In celebration of Women's History Month, the Chicago Bears are giving flowers by recognizing impact, honoring legacy and elevating women whose leadership continues to move football forward. ChicagoBears.com spoke with a group of women, self-titled the Lady Bears, who have built a tight knit community around their diehard Bears fandom and passion for giving back to their city.

For most of Chicagoland, Sundays in the fall are reserved for watching Bears games, and for a group of 10 women who refer to their group of diehard fans as the "Lady Bears," that sentiment rings true. However, for the Lady Bears, gamedays consist of much more than just watching their favorite NFL team compete.

"We put together a schedule for the season, and each lady that hosts the game is responsible for providing all the food, and if we want to bring drinks, we can add drinks to the table," Lady Bears founder Donna Cole-Scott said. "We do have one major stipulation.You can only wear Bears gears and you can only root for the Bears. No ifs, ands or buts."

Houses decked out in Bears decorations, custom merch and even karaoke after-parties are just a few staples of what a Lady Bears party entails. But most importantly, the group is designed to foster long-term friendships, bring upon lighthearted fun and of course, cheer their beloved Bears on.

It all started 43 years ago when Scott married her late husband in 1983 and wanted to be involved in watching sports with him, particularly the Bears. By 1984, Scott was hooked and identified as a superfan. But once her husband passed away in 2013, she began missing the feeling of watching football with someone that loved the game as much as her.

So in 2015, Scott decided to ask her best friends and fellow Bears fans, LaShonn Sims and Lynette Barron, if they wanted to start watching games together at different sports bars.

The rest is history.

"It was consistently three of us," Sims said. "And then what happened was we discovered within our own friend circle that there were other friends that liked the Bears. Then we kind of brought them into the fold."

Once the pandemic hit in 2020, the group had to put a pause on their tradition. Deeply missing those Sunday outings, Scott remembers talking to her daughter who suggested the women begin hosting watch parties at their homes. The Lady Bears were back on, and really, better than ever. Going from home to home for every game — home, away, playoffs — gave the women an authentic space to grow closer and cheer louder.

"Women have always been able to nurture everyone else," Scott said. "But being part of the Lady Bears is for us. I mean, it is truly for us to come together as a group, laugh, joke, enjoy the game and not even worry about what the kids are going to eat or who's doing this or who's doing that. That time is really for us. It is truly for us. We love every bit of it because especially with how crazy the world can get, it's a time where it's an open space to just talk about anything we want to talk about and have fun. We as a society, we have forgotten how to have fun."

At their core, the Lady Bears are simply a group of female fans that are passionate about football and the Bears — which, for most, are their hometown team. But as time went on, the ladies furthered their connection to involve positively impacting the Chicago community.

"We are also very community oriented," Sims said. "We don't just watch football and have fun. We do other things in our community, much like the Bears.

"We enjoy giving back to the community. We're very youth-oriented in many of our ventures that we deal with, our giveaways or fundraisers, cancer walks, just things that we're passionate about in terms of community and give back."

Participating in community service now holds the same significance in being in the group as possessing a deep love for the Bears does — both traits that the Lady Bears are now passing onto their own children and grandchildren.

For Sims' daughter Sierra, a 5^th- and 6^th-grade teacher at KIPP Bloom College Prep on the city's South Side, joining the Lady Bears initially proved to be a taller task than she expected.

"It's funny because when myself and my Auntie Donna's daughter, Melissa, found out that these Lady Bears were doing all this fun stuff, we were like, 'wait a second, we gotta get in on this,'" Sierra said. "And then we were told we needed to be 40 and up. So, it was not even an option. And then they were like, 'well, actually, we need some legacies to continue this, so we'll give you guys this pass to come in before 40.'"

Now, the group has six Legacy Bears, who are able to participate in the fun, with the stipulation that they intend to carry the tradition on through their adulthoods.

"I am just thrilled that we truly have kids who have embraced the game of football like we do, and that they're willing to move this forward as we age," Sims said. "I just think that's such a great thing. And it's just such a close knit group that it almost should have happened before now, because they are a big part of it. They embrace how we do things. They understand how we do things. They love the game even more now. So everybody has gotten something from doing what we've done."

What started out as three women watching Bears games at sports bars has now turned into an intergenerational community of women who unite every Sunday to celebrate their shared love for the Bears.

Members of the Bears staff were able to see that camaraderie firsthand last fall when Sierra was selected as a winner of the club's Classroom Legends award, a program powered by CDW that honors educators who go above and beyond to support their students and build inclusive inspiring school communities across Chicagoland.

Sims helped coordinate the surprise for her daughter, which included a few members of the Lady Bears, including Scott, showing up at the school. For Sierra, that moment encompassed the beauty of the Lady Bears community.

"For me, it's really cool because I get to hang out with not just people that I consider family, but it also brings together one of the strongest group of women that I've ever met in my life," Sierra said. "So as a younger person, I feel like there's so much wisdom in the room. Even when we do things outside of Bears games, we learn from each other. We grow together. So all of those things have definitely been near and dear to my heart. And I thought it was one of the most special invitations I've ever received."

For the Lady Bears, the 2025 season was a rather eventful one between Sierra receiving the Classroom Legends award, the group hosting their first-ever potluck parties for the Bears' playoff games and of course, celebrating the success of the team. One of the highlights for the group was even being a part of a Bears' social media post that compiled various "Good, Better, Best!" renditions from community groups, fans, Chicago celebrities and more.

While the 2026 NFL season is still more than five months away, the Lady Bears are already in planning and scheduling mode. For them, the season never actually ends. At Super Bowl parties, they dress as if the Bears are competing. At work or around the community, they stay decked out in Bears gear year-round. They aren't fair-weather fans. And they certainly are proud to embody the Bears culture at all times.

Their dedication to not only the Bears, but also the Chicagoland community that supports and loves their team, is what makes the Lady Bears a one-of-a-kind group with an unbreakable bond.

"I'm a sports fan for everybody in Chicago, but the Bears are a different level for me," Sims said. "They are my heart more than anything."