At 7:00pm on Wednesday evening, the Chicago Bears and the rest of the NFL officially released their 2019 schedules, all in unique fashions.
Even though sources leaked the schedule hours earlier, this trend of creating and sharing videos has become the norm for each team’s social media over the last couple of years. In 2018, the Bears released their schedule in a comic book format, teaming up with ATHLiTACOMiCS and former Bears defensive end Israel Idonije. This campaign ended up carrying through the 2018 season and became a fun feature during the season.
This year, the Bears announced their schedule through a classic film reel video session, presumably back in time and operated by a figure who acts as George “Papa Bear” Halas. The video begins highlighting the Bears 100-year celebration and then transitions into highlights featuring Dick Butkus, Mike Ditka, Walter Payton, Devin Hester, and more.
The opponents and game dates flash across the screen, with current Bears highlights and classic calls from play-by-play announcer Jeff Joniak. Once the schedule is complete, the video transitions back to 2019 with current technology, and instead of Halas, it’s current head coach Matt Nagy who turns the projector off, grabs his signature visor, and says “alright, let’s go”. before leaving the room.
The video is an excellent tribute to the 100 years of Bears football that touches on the rich history the charter franchise has made, while also shifting the focus towards the future at the end. The Bears will continue to highlight their 100th year anniversary throughout 2019, meaning fans will likely see more and more historic highlights and moments.
