LONDON and WARE, England — Charles “Peanut” Tillman crossed through the line of Chicago Bears fans that snaked down the block in London’s Victoria neighborhood Friday night and cut behind the Bears drumline that had been pounding out thunderous beats on the street.
He walked in a pair of doors to the Greenwood Sports Pub and was greeted by thumping music and hundreds of people wearing Bears gear, many pointing their camera phones at the former Bears cornerback.
For at least the next two hours, the chaotic scene was Tillman’s office.
He signed autographs and snapped photos, at one point expressing his desire to walk across the huge bar so he could greet everyone. He did an on-air interview with Fox-32’s Cassie Carlson and Lou Canellis. He answered questions from Bears public address announcer Tim Sinclair for the crowd to hear, including one asking what his pitch would be to non-Bears fans who happened to wander into the raucous scene.
“We have great history,” Tillman said. “We’ve got amazing fans. The best food. … We know how to tailgate And most importantly we travel well. Where else y’all want to go, to Spain? We’re going to go to Spain. Y’all want to go to Germany? We’re going to go to Germany. Wherever the Bears will play, we will be there.”
The appearance was just one small piece of a jam-packed trip that the Bears asked Tillman to join as they promote their brand and connect with their fans on their first London trip since 2019.
In the weeklong lead-up to Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Bears have conducted two types of business.
Tillman and other alumni, including tight end Zach Miller, who also made an appearance at the pub Friday, have served in the forward-facing, promotional role for the Bears, who have international marketing rights in the UK and Spain. The events include football clinics for local kids, merchandise releases and fan-focused nights at Greenwood.
Thirty-one miles from the pub, tucked away in a countryside resort, coach Matt Eberflus, his assistants and players have been conducting the behind-the-scenes football work, the practicing and planning they want to lead to their third straight win.
The Bears hope that the work of both sides of the organization not only pleases fans who made the trip from Chicago to London — but helps them grow their fan base internationally.
“This is a chance for us to touch our fans right here in the UK,” Chairman George McCaskey said. “Both markets (the UK and Spain) have avid fans of American football and of the Bears, and this is our chance to connect with them and show them what American football’s all about. And hopefully come away with a W.”
‘Limited distractions’ after overseas journey
The Bears player experience in England this week has been a little different than the former player experience.
The team stayed at Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel and Country Club in Ware, about an hour north of central London. The facility built an NFL field that opened in 2021 for visiting teams, and McCaskey remarked on the uniqueness of walking from their accommodations, down a steep hill to a practice field with a panoramic view of rural England.
The location has made for a quieter stay than had the team stayed in central London.
“It’s a drive, but at the end of the day, we’re out here for a reason,” linebacker T.J. Edwards said. “We’ve got to do what we need to do to get ready to play, and it’s kind of let your family do all that (tourist) stuff, kind of go enjoy it.”
Eberflus, who decided to have his team arrive Tuesday morning so they could acclimate to the six-hour time difference, likened it to a training-camp atmosphere, an environment that is conducive to preparing for a football game — and team bonding.
Bears 40-year-old tight end Marcedes Lewis will be playing in his sixth game in London on Sunday, but it was his first time staying at Hanbury Manor. He said the facility has two player lounges, with a golf simulator, pool and karaoke — one of his personal strengths — where teammates have hung out.
“I think me, Keenan (Allen) and DJ (Moore) are probably going to start an R&B group or something,” Lewis said of their karaoke skills.
The players have enjoyed some downtime in the city, with time off Tuesday and Friday night.
Moore said he went on a food tour Tuesday, his favorite spot a place in Chinatown with dumplings and spicy sauce. The Bears UK Instagram account posted a photo of several players and Tillman at Wembley Stadium for the England-Greece soccer match Thursday night. Safety Elijah Hicks said he went shopping with teammates and was headed into the city to have dinner with his wife Friday after practice.
But much of the players’ week was about football and their teammates.
“Just getting to do things with each other that we normally wouldn’t do back at home,” Lewis said. “Normally back at home, you’re in the building super early and then you get out in the evening, and you’re just trying to get home so you can get some food and relax and unwind to get some good sleep.
“But here, you’re kind of like forced into those spaces where you would normally be uncomfortable, if you’re a guy who is a little bit shy or don’t get to hang around the vets much. This is the time to do that.”
Edwards joked that he and his teammates have spent enough time together that the bye week after Sunday’s game couldn’t come at a more perfect time.
“Once we get home, I can get away from all these guys for a second,” Edwards said with a smile. “But no, it’s been fun, just being here with the guys and hanging out and really getting this thing detailed up so we can go play.”
Eberflus said he thought the environment for the week was good for preparation “because it’s all ball here” with “limited distractions.” And Lewis thought the Bears’ process this year has been as organized and smooth as any he was involved in internationally.
But such an environment isn’t necessarily easy for all the players, many of whom become creatures of routine during the season.
Hicks, who is scheduled to start Sunday for injured safety Jaquan Brisker, said it’s little things — such as his own massage therapist, his wife to help him with Pilates, his barber on Fridays and his go-to meal, Chipotle — that make him feel comfortable and ready to go in a game week.
There are limitations to a remote resort in that way.
“I don’t like it. It’s just a lot, honestly,” Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson said of the setup. “Being out here, being in a totally different country, totally different area. And then being away from everything, still not really knowing where is what. And then the different things you do want to do is quite a ways away. It’s a different experience.
“Everybody who’s involved and has done (an international trip) knows what type of taxing goes onto your body, onto your mental with the time change,” he added. “I don’t think we come over here for our own convenience. … It’s on the schedule, and we have to go play.”
Whether they enjoy playing out of the country or not, players could be doing it more and more as the league tries to expand its footprint internationally.
NFL owners voted to allow up to eight international games every season starting in 2025 — requiring teams to make one trip out of the country every four years. Eberflus said he thinks it eventually could get to one international game every year. The NFL played in Brazil for the first time this year and will play in Madrid in 2025.
Bears President Kevin Warren told reporters Wednesday in Ware that he is “extremely positive about international growth,” calling it a “blessing” to be there.
“The National Football League is an absolutely vibrant entity, and anytime you get a chance to play on an international basis, I want to lean into it,” Warren said. “We’re leaning into this year. I mean, it’s been fantastic to see the number of fans here, and when you see people in London walking down the street in Ditka sweaters and Refrigerator Perry jerseys and all those different things, it’s magnificent. So I’m all about shrinking the world.”
Spreading American — and Bears — football
Tillman learned his lesson while teaching at one of the Bears’ Mini Monsters Clinics during the week.
“I got crucified because I said football,” Tillman said. “They were like, ‘This is not football. It’s American football. You have to put American in front of the football.’”
Since the Bears gained international marketing rights in the Spain and UK in 2021, they have done three UK tours of Mini Monsters Clinics, and the team said nearly 2,000 kids from 50 schools participated in 2023. The Bears and New York Jets also sponsored a UK girls flag football league the last two years, with 240 girls ages 12-14 participating in 2024.
The goal is to follow the NFL’s initiative to spread the game globally. And with former or current players helping run the programs, it spreads the Bears brand in the process.
The clinics have been one of Tillman’s favorite parts of the week as he ran the kids through different position noncontact drills, talked to them about the game — and received some teasing for calling the participants “y’all.”
He said the kids “enjoyed the newness of the sport,” and he loved sharing it.
“It’s really been cool just being here, teaching and talking about the game I love, which is football,” Tillman said.
Among Tillman’s other engagements for the week were a USAA NFL boot camp for U.S. military members stationed at RAF Lakenheath on Thursday and an NFL Live event with Commissioner Roger Goodell on Saturday. He also will serve as the analyst for Westwood One covering Sunday’s game.
“There are so many retired players they could ask, and they picked me, so I’m honored by that,” he said.
The Bears also had events at Greenwood scheduled every night and were promoting merchandise launches in collaboration with Mitchell & Ness, Acid FC and New Era. The team has posted info, clips and photos from its event to the UK Chicago Bears Instagram account it started in January.
Warren, who saw the Bears make an appearance on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” for the first time this season, pointed to the fashion collaborations and the international travel in general as things he believes help the franchise gain a younger demographic.
“Anytime I get an opportunity to lead an organization to come internationally, I’m ecstatic, I’m excited about it,” he said. “I love what the National Football League is doing. This just reiterates the power of the Chicago Bears brand around the world, and we’re able to shrink the world and get new fans. We’ll pick up new fans this week that we didn’t have last week, which makes this an exciting experience.”
The fans the Bears already have in London certainly seemed as if they were having fun Friday night as employees threw out gear, highlights and hype videos played on every TV and a DJ led a rowdy version of “Bear Down, Chicago Bears.”
Miller did a similar tour with the Bears when they last came to London in 2019, so he wasn’t entirely surprised at the full house at Greenwood. But he did note the line down the block.
“You know the type of fan base that the Chicago people are, but to be halfway across the world and still see this is pretty awesome,” Miller said. “I love these people. We have a connection with Bears fans that’s just really, really good, so I love being involved with them.”
Of course, the best way to gain new fans is to win more, so that’s where the two sides’ London missions merge Sunday against the Jaguars. Bears general manager Ryan Poles had a message for the London Week 6 crowd.
“Make it as loud as possible,” Poles said. “Make it into a home game. I’m not surprised at all (at the turnout). Our fan base is unbelievable. … Just from my travels around, Bears fans are popping up all over the place, trying to tell me all their opinions and things we should and shouldn’t do. That’s a beautiful thing, and I can’t wait to see our fans here in the UK.”
