NEWSLETTER
Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times put together a must-read piece on Chicago Bears matriarch Virginia McCaskey, and it features a ton of interesting stories that are worth re-sharing:
As the #Bears prepare for their 100th season, I sat down with matriarch Virginia McCaskey for a rare interview. You don't want to miss this: https://t.co/QzV15tDgm1
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) May 25, 2019
My favorite nugget from this wide-ranging interview might be a snapshot from last December when the Bears and Packers squared off. If you’ll remember, a home win against Green Bay would have clinched Chicago’s first playoff appearance in eight years, and would have brought some semblance of revenge after a grueling loss in Week 1 at Lambeau Field. Mrs. McCaskey and her son Pat trekked to a luxury box that was hosting Packers brass, a group the Bears’ matriarch described as “very gracious.”
“They said if they’re not in it, they’ll be rooting for us,” she said. “I’m standing there thinking, “They’re nicer than I am.'”
Zing!
There is no shortage of things I want to share from Finley’s interview. Mrs. McCaskey talked about addressing the team before the start of the 2018 season. She offered up what she would think her father, George Halas, would think about player salaries and Halas Hall renovations. There was also a story of how she brought an autographed photo of Red Grange to prove to the boys at school she knew the team’s star running back. There is even a brief tale explaining how the story of how her son George told reporters his mother was “pissed off” with the Bears’ performance on the day the team fired GM Phil Emery and Head Coach Marc Trestman grew legs of its own, saying she “didn’t use that expression” to share her displeasure with the team — a story that reached all the way to Mrs. McCaskey’s friend who was a nun.
It’s an impressive feature in which Mrs. McCaskey opens up ahead of the team’s celebration of its centennial season. Mrs. McCaskey doesn’t do interviews often, but Finley’s piece, featuring all sorts of anecdotes and images that open a window to the team’s past, is worth clearing your schedule to read.
