Story and Photography By Megan and Hayden Melone
Since the departure of the St. Louis Rams the most prominent NFL team to St. Louis and to McKendree are the Chicago Bears. But I don’t know that much about football, or the Bears, so I asked the biggest Bears fan I know- my brother, Hayden.
The Bears were established in 1919 and their home stadium, Soldier Field, is located on the south side of Chicago. I interviewed Hayden on the Bears’ 2025 season:
How long have you been a Bears fan?
MELONE: Like six or seven years.
Do you have a favorite bears team out of the entire history of the franchise?
MELONE: The 1985 Bears were the best, that was the year they won the Superbowl.
How has the 2025 season been?
MELONE: Ups and downs, for sure. Some good wins, some bad losses.
A lot of the games that I’ve been seeing, it seems like the other team either makes a comeback or, like, you know, we’re winning by a few points, and the other team comes up, and it looks like we’re going to lose, and then we either do lose it, or we come out and win.
MELONE: Statistically, we have been winning a lot of tight games this year. The majority of our wins have come from tight, one score games, except for the Cowboys. Although, our losses have been pretty bad losses.
Who is the current coach?
MELONE: Ben Johnson is our current coach, he is a very offensive-minded coach, which has really brought our offense together and helped Caleb Williams get better. The 2025 coaching staff is 10 times better than last year.
Tell me about the quarterback, Caleb Williams.
MELONE: Well, we drafted him 1st pick in the NFL draft last year. And he’s had a lot better start to the year in 2025, though he can be inconsistent in his accuracy. With Ben Johnson coaching Williams has improved a lot.
Are there any other standout players?
MELONE: Rome Odunze is having a breakout season. He’s a wide receiver for the Bears and was drafted last year with the ninth overall pick.
So, you have been to a Bears game at Soldier Field. What was your opinion on it going from the TV to in-person?
MELONE: I thought Soldier Field was a great experience. It was an entirely different experience actually being there. The atmosphere was amazing and the fans, they’re very extreme with everything. It is sad that the team is moving to Arlington Heights because it’s a suburb and it’s not really in Chicago. It will be hard to call them the Chicago Bears when they’re not really in Chicago.
What do you predict for the rest of the season? Do you think they will go far?
MELONE: They have a tougher mini schedule coming up but I think they can squeak through to the playoffs. But that might be being a little generous.
