The Chicago Bears came into the new season with a new head coach, Ben Johnson. He was most recently working with the Detroit Lions as their offensive coordinator and was named the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year.
When Chicago reached out to Johnson about the possibility of being the team’s head coach, it almost seemed like a full-circle moment. While Johnson grew up in North Carolina, he and his brother were Chicago Cubs fans.
Johnson and his brother would come home from school and turn on WGN, which used to broadcast the Cubs’ game nationally. He spoke about his early memories of following the Cubs with his brother during his introductory press conference, via WGN’s Andy Koval.
“I still remember growing up and coming home from school, my brother and I, he’s three years younger than me, we would always turn on WGN when we came home,” Johnson said. “And there’s Harry Caray, there’s Mark Grace, there’s Ryne Sandberg – it got into the Sammy Sosa years. We followed it almost every single day.”
Ben Johnson took a liking to the city of Chicago thanks to the Cubs
Ben Johnson’s brother would go on to put his name on the list for season tickets. It would take some time, but the family would then secure their tickets and make a trip to Chicago an annual family event.
“It took about six to eight years, but finally his name got to the top of it and he ended up getting four tickets,” Johnson said. “It was a great time for me and my family but we just fell in love with the city as well.”
