Choosing your NFL/EFLI team - Optimists

Chicago Bears

Colours: Dark navy, orange and white

Mascot: Staley Da Bear

Stadium: Soldier Field

Home City: Chicago, Illinois

Super Bowl wins: 1 (2 appearances)

Records over last 5 years: 44 wins, 36 losses, 1 playoff appearance

Best Players: Alshon Jeffrey, Brandon Marshall, Matt Forte

Bio: The franchise has experienced three major periods of continued success in their history. The first period of success came from 1932 to 1946 when the Bears played in nine NFL Championship Games, winning six of them. The second period of success was between 1984 and 1991 when the Bears captured six NFC Central Division titles in eight years and won Super Bowl XX. The third, and rather brief, period of success stretched from 2005 to 2007 when the franchise captured two straight NFC North titles and a NFC Championship title, losing in Super Bowl XLI to the Indianapolis Colts.

Although the Bears haven’t had a lot of success recently, now is a good time to be a fan of the Chicago franchise. Their core players on offense, starting with running back Matt Forte and receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey, make the unit one of the most dangerous in the league when paired with a strong armed quarterback in Jay Cutler and a solid offensive line. They are exciting to watch, they have intelligent leadership in head coach Marc Trestman, and they play in a division that they could easily win in the next couple of years.