The Chicago Bears orange jerseys haven’t been seen in seven years. The last fleeting glimpse fans have of them was on a windswept day in 2011 at Soldier Field when cornerback D.J. Moore was trying to piledrive Matthew Stafford into the turf. Since then the team has exclusively made the 1940s navy blue uniforms their primary alternates of choice. Not anymore. Ownership has decided it’s time for a change.
Why? Well, sometimes change can be a good thing. The Bears haven’t had a winning season in six years. Sometimes these sort of decisions can shake an organization out of their complacency. The Denver Broncos did the reverse in 1997, dropping their classic orange uniforms for a new style. They promptly won back-to-back Super Bowls.
That’s not to say the same will happen for the Bears. Their change is far less drastic. Still, is there reason to think some good might come of going back to the Jack o’jerseys? Yes, and history proves it.
Chicago Bears orange jerseys have led to lots of positive things
Football by its very nature is superstitious. Players and fans tend to think doing, or in this case, wearing certain things can often decide the difference between winning and losing on Sundays. Looking at the Bears’ history involving their orange alternates, one might start to think they made a huge mistake discontinuing them.
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- 2005 vs. 49ers (W 17-9)
- 2006 vs. 49ers (W 41-10)
- 2007 vs. Lions (L 16-7)
- 2008 vs. Vikings (W 48-41)
- 2009 vs. Browns (W 30-6)
- 2011 vs. Packers (L 27-17)
- 2011 vs. Lions (W 37-13)
The numbers don’t lie. Since the alternates replaced their home uniforms in 2005, the Bears are 5-2 against their various opponents. Not only that but they also have scored at least 30 points in four of those five victories. They certainly seem to bring out a little extra juice from the players, and that might not be an accident. George McCaskey is a student of Bears history and sees the same potential considering what happened back during the Depression Era.
“I don’t want to say throwback, but it is reminiscent of our uniform in the 1930’s when we had the then-record for more consecutive regular-season wins, largely wearing orange jerseys.”
The Bears played in four NFL championships in the 1930s, won two of them and finished with at least eight wins in seven seasons. Keep in mind this was when teams played 12 games per year. There is a lot of good luck stowed away in the color orange for this franchise. McCaskey is eager to see if that magic still exists. Eight years out of the playoffs and 33 without a Super Bowl can have that effect.
