Why did Bears' Ben Johnson go shirtless? 'Any time you get a chance to feed a city, you want to do it.'

Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune on Dec 1, 2025

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

CHICAGO — “I know you guys are hungry for more, right?” Ben Johnson told his Chicago Bears team in the aftermath of Friday’s 24-15 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. “Let me tell you something, the city of Chicago’s hungry too.”

Chicago Bears players seemed to sense something was about to happen. Johnson passed his ballcap off to safety Jonathan Owens.

“They’re hungry for some hot dogs!” Johnson yelled as he ripped off his shirt and flexed in front of the team.

The players went ballistic, shouting and pounding on the metal lockers in the visitors’ locker room at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. When video of that moment made its way to social media just minutes later, the internet went wild too.

Chicago appears to be quickly falling in love with its new coach. Players have been raving about Johnson’s intensity and his passion for months, but fans saw it on full display following Friday’s win. The coach has been locked in during games, but his emotion pours out when he celebrates with his team after a victory.

Friday was on another level.

“It was bizarre,” tight end Cole Kmet said of watching his coach pull off his shirt. “But it was cool. He was pumped up and jacked (up) about it.”

After Johnson ripped his shirt off, The Wieners Circle on North Clark Street followed through on its bet and announced it would hand out free hot dogs on Tuesday.

Speaking about his shirtless celebration for the first time Monday, Johnson said “any time you get a chance to feed a city, you want to do it.” He also noted that he’s a “man of the people.”

In September, the North Side hot dog stand said it would hand out free hot dogs if quarterback Caleb Williams threw for four touchdowns in an upcoming game against the Dallas Cowboys. Williams did exactly that in the Week 3 win.

Days later, a line of customers – including Williams’ bulldog Supa – wound its way down the street and around the corner. After that success, The Wieners Circle came up with its next challenge, stating on social media that if Johnson took his shirt off during or after any Bears victory, there would once again be free hot dogs for Chicago.

The Wieners Circle offered up the challenge more than a month ago. The Bears – who have won nine of their last 10 games – have won plenty since then, but Johnson’s shirt remained on after each one.

Johnson acknowledged at a news conference weeks ago that he was aware of the challenge. If the coach was waiting for a signature moment, there was no better opportunity than Friday, when his team beat the defending Super Bowl champions in their building during a worldwide broadcast in a unique time slot.

Johnson said he figured it was better to do it sooner rather than later since his job doesn’t afford him much time to work on his beach body during the season.

“That was a spur-of-the-moment deal, I guess,” Johnson said Monday. “But I figured the sooner the better because I’m not in the weight room very much anymore, so this thing keeps getting a little bit worse as we go along in the season.”

For Johnson, there were a couple of things in the back of his mind when deciding whether or not to follow through with it celebration. First, he wanted to feed people. And second, he knew the move would galvanize Bears fans.

“I hate to draw attention away from our players, but the intent was to bring up the city of Chicago and hopefully it gave them a little excitement because they’re a big part of this journey as we’re going through the season,” Johnson said.

Bears fans have certainly been eating it up, much like Tuesday’s free hot dogs. Clips of their shirtless head coach were everywhere on social media Friday night.

Back home, Johnson’s wife Jessica and their three children were as surprised as anyone to see Ben shirtless on TV.

“I guess my 2-year-old was watching the TV screen at home and she was pointing at the screen, ‘no shirt, no shirt,’” the Bears coach said. “My wife had no idea what was going on.”

Everybody is paying attention to the Bears, who are currently are the No. 1 team in the NFC. Johnson has reignited an enthusiasm that Chicago hasn’t really felt since the team last won the NFC North in 2018.

“He definitely maintains a lot of passion towards us as players and guys feel that every day,” Kmet said. “It’s been a lot of fun to play for him this year and I know a lot of other guys would say the same thing.”

____