Live from London: Postcards with Charles "Peanut" Tillman at Beechwood Sports Pub | Oct. 20
As told to Gabby Hajduk

The Bears took over Beechwood Sports Pub in London last week, with the festivities culminating in a watch party for the ages Sunday evening as the Bears took on the Saints back home in Chicago. Check out Charles "Peanut" Tillman's postcard from across the pond as he details the energy at the pub, how he's converted some casual fans into hardcore Bears fans and more.

What's up Chicago,

Peanut here checking in from London, where we just hosted an epic watch party for the Bears-Saints game. I've spent the last few days here in the UK hanging out with fans at the pub and the vibes have been high the entire week.

Obviously watching the Bears win Sunday was a highlight. We were up the entire game so the fans were excited all the way through. I knew if we kept scoring and getting takeaways, they wouldn't turn on us in here. We all had the best time.

We even popped into Soldier Field for a minute to show everyone back home that we were out here partying too and cheering the Bears on. I hope y'all felt our energy because we were bringing our best.

I actually spent the majority of the first half explaining some of the rules to a couple Irishmen or Englishmen — I'm honestly not sure — and it was quite interesting. They had some good questions and were mainly confused about the differences in extra points versus field goals and the point system. The questions were very valid and it was cool to break that all down for them.

Most importantly, I feel like we earned two new Bears fans in those guys. I think I converted them to be diehards now.

While the watch party was a blast, we had just as much fun Friday at the DJ Night. DJ Zoe London, Tottenham's official DJ, and DJ Hayley Kennedy had the place goin'. I actually got to pick their brains a bit about what they do and let's just say, there may be some DJ equipment coming for Christmas this year.

They gave me some advice on what type of equipment to buy and I think I may start learning how to DJ, so stay tuned for that.

I was talking to one of the ladies that works at the pub and she said since the NFL's London Games have gotten more frequent and popular, they've been routinely packed during football season. Obviously, the best weeks are when there are actual games in the UK, but it's clear interest in the NFL is growing over here.

To me, that's why visits like these are so important. We're trying to grow the game and the fanbase internationally, and it makes a difference when we actually come out here and host events like this, and not just when the Bears are playing in London.

Hosting watch parties in London or Spain or wherever else is completely necessary and I can tell these fans appreciate it. They really do. I mean, a lot of the people I met over the weekend have been lifelong fans because their parents or grandparents watched the Bears play in the 80s and of course, win the Super Bowl in 1985, and they've just continued the fandom on. It's really not any different than how it is in Chicago. You hear the same stories here — how their parents raised them Bears fans, or their dads took them to a game and now they've made watching the Bears a tradition.

The fans over here have that same generational fandom as we do at home, which is really special to see.

I can't wait to see how we can keep growing this fandom and love for football over here. And really, I'm just grateful to the Bears for having me be a part of this.

Bear Down!

Peanut