In the nearly 70 years since John Damore stepped on the field as a Chicago Bear, he’s been a loyal spectator: “I don’t miss a minute,” he says.
Sitting in a recliner in his bedroom Sunday watching the Bears take on the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, Damore, 92, reminisced about his time as an offensive lineman in the late 1950s while cheering on his beloved Bears, chanting “atta boy” and “very good” when they played well and reprimanding them when they don't.
He remembers the feeling of a high-stakes game and had this advice to current Bears: “Play 60 minutes and play well."
As the Bears and Rams faced off in frigid temperatures at Soldier Field, Damore remembered the days before heaters and heavy blankets on the sidelines.
“The field is heated now, but back then the ground was frozen,” he said. “It was like playing on concrete.”
Savoring the win over the Packers
Damore is believed to be the oldest living Bears alum, and he’s still riding the high of beating the team’s most bitter rival, the Green Bay Packers, in the first playoff round last week.
“It was the same for me as it is for them,” he said about beating Green Bay. “I can’t imagine the thrill.”
As the Rams worked down the field on a touchdown drive late in the first quarter after intercepting a pass from Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, Damore was steadfast in his belief that the Bears would respond with a touchdown of their own.
“They gotta come right back now,” he said. “The best attitude is ‘get one back!’”
At halftime, with the game tied 10-10, Damore recalls what his coach, Bears legend George Halas, would have said at this point in the game. He envisioned a harsh pep talk with “bad language,” especially if Halas wasn’t a fan of the opposing coach.
“Screaming, he would be screaming,” Damore said.
The Bears are in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and fans have been disappointed with many losing seasons since their last Super Bowl appearance in 2007. For Damore, he’s felt the losses and wins as if he were still a member of the team.
“You know, I get mad at ‘em when they lose, and I get happy when they win,” he said. “I’m gonna be the saddest guy in town [if they lose]. It’s been so much fun.”
Since the Sun-Times published a profile of Damore ahead of the Packers-Bears showdown last week, Damore has been interviewed by several news outlets and received numerous calls appreciating his memories and “gift of gab,” as his son Larry puts it. He even received a few letters from people asking for autographs.
“I love it,” he said. “I would love if there was more of them, but I’m not a superstar.”
Throughout the first half, Damore voiced his admiration for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, repeatedly calling him “son of a gun.”
“He was the one that I didn't want them to play,” he said.
Second half
Damore tuned in after halftime with a simple wish: “Score first!” he commanded.
But after a scoreless third quarter, his analysis was that it was a game dominated by defense.
“The defenses are both playing very well,” he said. “I’m watching very good football. Both teams are playing very well.”
He reflected on halftime pep talks from team captains and said hyping the team up wasn't his strong suit in the beginning, but he grew more confident as he got older. Now, if he were asked to talk to current players, the team would get more than they bargained for, he said.
“If they called me, I’d try to play,” he said, then thought for a bit before adding, "even though I can't walk from here to the door without the walker."
The corners of Damore’s mouth turned down as the Rams scored a touchdown with less than 10 minutes left in the game.
“Well, now I need another miracle,” he said.
His son Larry replied: “Plenty of time left.”
Damore is the father of two and grandfather of two, and he’s going on 67 years of marriage with his wife, Joyce, who attended games with him after he retired but on Sunday watched a movie in the living room during the biggest playoff game in recent Bears history.
Most of Damore’s friends and former Bears teammates have passed on, and as he reflects on his life, it revolves around family and football.
“It meant everything to me,” he said of the game. “Besides family, it was my only love.”
Stunning late comeback
With two minutes left in regulation play and the Bears trailing by a touchdown, Damore mulled what he would be thinking if he were on the field.
“Didn't matter what’s running through my mind,” he said. “Whoever calls the play and that quarterback, that's what’s gonna matter, and he's the kind of guy to do it.”
During a commercial break, Damore was still focused on the team, tension rising near the end of the game.
“Come on boys, let's do it,” he said.
Under pressure from the Rams defense, Williams backpedaled for a few seconds before launching a pass to tight end Cole Kmet, who caught it for a game-tying touchdown pass, sending the game into overtime.
Damore praised God.
“I love him,” he said of Williams. “I love him. I loved him before, and I'll love him again.”
Overtime
As the Rams intercepted a pass from Williams in overtime, Damore lamented the decision to pass the ball.
“They didn't have to do it,” he said. “We need a miracle.”
Dashed hopes
The Rams’ game-winning field goal dashed Damore’s hopes of a Bears Super Bowl, but he was clear he's proud of his team all the same.
He said a Bears Super Bowl would be his “greatest goodbye.”
“If I don't get it this year, I've gotta last another year,” he said. “I feel pretty good. Maybe I can last another year, I don't know.”
