As long as there have been organized sports, there have been those who cheered on those who participated. Over the past century, college and professional team sports have not only organized those who lead the cheers of the crowd, but also have brought to life their team names in the forms of mascots.
In many cases, the team name was that of a familiar animal that could easily be transposed into a costume. So for those in the stands it became common to see a lion, tiger, or bear mascot running around the sides of the playing field or even into the stands to help generate more crowd enthusiasm for the home team.
Bear mascots have been commonplace in the American sports scene since the beginnings of the 20th century. Perhaps the most famous “bear” team is the Chicago Bears of the NFL, yet in their history has not been known to have a traditional “bear” mascot, such as someone dressed as a bear walking the sidelines, nor are they currently sporting a professional cheerleading squad.
But the Bears do have an interesting history of untraditional cheerleaders, one of the most famous was a man known as “Rocky”, a middle aged person who roamed the stands with megaphone starting the late 1970’s and helped lead the crowd in cheering until the early 1990’s. Little is known about the man himself and “Rocky” may not even be his real name.
Around the same time, the Bears did form a professional cheerleading squad known as the “Honey Bears”. They were formed around 1977 and were sponsored by Bear legend George Halas, the retired Bear head coach. He vowed that the “Honey Bears” would exist as long as he was alive, two years after his passing the “Honey Bears” made their last appearance at Super Bowl XX where the Bears won their last NFL championship. Since then, there has been no official cheerleading squad for the Bears.
Currently, one of the most recognizable bear mascots is a fellow known as “Bearman”. Don Wachter was a long time season ticket holder who began his cheerleading career in 1995 by running a large “Bear” flag across the field before the start of the home games. But he’s most famous for donning a stuffed bear head on top of his noggin as sort of a helmet and being heavily photographed during the games. He has appeared in numerous commercials and today sits in his North side seat and even travels to many away games irritating the opposing crowds with his unique get up.
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