Thread: Hayden a lifelong diehard Bears fan

Hayden a lifelong diehard Bears fan

Hayden happy to be home with Bears

When free agent-acquisition Kelvin Hayden makes his Bears debut this season, it won’t be the first time the veteran cornerback has worn the team’s uniform.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, Hayden donned a Bears uniform his family purchased from Toys "R" Us that included a helmet, shoulder pads and Walter Payton jersey. “It’s kind of a dream come true,” Hayden said of joining his hometown team after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Colts (2005-10) and Falcons (2011).

Hayden fondly recalls watching Bears games with relatives every Sunday and cheering for players such as running back Neal Anderson and safety Shaun Gayle.
“You grow up and see the guys that were here and the history the Bears have," Hayden said. "It feels good to be home and have all my friends and family supporting me and rooting me on. I think it will be a fun experience.”
Hayden, who signed a one-year contract April 5, nearly joined the Bears a year ago.
“Last year I thought I was pretty close to signing,” he said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, but everything happens for a reason. I think this is my time and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
Hayden certainly made the most of a huge opportunity in Super Bowl XLI, and in the process dealt a serious blow to his hometown team. The 6-foot, 195-pounder intercepted a Rex Grossman pass and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown to help lead the Colts to a 29-17 victory.
“It was unbelievable,” Hayden said. “At that moment, it just didn’t seem real.”
Though ecstatic he was able to make such a pivotal play on football’s grandest stage, Hayden wants to prove that he’s capable of producing at a high level on a consistent basis.
“Everybody asks me how I felt,” he said. “I didn’t know how to feel. I’m happy that we won. I always tell people maybe it will mean more to me when my career is over. I was a young guy and I just wanted to have that as a stepping stone instead of that just being the trademark of my career.
“I don’t mind being remembered for that, but I want to be remembered as a guy who went out there and made plays day-in and day-out.”

Hayden insists that he has remained a huge Bears fan throughout his life, even when he played for the Colts. He remembers prepping for the 2006 AFC Championship Game while watching the Bears battle the Saints in the NFC title contest on television.
“I was in the locker room and I was supposed to be preparing for our game but I was looking at the screen and cheering,” Hayden said. “This is my job. But me personally as an individual, I’m a diehard Bears fan. My whole family is.”
During a free agent visit to Halas Hall this offseason, Hayden noticed a large photo on a wall of Devin Hester’s 92-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI. There, in the background, Hayden spotted himself in futile pursuit.
“That was a crazy experience because [Hester] was a rookie and we looked at ourselves as a cocky team,” Hayden said. “Our special teams coach was asking us all week, ‘Should we kick it to him? Should we not kick it to him?’ Everybody on the kickoff coverage team stood up and said, ‘Kick it to him!’ And then on the first play of the game he runs it back for a touchdown.”
As he prepares for his first season with the Bears, Hayden hopes to earn his second Super Bowl ring—and thinks his hometown team has the talent to contend for a championship.
“This gives me the same feeling I had in Indianapolis where you feel all the pieces of the puzzle are together and guys are willing to put in the work that it takes to make it there,” Hayden said. “It’s a long season and a lot of things have to happen. But I like the feeling that’s around here and I think we can do it.”

Happy homecoming. ;-)