Chicago Bears superfan featured in Bears Hallmark holiday movie | ChicagoLIVE

Our next guest is a lot of things. He was once the Chicago Bears super fan of the week in November of 2024 right here on Fox 32 Chicago. You might know him for his Chicago Bears fan forever page, and he's behind the keep the Bears in Chicago billboards, and he was also an extra in the Bears Hallmark holiday movie. We're going to talk with Mike Foss now. Mike, good to see you again, sir. Thank you for joining us. Jake, thanks for having me on, sir. It's always a pleasure to be on Fox with you guys. How you doing today? I'm doing so well and it's always good to see you, man. Uh, listen, so many things are we gotta start out talking about. So just here's here's a question. I'll ask as a Bears fan. How you doing? You know, man, I'm I'm busy, man. I'm it's it's the offseason July. I'm supposed to be barbecue in the pool relaxing and we have this stadium conundrum going on and then the whole Hallmark film that's been filming this week in Chicago for this winter. I've been busy, man. I'm usually relaxing now. Usually it's saving all my effort towards when football season starts. You mentioned is perfect words for the stadium conundrum. Yeah, you've you've you've let your thoughts be known. You put your thoughts out there literally on a billboard on the keep the Bears in Chicago billboard. How are you feeling about all that right now? And what's what's been the reaction to to the billboards? You know, it's been the same reaction, I think, from every Bears fan, every person who lives in Illinois to keep the Bears in Chicago to not let them go to Indiana. I mean, they're a Chicago tradition going over 100 years old going back to Wrigley Field. George Howis being the founder of the NFL, starting the NFL. I mean, there's there's untouchable history about the Bears being in Chicago. So it's nice to see all the fans, all the residents of Illinois, Chicago all come together and really voice their opinions. I mean, I'm just one person on here, but to see a whole city come behind it and really stand their ground, it's been pretty amazing. I got to ask you, man, if they end up in Indiana, what will you sing instead of Pride and Joy of Illinois? You know, you're talking about changing a fight song that's 100 years old. So to be honest with you, that's more of a question for the Bears because they're the ones who are going to have to change their fight song if they make this decision or not. But regardless, I mean, Bears fans are we're dedicated. We're going to be Bears fans no matter what. In the previous talks I've been on the show, there's a plenty of football teams out there who have changed the state, the city, everything they live in. So, I mean, I think they're still going to remain the Chicago Bears. I don't know if they're going to change the fight song or not. But again, just for purposes of history, things of that nature, hopefully they end up staying in Illinois. I'd really like Arlington Heights to continue to happen. You know, it's so funny that you mentioned teams that play in other states than they're named after. I was in New York recently and some of my friends there were giving me a hard time about the Bears. And I said, hey, let me ask you something. I said, where do the Giants play? Where are they in New Jersey? Yeah, like of all the people to give us a hard time, I'm pretty sure the people playing in New York are the least ones to be doing that. So, yeah, there's obviously a lot going on there, man. OK, I got to ask you about this. How did you end up as an extra in the Bears' Hallmark holiday movie? Jake, I don't I don't know how I end up doing half this stuff. I don't know how I'm out here talking to you, to be honest with you. These things just kind of fall on my lap. I'm a lucky man. I'm a very grateful person. Obviously, when four star casting came out on their social media and announced they were looking for extras, my social media started blowing up Oh, man, Mike, you need to apply for this. You need to apply for this. So I threw my name in the ring and within 24 hours, I got a call back saying, asking for my availability, things of that nature. So I'm like, holy crap. I'm like, this is really cool. And at that point, I kind of assumed that, OK, maybe they're going to get just a bunch of Bears fans like myself and we're going to take over this whole extra for the Bears, for the filming at Soldier Field, all this stuff. And I got on set this week. We filmed on Tuesday and Wednesday at Soldier Field. I can't give too much detail in regards to exactly what we were doing, but I didn't see a ton of other diehard Bears fans that I know. I saw a lot of professional actors and professional background people and stand-ins and they're talking about, oh, I was on the set of the Bear. I was on the set of Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, The Chi, Shameless, all this stuff. And they're like, so what have you been in? And I'm like, um, I'm just a Bears fan who chose to play a Bears fan. So it was actually pretty funny. And at that point, I was really like, oh, my goodness, so thankful that being just a Bears fan to be able to experience and be part of a Bears movie. I mean, when are there Bears movies? Brian's Song and now this. I mean, who knows if there will ever be a Bears movie ever again. So I'm just extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to film and be an extra in it. Hopefully I get like a shoulder or like an elbow or something in the background, or maybe they'll get my beard in there and I'll be able to I'll look out for that. It was a really cool experience being on set, meeting the cast, the directors, the crew, and just seeing the magic behind the scenes and how everything's made. You know, I want to bring that up because you mentioned maybe your shoulder being in the shot. You can't miss the beard. There's an old story on the on the fugitive that Joe Pampliano, who was basically in the movie Glorified Extra, he said he would just stand next to Tommy Lee Jones to basically guarantee that he was going to be in the movie. Did you ever did you try to rearrange yourself at all to kind of put yourself in the shot if necessary? I pulled some moves, Jack. I can't give all the details. I definitely I pulled some moves out to get myself in there. I'm like, let's see what the camera is. I mean, maybe I'll stand here and just take a sip out of a cup and kind of look around. So, yeah, it was really cool. So they the two days we filmed were on Tuesday and Wednesday and the first day we were inside the stadium kind of fans in the stands kind of thing when the actors were sitting in the stands with us. So we were just kind of background fillers for that. And then the second day we were actually outside and we set up a tailgate at Soldier Field and the tailgate was actually right by the entrance to Soldier Field. So I don't know if various fans out there, you guys know, like you don't get to tailgate that close to the entrance to Soldier Field. So we were right by the walking tunnel and we got to like kind of bring our cars past the watering deck into like where the walking party is and kind of set our cars up and do a tailgate while they filmed a bunch of scenes of them playing bags and kind of hanging around tailgates. So got an opportunity to have my car and set up a tailgate and kind of have that in there. So I'm hoping that makes the film. I hope that makes the final cut. Now, did you go full Daniel Day Lewis? Did you go method? Did you pull from your experience tailgating and know exactly? And at any point, did you ever call out the producers and go, you know, we wouldn't be able to do this here? This is not actually where we'd be able to do this. So it was so funny because everyone was setting up. And like I said, there was a lot of like professional actors like who just aren't Bears fans doing these roles. So they're getting like their tables and tablecloths on a couple of cups here and there. And I tailgate every single Sunday for the Bears. I'm part of a I guess a professional tailgating club called First Intent Tailgating. We set up at Harrison and Wabash every single Sunday. We do travel games. So I have a Bears table and I got flags and cups and helmets and chairs and rugs. And they're watching me set up. And they're like, oh, my God, this is this is an amazing setup. So I have the cast and crew coming over by me checking out all my stuff. And they were definitely amazed by anything they were expecting. And I was like, oh, this is kind of what I do. So here you go, guys. I'm glad I'm able to be part of it and share the movie. Now, I'm assuming, you know, it's a Christmas movie and, you know, a good portion of a season tends to be when it's a little cooler, if not cold outside. But a lot of times they shoot these things in the summer. So were you guys in full, full coats and 90 degree temperatures? Jake, I sweat it out of places I didn't know I could sweat out of. My beard was sweaty. I don't think my beard's ever sweated before. Yeah, we were out there in full sweater, full winter garments, winter hats, gloves, everything when it was 90, 100 degrees, man. And it was absolutely killer. I kept on checking with them, like, does it look like I'm sweating right now, guys? Because obviously we're filming a winter movie and I want to be in the background, just covered in sweat. But obviously I was able to keep it all within the coat and the hat and things of that nature. But yeah, as soon as that stuff came off and I was steaming and pounding water, it was definitely gut wrenching. But again, worth the experience. And I mean, being in a Bears movie as a Bears fan like me, I mean, there's nothing cooler under the sun. Yeah, I mean, you got into character, you stayed in character. You know, listen, I've been lucky enough to have checked out a few different movie sets over the course of my career. And people ask about, oh, is it the is it the coolest thing ever? And, you know, my response tends to be it's a lot of hurry up and wait, you know? It's you know, you wait for that that 30 seconds of excitement, but in between can be an hour or 30 minutes of setting lights and setting shots and moving people around. Was it was it a different experience on set than you thought it was going to be? I wouldn't put it into an exactly a fun experience as you're kind of going down that road. It's more of a cool experience to kind of see how it's all done. But yeah, it's a lot of getting ready for setting the lights and the sun and blocking for the camera and rolling this and redoing clips over and over and over again and continuity. And OK, we're going to lean the camera this way so you guys can kind of take a break and take your jackets off for a minute. So it was a lot of sitting around a lot of them getting cameras together, things of that nature, and then bringing different actors in the scenes from the trailers for what they were filming. So but all in all, like I said, it was a cool experience. I mean, I'm excited to see what the final product's going to look like. I mean, all the magic is done in the editing room. So cool to see what they're going to do to kind of winterize everything and put everything together. You know, I know in the past couple of years, a couple of different teams have gotten their their Hallmark Christmas movie. I know the Chiefs got one and it was kind of about Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift. And then I think the Bill the Bills got one and it was kind of about Josh Allen and Haley Steinfeld. Do we know what this movie is actually going to be about in regards to the Bears? So, I mean, I think it's following the similar love story path of the two previous ones they did with the Chiefs and the Bills. I mean, there's some current Bears roster in there I can't really talk about, which is really cool. I think Bears fans are going to be excited about. And there's actually some former Hall of Fame legends that I think Bears fans are going to go absolutely crazy for once they see them on screen. I know I saw one on set yesterday and I had a little fanboy moment and I was like, oh, come on. Yeah, you got to keep it cool, though. They try to tell you like, look at you, look at you. Don't get all Hollywood on us now, man. You're acting cool around legends. I know I'm acting like a little kid asking for an autograph, pretty much is where I was at yesterday. But it was a fun experience, man. It's going to be a real treat, I think, for the city of Chicago this holiday season. I mean, we got a Hallmark movie coming out for Christmas and we're playing the Packers on Christmas Day. I mean, what more can a Bears fan ask for for Christmas this year, right? Is this going to be the very first Hallmark movie you've ever seen? I'm not going to lie to you, they're my secret passion. Wait, I can't tell if you're joking. Wait, are they really? Let's just say I've been known to secretly watch a Hallmark movie here or there, I'll be honest with you. Whether it's with my wife or my mother-in-law, I'll be on my phone, just kind of paying attention in the background. We'll look at it and be like, Mike, you've got a phone. That phone, I love, is that person who got cancer? You know, that's kind of a Hallmark movie to go to, either love or cancer. Goes to the small town and falls in love with a cupcake maker and he turns out to be Santa's nephew or something like that. Exactly, exactly. They get you every time? The most attractive middle-aged people you've ever met in your life. Yeah, everyone always is very good-looking in these little small Hallmark towns. Yeah, and there's only like ten people in the town and it's the most beautiful town ever, so yeah, it was kind of a laughing thing. I've been telling all my friends, like, I'm going to be in a Hallmark Christmas movie, guys, and we just kind of laugh about it. But again, it's the Chicago Bears, though, so I mean, it's best of both worlds. It's cool. It's hilarious. It's fun. It's exciting. It's everything. Everything under the sun. You know, they often say, a good director will say, that a movie can be found in the edit. What's to say that we don't see this movie this winter and all of a sudden it's a movie about a very handsome, bearded, Bears superfan and we just realize that you were the star all along, my friend. Without giving away a cast member who hasn't been announced yet, but there was a cast member on the set yesterday. It was kind of a joke around the set that, hey, I think this kid could be your son. And I was actually talking to the actor while we were doing some scenes, and I was like, hey, everyone's kind of joking that you can kind of play my son. And he's like, maybe we'll rewrite the movie about me who finds his biological father at a Bears tailgate and we can totally redo the movie. So we were joking on set about that yesterday. But one of the actors in the films, everyone's like, oh, man, you guys kind of share some similarities. You're pushing for the spinoff. You're you're pushing for the sequel. Mike, I knew it. I knew it. All right. But I got to ask, you know, obviously, we're we're I say we're we're a ways away from from the football season. But I already got my invite to to re-sign up for my fantasy team, which means we're not that far. I'm starting to get my buddies asking, well, dude, what? Like, what are you going to take? It's time. Well, it is time. How are you feeling as we inch closer toward toward the preseason? You know, man, I don't think anything's going to come close to touching how magical this last season was. I mean, the amount of games, the comeback wins within two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the 90 percent chances of losing the plays, the DJ more catch the Colston Loveland Bengals bounce off catch the block field goals, last second field goals. I mean, it was the heart attack Bears this season. I mean, this last season was the best season I've ever experienced personally as a Chicago Bears fan in my entire life. I was only two years old during the eighty five years. So I would say I was still in diapers in the high chair. So I don't remember that exactly. And then we had like the 2006 Devon Huster Super Bowl touchdown return. I mean, those are like the claims to fame as far as the exciting Bears things that I can put into a lifetime memory. But this last year, I mean, especially the DJ more catch the beat the Packers. I was probably one of the coolest experiences as a Bears fan ever went absolutely crazy. I remember that the rest of my life. So I mean, to try and touch that and beat that this season, I hope the Bears do as well as far as victories and wins go this season coming up. I hope we go further in the playoffs. I hope we go all the way. Obviously, they can do every year, but I don't know if we're going to be able to touch the specialness that we had this last season. I know we've got a Christmas game against the Packers. Like you said, is your Christmas day coming up in a couple of months going to be both the Bears game and watching yourself in a Christmas Bears Hallmark movie? Oh, 100%. I mean, the family's number three on the list. You know, I'm just joking. Don't listen to him. Don't listen to my wife. I'm joking. You said it on TV, man. I can't get you out of trouble for saying that. I know. She knows I'm just joking. But no, it's going to make it all more special this year. Like I said, I mean, holiday times are always special times. Spending with my kids. I've got three young boys, Hunter, Parker, and Carter. They're 16, 11, and 5, going on 5. So we get to spend that, and they think it's super cool that Dad's going to be in a movie this Christmas. And they've experienced a lot of, like, the Bears excitement superfan stuff that me and my wife and all of our friends get together and do. So like I said, having the movie this Christmas, having the Bears Packers game on Christmas Day is going to make it all more special this year. Mike, we always love having you on the show, man. I love talking about this with Oh, I love coming on, man. You guys are the best. I appreciate it. Oh, well, you are the best. I'm sure we will be talking very soon as the season arrives and as your stardom continues. You know, we only talk with the biggest stars here on Fox Chicago, you know? Stop it. You're going to make me blush on camera. Stop it. Good to see you, my friend. I'll see you again soon. All right. You too, sir. Thank you so much, sir. You guys have a very sweet day. Bear down. Bear down, sir.