Country singer-songwriter Chase Rice spent this past fall traveling from Montana to Oklahoma for hunting season, a routine adventure for the Florida-born, North Carolina-raised star.
But this year, Rice introduced a new wrinkle to his road trips: pulling his truck over to the side of a random rural road, connecting his Starlink to a tablet and watching Bears games.
Rice never had a favorite NFL team growing up. As a 90s kid growing up in Florida, he was taught that there were only two choices: the Florida Gators or Florida State Seminoles. Rice only ever paid attention to college football until his childhood friend, teammate and college roommate — Bears head coach Ben Johnson — rocketed up the coaching ranks.
"I have the Bears schedule in my calendar," Rice said. "I had a whole setup in my truck. I'd set up the Starlink and I'd watch the Bears game sitting on the side of the road in Montana. That's never happened for an NFL team. That wouldn't even happen for college teams. I'm very, very dialed into watching them."
Johnson and Rice first met when the acclaimed singer moved to Fairview, North Carolina — a rural town just southeast of Asheville, where Johnson grew up — and the two became football teammates in middle school. Rice recently had the realization that throughout his football career, he only ever played one season (5th grade) without Johnson as his teammate.
The pair played on opposite sides of the ball their entire careers, with Johnson at quarterback and Rice at linebacker, and helped lead their A.C. Reynolds High School to a 4A state championship.
"We weren't allowed to ever mess the quarterback up [in practice]," Rice joked. "So I never got a good pop on Ben, but you bet I would have if I'd gotten that opportunity."
Rice was ranked among the top 25 players in the state by his senior year and committed to the University of North Carolina, while Johnson joined the Tar Heels as a walk-on. They became roommates and built on their childhood friendship before post-grad life took them down separate paths, with Johnson pursuing coaching and Rice joining the music and entertainment industry.
Over the past 20 years, Johnson and Rice have watched each other find success in their respective careers and have always remained close. On Sunday, their friendship will reach its highest peak yet when Rice performs at halftime of the Bears' Divisional Round game against the Rams at Soldier Field — Johnson's second playoff game as head coach.
"To see him come up through the ranks — I visited him down in Miami when he was the lowest guy on the totem pole there," Rice said, "and then he works his way up to tight ends coach down there and then tight ends coach in Detroit before he got the offensive coordinator job. It wasn't surprising at all — it's just, you never expect a guy to get a head coaching job. Those guys are always people you don't know. But it's really, really cool.
"I'm really proud of him to be where he's at. It's very well deserved."
While Johnson won't be able to see Rice in his element at halftime, he spoke Friday about the support Rice has continuously provided to him and his family.
"He's a good friend of mine," Johnson said. "We grew up together, middle school, high school, college. We've stayed friendly throughout. He came to a game earlier this season and has a tremendous supporter. So, pretty excited to hear he'll be coming to town this week."
Sunday will mark the second Bears game Rice has attended this season. He was also at Soldier Field Dec. 14 with his mom, Connie, when the Bears beat the Browns 31-3 on a frigid Chicago afternoon.
Traveling to a game is a new annual tradition for Chase and Connie. They first took a trip to Detroit last year and watched the Lions take on the Packers along with Johnson's wife, Jessica, and parents, Don and Gail. While the Lions were the first team Rice became invested in, he is now all in on his support for the Bears. When Johnson was initially hired, Rice spent more than $2,000 on eBay buying Bears gear for himself and his dog.
Like any other Bears fan this season, Rice has ridden the rollercoaster the team has operated this season, with their league-leading seven comeback victories being equally thrilling and nerve-wracking.
"I call them the Cardiac Bears," Rice said. "You got the 'CB,' but they're not Chicago Bears, they're the Cardiac Bears, man. You see how the games have been going, but they've gotten the better of teams. And that typically stops in the playoffs. And then last week against the Packers, they did it again. So, they've got a long ways to go. I truly believe that. Does that mean they won't win a Super Bowl this year? I don't know. We'll see. This team, I'm not counting out ever again. But with a long ways to go, they got a heck of a head start and they finally created a culture in Chicago.
"I'll take a backseat all day to true lifelong Bears fans because they're the ones that deserve this more than anybody. I'm really happy for them as well."
More than anything, Rice has thoroughly enjoyed watching how Johnson has "taken over the football world in just one year." Rice describes his friend as both "the smartest guy in the room at all times" and "a great human being." He's proud of the life Johnson has built outside of football as well, with Jessica and their three kids.
Johnson's rise in popularity really came to a head following the Bears' Black Friday win over the Eagles, when the coach took his shirt off during the team's postgame locker room celebration.
By that point, the Bears' locker room celebrations had already become must-watch television for not just their fans, but sports fans at large, most notably due to the "Good. Better. Best" chant that Johnson leads after each win. For Rice, that chant has carried significance for decades.
Johnson and Rice were introduced to the rallying cry in high school by their football coach, Bobby Poss, who yelled it through the locker room after any Rockets win. Rice, however, adopted "Good. Better. Best." well before it became a Chicago staple, using it on tour the past 13 years as the beginning of a 2-minute pre-show chant for him and his band. He was genuinely shocked when he watched a video of Johnson leading it in the locker room at Soldier Field for the first time Sept. 21 after the Bears' win over the Cowboys.
"I was on my tour bus, actually, the first time I ever saw Ben do it," Rice said. "And my jaw just dropped. I'm like, 'Oh my God, he just did that.' And the cool part was it wasn't half-assed. It was these freaking millionaire football player men doing a chant that started with a kids game in high school. He had them very, very committed to 'Good. Better. Best.' and look what's happening."
Rice is just as eager to support Johnson this Sunday as he is to watch some good football. He is excited for his halftime performance, but he also knows it will be the least stressful part of his evening.
No matter what happens Sunday at Soldier Field, Rice is proud of how much Johnson has accomplished in his career, especially in his first season in Chicago. He believes that remaining connected to people like Ben and Jessica, who have provided that same support to him, is by far the most rewarding part of their friendship.
"It's fun to see your friend succeed later in life," Rice said. "And I actually wrote a song about it, very much inspired by my friends. Hurricane Helene in North Carolina really sparked a 'get-back-in-touch' with my high school buddies. We've got a group text going now and that would have never happened without that disaster.
"Ben and I have stayed in touch, but a lot of my friends have not. And it's really cool to see later in life. I think that's the most important thing, is to stay in touch with the people who are there in the beginning.
"Ben is one of those guys for me, so I'm really happy for him."
