From the HERE City National Desk
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears now have a Christmas movie of their own. Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story premiered Saturday night on Hallmark as part of the network’s 17th Countdown to Christmas lineup, the third original film in its series of NFL team romances.
The story centers on Avery, a freelance reporter played by Lyndsy Fonseca, who comes home to Chicago for the holidays and lands a feature on a devoted fan named Darlene, played by Marsha Mason, who is about to attend her 500th Bears game. Avery falls for Darlene’s firefighter grandson, Matt, played by Robert Buckley, who walks her through what being part of the fan base means.
Real Bears figures turn up throughout. Head coach Ben Johnson, quarterback Caleb Williams and tight ends Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet make appearances, along with mascot Staley Da Bear. Former stars Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary and Charles Tillman also appear, with Singletary and Tillman joining the surprise party for Darlene’s milestone game.
Though the film is set in December, it was shot in the heat of a Chicago July. Crews spread fake snow around Soldier Field and its tailgate lots, dressed extras in heavy winter gear inside an empty stadium, staged a holiday market downtown and decorated a brownstone in Logan Square. Filming began at Soldier Field on July 7, and the production also used Halas Hall and a local firehouse.
Hallmark worked on the project with the NFL and Skydance Sports. A network programming executive called the film a love letter to Chicago and its football traditions. The team and cast held a red-carpet premiere earlier in the week at the Gorton Center in Lake Forest, where the Bears train.
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