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Answers by Mike Tomczak, NFL quarterback for 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears:
Q: What was it like to be part of the “Super Bowl Shuffle” phenomenon?
Can I use the word “amazing” to start? We didn’t realize the impact the video would have, other than the charitable experience form the sales of the record. I knew I was in for a long day when we landed at O’Hare around 2:00 AM the day the video was to be recorded. But a few cups of coffee got me up on stage with my guitar, and the rest was history in the making. Even onstage we took it seriously, to give it our best effort, and that resulted in a tremendous production when it was completed at 10:00 PM. Once the final editing and mass publication were sent out, every station in Chicago had it on their request list for months on end. That’s why it turned into a phenomenon.
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Q: What happens after winning a Super Bowl?
It was so surreal. Back then the Superdome, next to the Astrodome, was probably the biggest facility I’d ever played in, and I was looking for my parents, for my brothers and sisters, just trying to find out where they were as the clock went down, inside of 30 seconds. I knew one thing: after I knelt down, I had the game ball in my arms. I knew I wanted to preserve that, and I still have that game ball. After I took that final kneel-down, and I went right to the locker room, put it in my bag, grabbed a hat, and ran back onto the field. And before you knew it, it was already midnight. We were back at the hotel, and it was kind of an emotional letdown because the game was built up so high and we dominated so much that after the game was over I remember walking across the field. It was a very sterile environment, everyone had cleared out, and I got on the team bus, and I thought, “Wow, we’re world champions and I’m a Chicago-born player for this organization, how lucky am I?” And when you were around family and friends it really sunk in. The locker room was excitable. There was no champagne, beer, or anything. Our organization didn’t believe in that, so it wasn’t until we got back to the hotel that the party really began.
Q: How is your life different after winning the Super Bowl?
It gave me the confidence that I could play this game at a high level. The biggest growth I had was in my rookie year. I was the opposition quarterback in practice, I was the 3rd team quarterback behind Jim McMahon and Steve Fuller, so I got a lot of my repetitions in going against our defense. And our defense was pretty dynamic, fierce, and our practices were very physical. I took a beating in practice, and they gave me every scenario I was to handle for the next 15 years of my career. And I always go back to that: preparing for that defense, trying to simulate what the opposition was going to run. Back then, there weren’t a lot of scrambling quarterbacks. These guys knew exactly where your launch point was, whether it be 5, 8, or 10 yards deep in the pocket, and even if the ball was thrown they toughened you up with a punch or a slap to the head or they’d knock you down or try to taunt you because that was their game. I just knew that the experience would pay dividends for me and I carried that in my back pocket for the rest of my career.
