‘Saturday Night Live’ 50th anniversary: da history of Da Bears

The core group of SNL Superfans—Smigel, Chris Farley, and Mike Myers—was joined by a revolving door of guests, among them Michael Jordan, Joe Mantegna, John Goodman, and, most regularly, George Wendt.

In 2018, Smigel—who’s a New York City native, of all things—told The Ringer that the sketch’s concept came not from Mike Ditka or the Bears themselves, but rather from sloppy fans of all sports:

“There was just a swagger among these very virile-looking men. All sports fans kind of have it. The arrogance of, ‘We kicked your ass!’ No, you didn’t You’ve a guy sitting in the third row. You can barely make it to the bathroom with all the beers you’ve drunk. You didn’t do anything.”

There wasn’t a clinker in the bunch—Smigel is a sketch-writing genius, and simply he doesn’t do clinkers, which is why the The Superfans transcended SNL, ultimately appearing in a variety of settings over the ensuing four decades:

• 1991: Intro to an NBC Bears/Dolphins telecast.

• 1991: Halftime of a Bears/Cowboys Wild Card game.

• 1992: Super Bowl XXV1 pregame show.

• 2006: Super Bowl XL pregame show.

• 2011: ESPN segment discussing then-Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

• 2012: Old Navy commercial.

• 2013: State Farm commercial.

• 2013: Guest on ESPN SportsCenter

• 2019: Guest on ESPN Plus’ Peyton’s Place.

• 2024: Performed at a charity event with Jason Sudeikis playing the Chris Farley role.

Between crushing it in Studio 8H or firing up a Super Bowl afternoon, Swerski’s Superfans were, are, and always will be one of the most iconic representations of Da Bears in the history of Da Bears.