Michelle Obama appeared to make a thinly veiled criticism of Barack Obama’s NFL team in a video shared to Instagram looking ahead to 2025.
She told her followers about the work the couple was doing for the Obama Foundation on the South Side of Chicago, but within that there seemed to be a dig at the Bears.
“I know it’s been a tough few months for a lot of us,” she said, as a man was filmed walking with the Bears logo on the back of his jacket. ‘And people feel a bit anxious and insecure. But even in these difficult times, there are plenty of reasons to remain hopeful.”
The Bears entered a season that promised so much after drafting quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. They endured a terrible 2024 season and failed to make the postseason.
Things reached a new low on Thursday night when the Bears lost 6-3 to the Seattle Seahawks in Chicago, their tenth straight loss of the season.
Fans chased the team off the field and shouted for The McCaskeys, who own the franchise, to sell.
Michelle Obama appeared to attack her husband’s team Chicago Bears in a video
Williams himself has struggled with the Bears in a season where he was overshadowed by fellow rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels with the Washington Commanders.
‘It’s my first year. Their frustrations go back a lot longer than I’ve been here,” Williams said after the game. “My job is to go out there and win games.
‘We don’t concentrate on the outside noise. The fans will sometimes cheer and maybe boo, and you can’t respond to that. It’s not something we respond to.’
Perhaps the most aggravating problem for Bears fans – including Obama – is the team’s complete collapse after a promising start that saw them sitting at 4-2.
Ten consecutive defeats and the dismissal of coach Matt Eberflus at the end of November have left the season in shambles.
Even as president, Obama was never shy about showing off his Bears fandom.
In October 2011, he welcomed the 1985 Bears team to the White House to honor their Super Bowl triumph after their visit was postponed at the time due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster the following year.
“This is as much fun as I’ll have as president of the United States,” Obama said that day.
Obama welcomed the 1985 Super Bowl-winning Bears team to the White House in 2011
Earlier in 2011, Obama had to welcome rivals Green Bay Packers to the White House
Ironically, two months earlier, Obama had to welcome the Green Bay Packers – the Bears’ great rivals – to the White House after Aaron Rodgers led them to Super Bowl glory.
“I’m just going to come out and say it,” Obama said. ‘This hurts a little.
“This is hard for a Bears fan to do. It doesn’t hurt as much as the NFC championship game (where the Packers beat the Bears to reach the Super Bowl), but it still hurts.”
And the Bears wrap up their season of misery on Jan. 5 against the Packers, who are set for the playoffs.