When a team has the Chicago Bears on its schedule, as the Denver Broncos do this week, the aura of legacy and legend loom large over the entire moment.
Chicago. The City of the Big Shoulders.
The Bears. The Monsters of the Midway. They had nine titles to their name before the NFL calendar turned to the year 1950.
This is just the Broncos' seventh game ever in Chicago, but the Bears are integral to the history of pro football.
They played as the Chicago Staleys as early as 1921, but on June 24, 1922 the pro football league changed its name to the "National Football League" and the Staleys were sold to their player/coach, George Halas.