On This Date in Sports December 3, 1985: Super Bowl Shuffle
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
A day after suffering their first loss, the Chicago Bears released a rap video, "The Super Bowl Shuffle." The music video became a cultural phenomenon, as it reached the Billboard Top 100 and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The Bears did indeed go on to shuffle their way to the Super Bowl Championship, posting a 15-1 record and dominating in the playoffs, winning three games by a combined score of 91-10.
After winning their first playoff game in 21 years and losing in the NFC Championship Game, the Chicago Bears, coached by Mike Ditka, came out like a house on fire in 1985. Featuring a defense that was among the best in NFL history, the Bears steamrolled their way to a 12-0 start. As November came to an end, the Bears looked like a juggernaut, beating the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons by a combined score of 80-0. Thoughts a perfect season came to an end on a Monday night in December, as they were beaten by the Miami Dolphins 38-24 with many of the 1972 Dolphins on the sideline. The Dolphins started a tradition of a champagne toast when the last unbeaten team loses that day.
The Bears took the loss in stride, as they went into the recording studio as planned and recorded a music video. The spawning of the video came when a music producer named Randy Weigand, who was dating a Bears' cheerleader, reached out to wide receiver Wilie Gault. The Super Bowl Shuffle was called arrogant by some but marked a new age in teams producing music videos. The Bears were not out to cause no trouble; they were there to do the Super Bowl shuffle. The video was an instant hit and featured most star players, though Dan Hampton declined, feeling it was arrogant.
The Bears rebounded off the loss in Miami, won the final three games of the season, and finished 15-1. Their defense allowed 198 points, averaging just over 12 points per game. In the playoffs, the Bears dominated, beating the New York Giants 21-0, and the Los Angeles Rams 24-0. In Super Bowl XX, they set a record for the biggest blowout, beating the New England Patriots 46-10.
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The Super Bowl shuffle stamped the Bears victory into America's pop culture history. It was nominated for a Grammy in Best R&B Performance by a duo or group. The "Super Bowl Shuffle" it lost to "Kiss" by Prince and the Revolution. Teams hoping to repeat their success made their own music videos. Most were done by team members, and some, like the New York Mets' Lets Go Mets video, was done by studio recording artists, though the Mets players did attempt their own rap video in 1986, "Get Metsmerized," that was not endorsed by the team.
Though most teams that created videos ended up in cringeworthy notoriety like the 1986 Los Angeles Rams, coming up with "Ram It". Walter Payton even lampooned the phenomenon of teams making their own videos on Saturday Night Live,