The Chicago Bears are a professional American
football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of
the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in
the National Football League (NFL). The team is legally and corporately
registered as Chicago Bears Football Club, Incorporated.
The Bears have won nine Professional American
Football league championships (eight NFL Championships and Super
Bowl XX), trailing only the Green Bay Packers, who have twelve.
The Bears have the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of
Fame, with 26 members.
The club was founded in Decatur, Illinois,
in 1919, and moved to Chicago in 1921. Along with the Arizona
Cardinals, it is one of only two remaining extant franchises since
the NFL's founding. The team played home games at Wrigley Field
on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season. With the exception
of the 2002 season, they have played their home games at Chicago's
Soldier Field every year since 1971. The stadium is located next
to Lake Michigan, and was recently remodeled in a modernization
intended to update stadium amenities while preserving a historic
Chicago structure. The team has a fierce, long-standing rivalry
with the Packers, whom they have played in over 170 games.
The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is actually
located in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. The team
scrimmages at adjoining practice facilities there during the season.
Currently, the team holds its annual training camp from late July
to mid-August on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais,
Illinois.