Jimbo Covert is bringing his Pro Football Hall of Fame celebration back to Chicago. On Sunday, he’ll receive the Hall’s commemorative ring at halftime of the Bears-49ers game at Soldier Field. The best part, he said, will be surrounding himself with Bears fans.
“I just think being there with all the fans and celebrating with them,” Covert, who played left tackle for the Bears from 1983-90 and won the franchise’s only modern Super Bowl title, said Saturday. “It’s such a historic place and such a meaningful place in my career, Soldier Field.”
In August, he became the 30th Bears player put into the Hall — the most of any franchise. He was first picked in January 2020 as part of the centennial class, but the coronavirus pushed the ceremony back a year.
It’s changed his life.
“The interesting thing is, when you show up at O’Hare Airport a lot of times there will be people waiting at baggage claim with autographs for you to sign,” he said. “I still can’t figure out how they figure that out, when I’m in town.”
That started in December 2019, when he was a finalist. Covert doesn’t mind it one bit.
“I think it’s great to be remembered,” he said.
Covert was always proud of his career, but the Hall nod did add something extra.
“It’s recognition then, that everybody looks at it and says, ‘Now, you’re a Hall of Famer,’” he said. “That’s an important distinction. I think that, in a way, it does validate your career.”
