Caleb Williams raised both hands Saturday, smiled and pumped his fist as if he were listening to the pop hit of the summer. In reality, it was something more timeless: buzzed Bears fans chanting “Green Bay sucks!” inside Old Crow Smokehouse in Wrigleyville.
For a moment, while fans whipped out their phones to capture the No. 1 overall pick, Williams was one of them.
That’s the idea.
“I’m going to be a part of the community, be out there, enjoy,” the Bears’ rookie quarterback said Thursday. “Let everybody see that I’m just another human. Just being out there, enjoying, being myself and being part of the community and supporting them.”
Time will tell if Williams becomes “The Man” for the Bears. In the interim, he’ll have to settle for “Man About Town.” It’s been a little more than six weeks since the Bears drafted him first overall, but Williams has visited at least three other pro teams in Chicago.
He’s been to Wrigley Field twice to see the Cubs. On May 4, he got a standing ovation while watching alongside teammates Montez Sweat, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Nate Davis and Cole Kmet. He returned, this time with Bears rookies, for the Cubs’ rain-soaked win against the Reds on Saturday. They wore gray jerseys and took indoor batting practice.
The Bears rookie class walked out on the mound at Guaranteed Rate Field together May 23, all wearing the White Sox City Connect “Southside” jerseys with the No. 24 on it. Receiver Rome Odunze, the No. 9 overall pick, threw out the first pitch.
On May 7, Williams wore a bright yellow Supreme soccer jersey and sat courtside for a Sky preseason game alongside Odunze and receiver Keenan Allen.
Williams has noticed a common theme with Chicago fans.
“They’re always showing up, whether it’s the Sky, Sox, obviously Bears, Cubs and things like that at Wrigley Field,” he said. “They’re showing up, showing out and they put on a show every single time.”
Williams is feeling the love — and embracing it.
“It’s cool to see everyone as excited as they are for him,” said Kmet, the tight end who is a lifelong Bears fan and St. Viator alum. “More importantly, he’s super excited to be here. I think he’s starting to get the understanding of what this means to the city and what he means to the city. He’s definitely embracing all that.”
It’s easy to be beloved before ever playing a snap. But it hasn’t always been that simple in Chicago. The night after the Bears traded up to draft quarterback Mitch Trubisky No. 2 overall in 2017, he faced a smattering of boos when he was introduced at a Bulls playoff game.
With Williams, it’s been all love in both directions. That’s made more notable by two things: the rumors early in the draft process that Williams might prefer playing for his hometown Commanders and the fear in some circles that Bears fans wouldn’t embrace him because the team traded Justin Fields.
“I know going into the draft, everyone was kind of freaking out about it or not thinking that he would be accepted for some reason,” Kmet said. “But no, people are excited — and it’s definitely warranted.”
Williams has interacted with fans up close and, because the Bears send security with their players on certain trips, from a distance. Williams wants fans to see that he’s having fun, just like they are.
“Be myself — that’s how I go about every day — and enjoy,” Williams said.
Before he met Williams at a pre-draft dinner, Kmet had heard people wonder whether the former USC star had a sense of what he called “Hollywood diva-ness” to him.
Kmet finds it funny now, given that Williams spent almost as much time in Norman, Okla., as Los Angeles. He’s found the former Heisman Trophy winner to be down to earth.
“You really wonder where those things kinda come from,” he said.
Coach Matt Eberflus cited the benefits of Bears players going out together this time of year, be it to a sporting event or elsewhere.
“It’s more about being together,” he said. “It’s about hanging out outside the building, getting to know somebody on a personal level other than just, ‘Hey, you play this position on our team.’
“That’s ongoing. It’s got to be worked at. [If] you want to be good at something, if relationships are something you want to be good at, you’ve got to work at it.”
Williams and the Bears continued that bonding during a recent trip to Schaumburg to play at Topgolf, a driving range with digital games played on screens at each tee.
Williams and rookie receivers played at one driving range bay, with Kmet, third-string quarterback Brett Rypien — considered the best golfer on the team — and others at another.
“I was competing to catch up to Brett, then the game turned off,” Williams said.
With good reason — it was almost 1 a.m. and Topgolf was preparing to close. The Bears lobbied to play a little bit longer, then had to reset the points on Williams’ game before resuming.
“Then I beat him,” Kmet said with a smile.
The game ended with Rypien in first, Kmet in second and Williams in third. Williams went out of his way to detail the results Thursday. While Kmet might have beat him, Williams insisted with a begrudging smile, he wasn’t the overall winner.
Fighting to get another few golf swings showed Kmet something about his quarterback.
“You don’t really know somebody until you meet them,” Kmet said. “Getting to know him over the past couple months now has been pretty fun. You realize how competitive he is.”
