'THE SHUFFLE' delves into the 1985 Chicago Bears' legendary rap music video

Jael Rucker

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'THE SHUFFLE' explores the 1985 Chicago Bears’ iconic rap music video image

TL;DR

  • "THE SHUFFLE" is an HBO documentary about the 1985 Chicago Bears' "The Super Bowl Shuffle" music video.
  • The video achieved significant cultural impact, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 and earning a Grammy nomination.
  • The documentary features former Chicago Bears athletes and explores the video's influence on Chicago.
  • Director Jeff Cameron faced challenges capturing the music's creation due to limited archival footage.

Should you need entertainment for Your Thanksgiving break, consider "THE SHUFFLE," a documentary short from HBO that delves into the creation of the 1985 Chicago Bears' famous rap music video "The Super Bowl Shuffle,". This video achieved significant cultural impact just before the team's legendary Super Bowl XX victory.

Under the direction of Jeff Cameron (HBO’s “Hard Knocks”), this movie recounts a remarkably fascinating historical event, merging athletics and melody to create a compelling viewing experience. The track reached the 41st position on the US Billboard Hot 100 and secured a Grammy nod in 1987 for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Furthermore, within a few months of its debut, sales of the home video version of “The Super Bowl Shuffle” established it as the second best-selling music video ever, trailing only Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”. 

The documentary, which premiered earlier this week and showcases rare behind-the-scenes material, examines the film's influence on Chicago. It features former Chicago Bears athletes Willie Gault, Mike Singletary, Jim McMahon, and Gary Fencik. We had a conversation with Cameron prior to its debut to gain additional insight into the endeavor.

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SN: What attracted you to the story?

Cameron:  Upon first hearing about “The Super Bowl Shuffle” some years back, I had supposed it was an action the Bears took after realizing they'd be heading to the Super Bowl in January 1986—a kind of festivity and jovial method to energize supporters for their inaugural Super Bowl showing. Once I discovered that wasn't the reality, and that they, in truth, captured and distributed this during the regular season, that instantly transformed it into a captivating narrative to attempt to decipher. There's a “ticking time bomb” element to this account that I felt would be worthwhile to depict: commencing with The Bears achieving the
video and making this audacious assertion of reaching the Super Bowl by Week 13—effectively igniting the spark—and for the remaining 40 minutes, underscore the pressure that persisted throughout the remainder of the season as everyone questioned if they'd be vindicated when the “bomb” concluded.

SN: Could you describe your research methodology and its duration? What was your initial approach to beginning this work?

Cameron:  The investigation commenced as it typically does at NFL Films: by delving into our archives. My aim was to examine what we had recorded from that particular year that might not have been previously viewed or broadcast. And indeed, back in 1985, when it became clear that Chicago was experiencing an extraordinary season, NFL Films dispatched a film team to capture the city's atmosphere as it was consumed by Super Bowl excitement. A segment of that material featured a venue packed with individuals grooving to “The Super Bowl Shuffle” -- pristine, 16mm proof of the “Shuffle”'s widespread appeal in Chicago upon its debut.

I also anticipated this documentary would heavily depend on vintage television recordings and media reports to depict the distinct era we experienced, and to highlight the influence of “The Super Bowl Shuffle” alongside the emergence and appeal of music videos. In pursuit of this, our Archival Producer, Brianna Williams, played a crucial role. From Vintage Jovan advertisements to MTV's reporting on the "Shuffle," and all the material in between, the visual records we lacked in our own collection but managed to acquire and incorporate to provide the audience with background significantly contributed to immersing the entire film in 1985 sentimentality.

SN: Were there any challenges? Was anything easier than you anticipated?

Cameron:  I knew going into this project that the football aspect of the ‘85 Bears’ season would be easy to cover. That’s an advantage of having the NFL Films vault at your disposal. It was illustrating the genesis and production of the actual music of “The Super Bowl Shuffle” that presented the challenge due to having really no archival photographs or footage from that process. So that’s where we had to get creative with some stylized recreations and B-roll shoots to bring the story to life and maintain this nostalgic trip back to 1985.

SN: What do you hope people learn from The Shuffle about pop culture or sports culture?

Cameron:  Not so long ago, Prince and Run-DMC found themselves nominated for a Grammy alongside the Chicago Bears football team. It was a truly magnificent period.

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