Ed Note: This week we present a special edition of the AA Podcast hosted by Paul Pabst, producer of The Dan Patrick Show. Paulie sat down with acclaimed director Jason Hehir last week for AA ahead of the release of ESPN’s next installment in their 30 for 30 series – “The ’85 Bears.” Enjoy this conversation that dives deep into one of the greatest and most iconic teams of all-time.
Let me put this right out there, I grew up on the Chicago Bears. My father loved them and even played high school football with Dick Butkus at Chicago Vocational High School. By the time the Bears got to the 1985 season, I was entrenched. I had lived through the late ugly years… the late 70’s and early 80’s where watching Walter Payton was the only upside of Bear fandom.
After the successful ’84 season, my 15-year old self expected a Super Bowl, as did most Bears fans. When you are 15, girls, cars, college, and work are just ABOUT TO BE your focus. However, at 15, I lived and died with every Bears game. I cared about a team that year, intensely, like I would never care again. I think many Bears fans 40 and over are similar. That’s as good as it’s going to get, which is a bit sad. The peak of our sports fandom, love, whatever you want to call it…was 30 years ago. It will never happen again like it did in 1985.
When I heard that ESPN 30 for 30 would take on the ’85 Bears, my first thought was…what took so long? My second thought was… what will it show that I haven’t seen before. I, we, lived it in Chicago. How could a director from New England tell this story? Last January I met Emmy winning producer/director Jason Hehir in New York City. He was already knee deep in research about the ’85 Bears. He was immersed in books, videos, articles and every piece of info he could obtain. He was prepared and fired up to take on this story. Great sports teams/athletes/stories really only get one chance to be made into a documentary. You whiff, it’s over. I spoke to him just hours before the Chicago premiere.
Follow Paulie on Twitter @PaulPabst and The Dan Patrick Show @dpshow. Follow Jason on Twitter @jasonmhehir.
