Chicago is going crazy over the Bears upcoming trip to the Super Bowl. Even I, fan of the other kind of football, found myself watching the game in a sports bar last Sunday.
Now some of Chicago’s arts organizations have contributed to the Bears Fever raging through the city. First, the Lyric Opera of Chicago posted a brilliant YouTube video of Bryan Griffin, in full Russian costume for Die Fledermaus, singing “Bear Down, Chicago Bears.”
Second, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is offering a free download of its 1986 recording of “Bear Down, Chicago Bears” with the CSO, the Chorus and Sir Georg Solti conducting. And a banner, rooting for the Bears hangs from Orchestra Hall’s façade.
Third, the Art Institute of Chicago is donning their lions with some oversized Bears helmets, something they also did in 1986. In 2005, when the Chicago White Sox went to the World Series, the lions were wearing Sox hats.
I love how they couldn’t fit the helmets on at first! I wonder how long they struggled in the cold before they went back to the blackboard?