Bears fans celebrate, praise Pope Leo on social media after team's playoff win
Social media exploded following the Chicago Bears’ playoff win against the Green Bay Packers, as fans shared posts capturing their excitement, relief and pride for their team.
Following the win, quarterback Caleb Williams, tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver DJ Moore sat for Prime Video's post-game show sporting cheese grater hats. "This is what rivalries are made of," Williams said in the viral clip as he grated cheese and stuck out his tongue in celebration.
Caleb Williams going to town on that cheese grater
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 11, 2026
pic.twitter.com/hzzcqbDERr
The clip quickly went viral across social media and started a trend among users. Fans took to their public profiles to showcase videos and photos of them grating cheese following the win.
Kid on his porch in Arlington Heights, IL this morning, just hanging out shredding cheese.
— M@ Spiegel (@MattSpiegs) January 11, 2026
What a time to be alive….@ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/oeQyebyjPv
Other posts showcased the reactions of fans in the final seconds of the game.
One post went viral featuring a fan attempting to celebrate the win while a baby slept nearby. Trying not to wake the baby, he marked the moment by breaking into an exaggerated, silent celebration.
Another reaction captured fans piggy backing through a neighborhood shouting "they won" moments after the final play. Captioned "Paul Revere over here," the post pokes fun at Paul Revere's historic midnight ride when he notified the colonial militia that the British were coming in 1775.
Another post featured a skit portraying fictional NFL scriptwriters envisioning the game's unforeseen ending. The post joked that the ending of the game was not meant to be in the script. Instead, the end was "written by the Pope, by the football gods," the post said.
Other fans used the win to create conspiracy theories citing the win as an opportunity to fix the "broken universe." One user began asking questions like "What if the Chicago Bears are on an actual mission from God?"
The viral post cites the end of the “Billy Goat Curse” with the Cubs 2016 World Series victory opening a "hellmouth" in the universal timeline. The video attempts to explain how the election of Pope Leo XIV and the Bears' success with an NFC title and playoff win are all connected. If the Bears win the Superbowl, the user said that the "hellmouth" would be closed and the timeline would be restored.