The phrase “Da Bears” was popularized by the recurring “Bill Swerski’s Superfans” sketch on Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s, centered on over-the-top Chicago Bears fans who chant and toast to “Da Bears.” The character of Bill Swerski and his fellow Superfans turned that exaggerated Chicago-accent version of “The Bears” into a widely recognized catchphrase in sports and pop culture.

Where “Da Bears” Comes From

  • The phrase is tied to Bill Swerski’s Superfans , an SNL sketch that debuted in the early 1990s and portrayed heavy-accented Chicago sports fans in a bar setting.
  • Their running bit was hyping Chicago teams—especially the Bears—with the drawn-out toast to “Da Bearss,” which cemented the pronunciation as a catchphrase.

Who Actually Said It

  • On screen, it is spoken by the Superfans characters, notably Bill Swerski (played by George Wendt) and the other bar-regular superfans who repeat “Da Bears” throughout the sketches.
  • Behind the scenes, writer Robert Smigel developed the idea and line “Da Bears!” based on real-life Chicago fans, then refined the sound and accent details (like the hiss at the end of “Bearss”) with input from Chicago-native comedian Bob Odenkirk.

Why People Still Repeat It

  • “Da Bears” became shorthand for Chicago fandom, so much so that it is used far beyond the original sketch—on sports talk shows, fan forums, and social media any time the Chicago Bears are discussed.
  • The phrase has seen periodic revivals when the Bears are relevant or when Chicago culture is in the spotlight, helping keep “Da Bears” part of sports and meme vocabulary decades after its SNL origin.

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