Bear Digest

Caleb Williams channels his inner Morpheus

Caleb Williams decides between the red pill and the blue pill
Caleb Williams decides between the red pill and the blue pill | David Banks-Imagn Images

In this story:


The Chicago Bears’ NFL season ended less than a month ago, but quarterback Caleb Williams has already undergone a relatively radical makeover.

Aside from getting rid of a cyst in right his arm, the quarterback got rid of a bunch of hair. His tight new coif made its public debut at the January 18 roundball clash between the Wisconsin Badgers and Caleb’s USC Trojans. (FWIW, Wisconsin put a hurtin’ on ’SC, 84-69.)

Then today, at new head coach Ben Johnson’s introductory presser, Williams’ makeover was further revealed as he rocked what looked to be a brand spankin’ new full-length leather jacket.

To explain the look, Williams used an analogy that dates back to 1999…two years before he was born:

The exchange went something like this:

  • Reporter: “The last 12 months for you have been pretty wild.”
  • Williams: “Yeah, that’s why I have this outfit on. [I want to] look like I’m in The Matrix, [like] Morpheus.”

For those of you who aren’t sci-fi fans, The Matrix is a 1999 film co-starring Keanu Reeves as Neo and Laurence Fishburne as the aforementioned Morpheus. The flick is so all over the map (in a good way) that a two-sentence elevator pitch can’t really be a thing.

Suffice it to say that Morpheus spends most of the film trying to help Neo find answers, all while wearing a way cool jacket.

Chicago hopes Williams’ jacket helps him find the answers needed to drag the Bears to a Super Bowl.


Published | Modified
Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

Share on XFollow AlanGoldsher