Former Naperville coach performed at 1985 Super Bowl - CHICAGO SUN-TIMES ""/>
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Former Honey Bear still cheering on team - but not from sidelines

Former Naperville coach performed at 1985 Super Bowl

February 1, 2007

Come Sunday, Maribeth Bolger will be cheering for the Chicago Bears as they play in the Super Bowl, but not like she did in 1986.

That year, Bolger cheered from the sidelines as a captain of the team's cheer leading squad - the Chicago Honey Bears.

And while 21 years has passed, and she has gone from blonde to brunette, her enthusiasm for her team hasn't changed a bit.

""I'm just so darned excited they're back. I can't even tell you,"" said Bolger, now a mother of two and a fitness instructor for Rush-Copley in Aurora.

That said, she isn't crazy about the comparison being made between the two teams.

""They're trying to compare the two teams, but you can't compare the two,"" she said, noting how brash and flamboyant the 1985 team was, especially compared to today's more business-like Bears team. ""The teams have completely different personalities.""

Bolger, who has served as a cheerleading coach at both Naperville North and Naperville Central high schools, was a Honey Bear for three years. She joined the team when she was a freshman at Benedictine University, and remained a part of it until it was disbanded after the Bears won the 1986 Super Bowl.

""What their reasoning was, I don't know,"" said Bolger of the decision to disband the squad. ""All I know is that they had a lot of very disappointed women who were very upset.""

However, the Honey Bears finished on a high note, performing during the Super Bowl to the tune ""Baby I'm A Star"" by Prince, who's performing during halftime of this year's game.

Bolger recalled attending the lavish parties proceeding the game, and celebrating the Super Bowl victory with Bears players and their wives.

""What a way to go,"" she said.

Bolger said she went through a month of auditions and beat out more than 5,000 other women to make the squad. All that for a job that paid $15 a game - $5 for gas, $5 for parking and $5 for uniform cleaning.

""It wasn't about the money,"" Bolger said. ""For me it was the prestige of being on the Honey Bears. It was an honor to be on the team, and it still is.""

Contact Tim Waldorf at twaldorf@scn1.com or 630-416-5270.