NEWSLETTER
I love post-NFL Draft behind-the-scenes content. Hook that stuff straight to my veins and hope that it carries me through until the football year begins again in earnest when training camps open in July. And while the Chicago Bears traditionally don’t share a ton of that stuff, I’m digging what they did share today.
A Mike Singletary pep talk as part of a “Welcome to Chicago” video package that includes Walter Payton and Devin Hester highlights for rookies Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze? Say less, fam:
“Welcome to the Chicago Bears. We have more players in the Hall of Fame than any other team. What are you bringing to add on to this tradition of the Bears? The city is on its toes, man. Looking for a win. Looking for a winner. Looking for a Super Bowl.”
I love *EVERYTHING* about the video above. Watching Rome Odunze and Caleb Williams react to Sweetness and Hester highlights was pretty cool. Hearing an impassioned Mike Singletary was awesome, too. But the best part might’ve been the responses from Odunze and Williams. That is what sticks with me the most.
“I’m bringing somebody that cares. Somebody that loves the game. Somebody that loves his teammates,” Caleb Williams says in the video. “We’re all equal. So treat everybody with respect. Care for everybody. Love everybody.”
“That got me hyped. Got me ready to go,” Odunze says. “The one thing that you can’t control is the attitude and effort. That’s what people always told me. Just encouraging people and also being that example.”
Don’t get it twisted. Athleticism and talent are important to a player’s success. But the best players are the ones who combine skills and a desire to achieve greatness. There is something about the best players having that will to win that rubs off on teammates and elevates teams. At first blush, Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze have that “it” factor going for them as they arrive as rookies in Chicago. How it translates on the field remains to be seen, but I’m looking forward to following along.
Who better to deliver a Bears hype speech than Mike Singletary?
Mike Singletary was a vocal leader as a linebacker for the Super Bowl XX champion the Chicago Bears and a Pro Football Hall of Famer. His soundbites were all over the NFL Films footage throughout the 1980s. If you have some free time on your hands, I strongly encourage you to watch this Mic’d Up Mike Singletary episode from his final game against the Green Bay Packers. It is a treat to watch.
I imagine that younger fans (and players) are more likely to know Singletary from his epic “can’t do it” speech that went viral long before the term meant anything:
MORE: Grading the Chicago Bears 2024 NFL Draft Class
Yeah, that’s the good stuff. It’s a shame that Samurai Mike’s coaching career never took off because the press conferences would be off the hook. But, hey, at least Singletary is free to take that passion, bottle it up, and deliver it to the rookies joining Chicago’s football team. Kudos to the Bears for keeping Singletary and their other legends in the loop. And if you need a hype speech before Week 1, you know who you can turn to…
