Fansided

Each NFL team’s most famous fan

By Brad Weiss

US President Barack Obama poses with members of the Chicago Bears and representatives during an event celebrating 1985 Super Bowl champions, the Chicago Bears, October 7, 2011 on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. The team's 1986 White House reception to celebrate its Super Bowl victory was cancelled due to the Space Shuttle Challenger crash. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama poses with members of the Chicago Bears and representatives during an event celebrating 1985 Super Bowl champions, the Chicago Bears, October 7, 2011 on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. The team's 1986 White House reception to celebrate its Super Bowl victory was cancelled due to the Space Shuttle Challenger crash. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 07: Former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka (C) presents U.S. President Barack Obama (L), with a team jersey, while flanked by Defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan (R), and other members of the the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears, on the south lawn of the White House, on October 7, 2011 in Washington, DC. President Obama who is a Bears fan, realized the team never got to enjoy the customary ceremony given to the champions of the season, and invited the team to the White House. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 07: Former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka (C) presents U.S. President Barack Obama (L), with a team jersey, while flanked by Defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan (R), and other members of the the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears, on the south lawn of the White House, on October 7, 2011 in Washington, DC. President Obama who is a Bears fan, realized the team never got to enjoy the customary ceremony given to the champions of the season, and invited the team to the White House. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) /

Chicago Bears: Barack Obama

The Chicago Bears are one of the more iconic franchises in NFL history, as they boast some of the biggest names to ever play the game. Guys like Dick Butkus, Walter Payton, and Mike Ditka are all enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and Ditka helped lead the team to the 1985 Super Bowl title with his incredible Bears defense.

That 1985 team never got to visit the President after their win, as the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded only two days after their win. Obviously, the President had other matters to attend to, but the 85 Bears got their day in the sun when President Obama got into office.

Obama is a native of Chicago, and spent years as the Senator for the state of Illinois prior to becoming the 44th President of the United States. He has an incredible love for everything Chicago, including their sports teams, so it would make sense that he would invite Ditka and the remaining Bears to the White House for a visit.

The team presented him with a No. 85 jersey, and it was an incredible day for everyone involved. While Ditka’s love for Obama has become non-existent in recent years, that was an all out class move by the former President, and you have to believe it would have never happened had Obama never become President.

During his time in office, Obama displayed his love for sports on numerous occasions. He would play basketball all the time, and every year, he would make his predictions for the Men’s and Women’s March Madness tournaments. Still, nothing in sports means more to him than his Chicago teams, and the Bears are at the forefront of that fandom.

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