The Bears helped bring the Nike Rivalries program to the traditional "Friday Night Lights" experience at Carmel Catholic High School last week for their Homecoming game against St. Ignatius College Prep.
While the Bears won't don their new Rivalries uniforms until Christmas Day when they host the Packers, the Nike campaign also aims to connect with the local community of each NFL team. One way they establish that connection is by hosting special high school football games that celebrate historic local rivalries.
The Bears, with the help of chairman George H. McCaskey, former defensive back Jerry Azumah, Staley Da Bear and various staff members, supported the event, which featured games for both the varsity girls flag football and varsity boys tackle teams. All four teams that competed Friday also wore their own custom Rivalries uniforms, which were provided by Nike.
"The Nike high school rivalries game provided a great opportunity to highlight the quality, passion and excitement of Illinois high school football," director of football development Gustavo Silva said. "It doesn't get any better than a Friday night homecoming game involving two schools from one of the toughest football conferences in the state.
"We appreciate Nike bringing both school communities together, and the uniforms that Nike provided to all the teams brought another level of excitement to the games."
The inclusion of girls flag football was a key piece of the event. While the JV boys team typically plays before the varsity matchup, having girls flag football take that spot for the evening was a unique touch that was extremely impactful for both schools.
"For the girls to be a part of this was very important to us," Carmel Catholic athletic director Nate Brill said. "It was very important to the Bears, and very important to Nike. The atmosphere that we had for that first game, no doubt that those girls deserve to play in front of those kind of crowds. And our girls flag team draws very well already, so I know they were excited to be a part of this."
One of the special touches that made the evening feel extra special for the flag football athletes was having McCaskey as part of the officiating crew. Just as he did for the past two State Championships, McCaskey assisted with the down marker throughout the game.
"Mr. McCaskey was here for the girls flag game doing the down box, and we're very grateful for that small little detail of having him here and our girls on the sideline looking around, trying to spot where he's at.
"Those little things that may not seem like a big deal to an organization like the Bears, it's a big deal to a school community like ours."
McCaskey became licensed as a girls flag football official three years ago and, since then, has dedicated his time to working games around the Chicagoland area. As an official, he's enjoyed having a front-row seat to the action and seeing the increase in participation, competition and skill with each new season.
"The participation levels are up, and there's more and more schools every year," McCaskey said. "There's a big state finals tournament coming up. A lot of excitement. I had two games last night at St. Francis Wheaton – they were playing Geneva. Very competitive, very spirited games. It's just great to see that the girls are having so much fun. They're so excited. They're serious, but they're having fun.
"It's great being here tonight because the girls are getting Friday night lights just like the boys."
To cap off the girls game, Azumah, who was the honorary captain for both contests Friday night, also handed out the Bears' Player of the Game awards.
Azumah, who was drafted by the Bears in 1999, has remained in Chicago ever since his retirement in 2006 and has immersed himself in the community over the past 20 years. His excitement to join the Bears at the Rivalries game stemmed from both his support for what the Bears have done for girls flag football and his former teammates who coach at Carmel Catholic.
"Number one, I think flag football is super awesome for the girls," Azumah said. "It just got sanctioned a few years ago, and the fact that it's grown so much across the state, it's an inspiration. Number two, Jason McKie, Olin Kreutz, Rashied Davis. All the guys that I played with are now coaching, teaching the youth all the knowledge and information that they've obtained throughout the years.
"It's really good seeing everything in action. And it's just great to be a part of Friday night lights again. It's just amazing."
After the girls game, the boys team geared up for their contest and had the Bears involved in their pregame tradition of fans, students, the band and the team walking through the parking lot and onto the field. Staley was tasked with leading Carmel in their walkout and brought his energy to the field, where he spent time with the cheerleading squad, dance team and Homecoming court.
The Bears also brought members of the Monster Squad out to the games to add to the already high-energy atmosphere and set up a display of their own Nike Rivalries uniforms as a photo opp for fans and students.
"I have not seen this support from any other franchise," Brill said. "The Bears have been the one pushing this with us. It not like you have to go knocking on the Bears' door to get support from them or to invite them into your school community. They sort of invite themselves, and it's in a very positive way. And it's always, 'how can we support you?'
"With this event specifically, when it first started, Homecoming was an obvious choice. And it was all about how the Bears and how Nike could amplify this event and make it bigger and better for us — take what we do, and just build on it, rather than come in and try and do something different."
