George Wendt Will Be Known for ‘Cheers,’ But Don’t Forget About His Iconic SNL Appearance

George Wendt's portrayal as Chicago sports fan, Bob Swerski, was a huge hit with SNL fans. | NBC

1. The news of George Wendt’s passing on Tuesday had a lot of people reminiscing about Cheers, and rightfully so.

Wendt’s character on the iconic show has a special place in television history simply because of one single word: “Norm.”

In honor of the legendary George Wendt, here is every time Norm Peterson walks into Cheers pic.twitter.com/5qkPUNgFRU

— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) May 20, 2025

Wendt also has a significant place in the sports/pop culture universe thanks to his portrayal of die-hard Bears backer Bob Swerski in the “Super Fans” sketches on Saturday Night Live.

Wendt was not a part of the first “Super Fans” skit, which aired on Jan. 12, 1991, but when he hosted the show on May 18, 1991, Wendt made his debut as one of the super fans and became a staple in the recurring sketch that celebrated Chicago sports.

Wendt’s character introduced the segment by explaining his brother, Bill, was recovering from a heart attack, so Bob was filling in. Wendt immediately showed that he belonged in the sketch. It was just a natural fit.

While the premise of “Super Fans” originally centered around the group’s Bears fandom, the Bulls eventually became a big part of the segment since they dominated the NBA during this time. This led to a memorable appearance by Michael Jordan in September 1991.

The run of “Super Fan” sketches in 1991 closed with the group celebrating Thanksgiving at Ditka’s Sports Bar, with Bob telling everyone that Bill had another heart attack.

The “Super Fans” sketch became so popular that the group branched out into a slew of commercials as well as other appearances.

The triumph of Cheers as well as the run with the “Super Fans” sketch made for quite the one-two punch for Wendt.

2. At some point today, the NFL will make a ruling on the tush push. I’m fine if they keep it and I’m fine if they ban it. These takes are why I could never be on a hot-take show. Anyway, regardless of what happens, it was highly amusing to see Good Morning Football’s Kyle Brandt out on the streets of New York City to get people to vote on the tush push.

I took to the streets, to let the people vote on The Tush Push.

Commanders fans
Jets fans
Bills fans
And a ton of loud Eagles fans pic.twitter.com/LxyDYfdrQq

— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) May 21, 2025

3. TNT’s Reggie Miller, who will call the Pacers-Knicks series, also took to the streets of New York City to see what kind of reception he’d get as one of the all-time Big Apple sports villains. My favorite part of the video is when you can’t hear Miller and the random guy talking because of booming noises in the background. Perfect New York moment.

Reggie Miller on New Yorkers: “1st thing that comes out of their mouth is ‘I hate you’”

Reggie Miller with New Yorkers: pic.twitter.com/GVssOeBNVH

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) May 20, 2025

4. I watched Untold: The Fall of Favre last night. I was kind of shocked at how bad it was. You learn absolutely nothing.

Champion. MVP. Hall of Famer. But that's not the whole story.

Untold: The Fall of Favre digs into Brett Favre's controversial career, the dark side of sports stardom, and the scandals that marred his legacy. Premiering May 20. pic.twitter.com/6RU6IGVx1Q

— Netflix (@netflix) April 29, 2025

5. The ridiculous story about Aaron Hernandez isn’t what’s significant about this clip. It’s Rob Gronkowski’s reaction.

This Aaron Hernandez story is truly one of the craziest stories I’ve heard on @BussinWTB pic.twitter.com/wsMeOosi5u

— Will Compton (@_willcompton) May 20, 2025

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with ESPN legend Chris Berman.

Berman talks about signing a contract extension with ESPN that will keep him with the network until 2029—his 50th year at ESPN, working the Super Bowl on Valentine’s Day in 2027 and the “Fastest Three Minutes in Sports.”

Berman also discusses turning 70, the simplicity of NFL Primetime, whether he’s still mad that NBC and the NFL killed Primetime, Brent Musburger finally winning the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, the circus currently surrounding Bill Belichick, recent concerts he’s attended and much more.

Following Berman, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss the NBA playoffs, NBC hiring Michael Jordan to be a special contributor, the NFL schedule, Sal’s Mother's Day and Jimmy’s dad having a remote control disaster.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Bad job by me not mentioning this yesterday since Road Trip is one of my all-time favorite comedies.

25 YEARS AGO we drove to Austin, Massachusetts! pic.twitter.com/G3OBgZgbhX

— Breckin Meyer (@breckinmeyer) May 20, 2025

I could not eat french toast for a while after watching the movie.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

This article was originally published on www.si.com as George Wendt Will Be Known for ‘Cheers,’ But Don’t Forget About His Iconic SNL Appearance.