Forget the Cowboys. In 1985, the Chicago Bears were “America’s Team.” They still are, if you remember the 1980s nostalgically (and who doesn’t?). Their music video was a major reason why. They didn’t just dominate on the gridiron. They also had fun off the field. At least that was how it looked to fans. Yet, many of the Bears had great misgivings about their participation in the fondly remembered rap single and accompanying music video, “The Super Bowl Shuffle.” Several of the former Super Bowl champions remember the production and subsequent craze for their theme song in Jeff Cameron’s short documentary The Shuffle, which premieres tomorrow on HBO.
1985 looked like it would be the Bears year, especially to their hungry fans in Chicago. Observing the national attention many players were generating, especially the larger-than-life William “The Refrigerator” Perry, Chicago-based record label entrepreneur Richard E. “Dick” Meyer hatched an idea to recruit the team for a novelty rap song that would benefit the Chicago Community Trust. He even had an “in” with wide receiver Willie Gault, who sang back-up vocals on a track for one of his R&B artists.
Gault recruited most of the team, starting with the leaders, Pro Bowl running back Walter Payton and linebacker Mike Singletary. With them on-board, the rest of the team fell in line. However, they were scheduled to record the video on the Tuesday morning following their first loss of the season. Suddenly, singing about the Super Bowl felt awfully jinxy to many of the players.
Although just shy of 40 minutes, The Shuffle is a wildly fun trip down memory lane. Yet, it also offers some insight into how the Bears became such a unified team. As Singletary explains, the shoot offered an opportunity for the team to bond outside of a football context. It was also presented a chance for the more rhythmically talented back-ups to teach the starters a thing or two.
Indeed, “The Super Bowl Shuffle” represented all that made the 80’s great. It was unabashedly fun and undeniably swaggering, but in a roguishly endearing way. Yet, it also did good in the process. It is tough to see another pro sports team pulling off their version of a “Shuffle” today, which is a pity. Highly recommended for fans of football and 1980s pop, The Shuffle starts streaming tomorrow (11/25) on HBO.
