Is the "Curse of the Honey Bears" behind Chicago's Super Bowl drought since 1986?
It's been 40 years since the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl and, perhaps coincidentally, also since their cheerleading squad, the Honey Bears, were seen shimmying on the sidelines.
The squad was disbanded after the 1985-86 season, so could it be the reason the team has had such a playoff and Super Bown drought since?
Some call it the "curse of the Honey Bears." But not everyone believes it's true.
Janette Tepas, Michellise Lawson and Renee Halverson were all part of that special piece of Bears history and sisterhood. The Honey Bears rooted on the Monsters of the Midway from 1977 to 1986.
"It was a great time, really," Tepas said.
"People would walk up to us and say, 'Oh you're the Honey Bears!' and the doors would open" said Lawson.
"We kind of had the key to the city, really," said Halverson.
"You had the motivation, that's so important to the energy of the game," added Tepas.
"But I think also the uniform was a key factor," Halverson chimed in.
The Honey Bears had fans, players and VIPs wrapped around their fingers. Outside of game day and practices, they won over the community too, spending countless hours helping raise money for charities across Chicago. They had the full support of team founder George Halas, but change loomed after his death, death.
CBS News Chicago reporter Jeannie Morris reported in 1985 that the Bears said their cheerleaders, "as presently constituted," would "no longer be part of the Soldier Field scene."
The Bears' only Super Bowl win was Jan. 26, 1986. It was also the Honey Bears' final game, as decided by Virginia McCaskey.
"Virginia didn't want dancing girls," recalled Halverson. "Her father did. He wanted Chicago Bear cheerleaders to help bring color and enthusiasm. And to me it's like, you're going against Papa Bear's wish here. We're trying to lift this curse. We're saying 'Bring us back in some form.'"
These women believe the curse of the Honey Bears means that, without dancers on the sidelines, there won't be another Bears Super Bowl win. But they don't want that, so they picked up their poms once again.
And based on the video we found in our archives, the hair may be different but they've still got the moves.
There's deep personal history the former cheerleaders believe is worth preserving for the public. Halverson wrote a book, published in 2018, about the Honey Bears' history, featuring stories from the women who lived it.
Forty years later, they said they'd love to see a new generation on the sidelines. And if there is truth to the curse, they'd like to see it reversed.
The ladies also told us that the dancers learned they were getting the axe at the last practice before the Super Bowl. Some of the Honey Bears, and their coach, wound up getting their next break with another Chicago pro team: they founded the Luv-A-Bulls.