michael Jackson was at the height of his career and Madonna, Wham and Duran Duran were all topping the charts.

We were headed out of the Punk era and onto something new. At the movies we watched The Breakfast Club, Police Academy, Rambo and The Goonies. On T.V. we were watching Moonlighting, MacGyver and the mini-series North and South.

However, in the month of January, in 1985, we all took a moment to watch not only the Chicago Bears win a Super Bowl; we took a whole month and watched the Chicago Bears do The Super Bowl Shuffle on every late night show, on the news, and on the new MTV. Yes, the beloved Super Bowl Shuffle - Jim McMann, Refrigerator Perry and other Bears greats danced, sang, and played their horns to raise money to feed the poor in Chicago. The video is on Youtube now, which of course didn’t even exist in 1985. It’s still just as endearing today as it was then. So, Happy 25th Anniversary to The Super Bowl Shuffle.





-Debbie McGuire