Growing up in suburban Chicago, J.J. was destined to become a diehard Bears fan, just like his dad and so many relatives. Jim painted his son’s bedroom in Bears colors before he was born so that when they brought him home from the hospital, he would be appropriately indoctrinated, a fan from birth.
J.J. wore his favorite player’s jersey to the game that day at Soldier Field. No. 54, the great Brian Urlacher. Young J.J. had a Bears baseball hat turned backward, and a foam Bears claw on his hand.
He was ready to Bear Down.
The opponent? The Minnesota Vikings.
“Surreal,” Jim said recently. “Everything about him being where he’s supposed to be, he’s always manifested a way. But my gosh, how the stars line up to do this.”
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, age 4, at his first NFL game at Soldier Field on Oct. 14, 2007. He's wearing the jersey of his favorite player Brian Urlacher. (Jim McCarthy)
On Monday night, J.J. will be back at Soldier Field, 22 years old now and starting his first NFL game against the team he grew up cheering.
This isn’t a story line. It’s a Hollywood script.