Everything We Learned During the NFL 100 Kickoff in Chicago

Let me tell you, nobody is more excited about the NFL being back than the city of Chicago. And that's even despite the loss to the Packers last night. Yes, there's real questions about Mitch Trubisky and the Bears offense, which we'll get into, but the vibe of the city has been unreal for the NFL's official Kickoff for the league's 100th year. The game itself was probably the exact opposite of what people expected going into it, with the Packers defense completely shutting down the Bears offense.

Of course, the Bears defense also showed up in a big way, but Aaron Rodgers and company were able to do enough to pull out the victory on the road to start the season. I sort of even felt bad for Bears fans last night. 

The atmosphere in Chicago was pretty special. This was my first time here in over five years and my first ever Bears game at Soldier Field. This city has very real Super Bowl aspirations and hype around this team. The lead up to the game was pretty intense, and I'm not going to lie, there were way more Packers fans at the official NFL experience event in Grant Park than I expected. They showed out for their team in a big way. They were loud, and got even louder once Trubisky threw that final INT to essentially end the game last night. 

The anticipation around this NFL season feels special. Maybe it's because I'm a Browns fan, but the hype feels real, and I honestly can't wait for the season to unfold. With that said, we spent the last three days in Chicago for the official NFL 100th season Kickoff and learned a whole lot. Here are all of our takeaways from the Windy City. Might want to look away, Bears fans. 

Y'all didn't lie once about how good Harold's in Chicago is. Lord, I'd probably drink mild sauce if it were an option. And unlike the Bears offense, Harold's did not disappoint during my trip to Chicago. 

Madden really, really knocked it out of the park with this new Superstar KO feature, which just rolled out this week. I was able to see a bunch of the gameplay during the Madden activation at the Kickoff experience, and I believe it's going to be a big hit. Lil Yachty, Juice Wrld, Mike Vick, and more were all on hand to test out the new feature and play with fans. It looks sick and is a great addition to an already awesome version of Madden. Even better, you can play with Vick in this mode, which is a dream come true for any Madden fan. 

This is something we all already know, but seeing it live really never gets old.