What happened to the Honey Bears?

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Ever noticed that the Bears don’t have cheerleaders on the sidelines during their games? You may have heard about the “Honey Bears” from the Super Bowl era, and seen photos of Bears cheerleaders at the Superdome as the Bears celebrated their 46-10 drubbing of the Patriots in Super Bowl XX. But that was the last time the Honey Bears took the field.

According to contemporary reporting from the Chicago Tribune, the cheerleaders were told that their contract with the team would not be renewed following the 1985 season. The decision wasn’t entirely a financial decision, per the report. At the time, GM Jerry Vainisi questioned whether cheerleaders were passé. That wasn’t the end of the Honey Bears entirely, however. Cathy Core, who directed the Honey Bears, just moved west and changed her squad’s name, as she took over direction of the Luvabulls.

"Not many people can say they've been involved with two franchises in different sports where both teams won a world championship," Core told the Tribune back in 1997.  "That's something I'm very proud of."

The Bears are not the only team without cheerleaders. The Bills, Browns, Chargers, Giants and Steelers also don’t have dance squads on the sidelines.

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