Arts & Entertainment
Watch the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl Victory Parade From 40 Years Ago
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On Jan. 26, 1986, the Chicago Bears won their first and only Super Bowl, besting the New England Patriots 46-10. On this day 40 years ago, the team held a victory parade in downtown Chicago.
Some 500,000 fans showed up to celebrate, withstanding a windchill of 25 below zero, to welcome the home team along a route that started at LaSalle Street and Jackson Boulevard and ended at Daley Plaza for a rally where five players spoke. While it was a joyous occasion, fans were disappointed that eight Bears stars, including Jim McMahon, Mike Singletary and Richard Dent, were absent due to their mandatory reporting for the Pro Bowl game in Honolulu.
Also a bummer? The fact that the weather kept the returning Bears players inside their buses. The Chicago Tribune interviewed one fan who said, “They play football in weather like this. You would think they could ride in an open automobile.”
While the parade could’ve been better, the actual Super Bowl was one for the history books.
“Chicago Tonight” and host John Callaway went to New Orleans for that remarkable game. Watch the video from that once-in-a-lifetime WTTW assignment here.
