(hip-hop music)
♪ We are the Bears' shuffling crew ♪
♪ Shuffle on down, doing it for you ♪
- [Narrator] Chances are you've heard this song before.
You might have even memorized some of the dance moves.
Like this sassy little number by Dan Rains,
Thomas Sanders, and Ken Taylor.
Or maybe this cheeky hip action with finger guns
by the guys in the front row.
Oh yeah, that's the stuff.
That front row by the way was almost entirely
made up of Bears defensive players.
Sure, the '85 Bears had Sweetness and McMahon
but Buddy Ryan's defense stole the show.
They were the reason the Bears were confident enough
to produce this music video before
they even made it to the Super Bowl.
Before the season even ended.
Before there were the viral tandem bike-riding
Feet and Flow Ryans,
there was Papa Ryan aka James David Ryan
aka Buddy Ryan.
The Budster was about as a big of a football guy
as you can get.
He helped the Jets when Super Bowl III,
17 years before the mastermind behind the Butt Fumble
was even born.
And he coached the Vikings' famous Purple People Eaters.
When Ryan became the Bears' defensive coordinator,
he brought with him a scheme that was unlike
anything the NFL had ever seen:
the 46 Defense.
First and foremost, the 46 Defense was all about
putting pressure on the quarterback.
The basics of the scheme involves putting six men
on the line of scrimmage with two linebackers
on the offense's weak side.
It creates a mismatch for blockers
and puts pressure on the quarterback
to throw the ball quickly.
The Bears were successful at running the 46 Defense
because they had so many stars.
Like hall-of-famer Mike Singletary.
On this play, Singeltary is lined up
at the line of scrimmage.
As soon as the offensive lineman adjusts to block
the additional pass rushers on the left side,
Singletary is all alone to show off his speed
up the middle.
Once Singletary gets his big mitts on the quarterback,
the pocket collapses and the Bears record a sack.
The 46 Defense worked so well in Chicago
because the Bears had so much talent on defense.
If the offense decided to double up on Singletary,
they'd be leaving Otis Wilson wide open.
If they decided to block Wilson, Wilber Marshal
or Richard Dent would be right there
to put pressure on the quarterback.
And with the hulking William Perry and Steve McMicheal
on the inside, there were no defenders you could let up on.
This is William "Refrigerator" Perry doing the Shuffle.
He was the real face of the '85 Bears.
This monster 350-pounder was a first-round draft pick
from the best school in South Carolina.
This is the kind of stuff he was capable of in college
and coaches were itching to see what he could do in the NFL.
When he was drafted, he was one of only a couple dudes
who weighed than 300 pounds.
Today it's rare to find an interior lineman
who weighs much less.
For a big dude, Perry was quick
and could still get his hands on the quarterback.
If you Google William Perry highlights,
you'll probably only see clips like this,
of him catching touchdown passes.
Because how the hell were defenses
supposed to tackle that?
(audience cheering)
- [Announcer] Pass to Perry, touchdown!
- [Narrator] Watching a dude that big
run and catch was mesmerizing.
People were obsessed with the phenomenon
that was the Fridge.
I mean, can you blame them?
Look at the size of this lad.
Absolute unit.
For the 46 Defense to work,
Chicago needed more than just a front seven.
In fact 46 was named 46 because of Doug Plank
who played strong safety.
Plank and Gary Fencik were known as the Hitmen
because they were two
of the hardest-hitting safeties in the NFL.
Plank had to retire before the '85 season
because of injuries but Fencik carried on the hitman
tradition and included it here in his verse of the shuffle:
♪ It's Gary here ♪
♪ and I'm Mr. Clean ♪
♪ They call me Hitman, ♪
♪ Don't know what they mean ♪
- [Narrator] Here's another thing
the Monsters of the Midway did,
they barked at each other.
I don't know why but...they just did.
(players barking)
With the 46 Defense clicking for Chicago,
the Bears officially became the Monsters of the Midway.
Midway of course referring to the Midwest region
of the United States.
Just kidding, that was a misdirection
to see how many of you have stopped the video
and yell at me in the comment section.
The Monsters of the Midway actually came from
legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg's
University of Chicago Maroons.
The school was situated along the Midway Plaisance,
a park that was built during the Chicago World's Fair.
In 1939 the University got rid of their football team
because football was too violent.
Around the same time the Bears were dominating the NFL
and ended up with the nickname.
Every great Bears team since
has been called the Monsters of the Midway.
Ironically today the University of Chicago is famous for
being the place where scientists invented the atomic bomb.
And for this.
After losing in the conference championship in 1984
to the 49ers, the Bears went on a revenge tour
starting in week one of the 1985 season.
They were unstoppable.
When week six came around,
the Bears exacted revenge against San Francisco,
sacking Joe Montana seven times.
Coach Ditka even put the Fridge in the game as fullback
since the 49ers let guard Guy McIntyre play fullback
against the Bears in the NFC Championship.
- [Announcer] Here comes 49er's touchdown!
- [Narrator] Mike Ditka you petty, petty man.
The Bears' only loss of the season
came in week 13 against Miami
when they were forced to play without McMahon.
But you know what happened next?
The Bears recorded a damn rap video.
Yes, the Super Bowl Shuffle after the Bears' first loss
of the season and two months before the Super Bowl
was even going to be played.
It was arrogant as hell for the Bears
to record a song about the Super Bowl
before the playoffs even started.
But wide receiver Willie Gault said that the song
never technically claims the Bears
were going to play in the Super Bowl.
Over a three-game stretch in November,
the defense scored more points
than their opponents' offense.
As a team during those three games
the Bears out-scored their opponents 104 to three.
Heading into the playoffs, the '85 Bears were 15 and one
but more importantly, the Super Bowl Shuffle
had sold over a half-million copies.
The Bears' first playoff test
was the Bill Parcells coach Giants' team.
The Bears shut out the Giants allowing zero points
from Phil Simms who would one day
choke on a teabag on national television.
The Bears' next test was against the Rams,
who had hall-of-famer Eric Dickerson.
The Bears stuffed Dickerson to 46 yards
and again shut out their opponent.
The Bears were on a roll
but so were the New England Patriots,
who had just won three playoff road games
including the AFC Championship against the Miami Dolphins.
Yes, the same Dolphins that upset the Bears
on Monday Night Football.
So Super Bowl XX was about to be an epic showdown.
But the Monsters of the Midway steamrolled the Patriots too.
Here is Otis Wilson and Dan Hampton clobbering
Tony Eason who was later replaced by backup quarterback
Steve Grogan who was then clobbered by Dan Hampton again.
The Bears' pass rush was just too fast for New England.
- [Announcer] Boy, they're putting the squeeze on
and when you're ahead like this,
you just go after the quarterback.
- [Narrator] The Bears' defense was absolutely dominant
in Super Bowl XX.
They held the Patriots to seven yards rushing,
116 passing yards, intercepted the ball twice,
and sacked the quarterback seven times.
After the '85 Super Bowl the only thing left
for the Bears to do was win a Grammy.
But they lost.
To Prince.
In 1986 Buddy Ryan took a head coaching job in Philadelphia
and the Bears have not won a Super Bowl since.
Buddy never even won a playoff game as head coach.
Oh, and Prince is dead.
(rock music)