'Please hire Ben': Chicago Bears fans behind note to Kevin Warren recall interaction
Excitement around the Chicago Bears organization was at an all-time high on Wednesday when Ben Johnson was introduced as the new head coach.
President and CEO Kevin Warren heard from Bears fans, they wanted Ben Johnson too.
"I was at a restaurant the other night and someone sent me over a drink with a note," Warren recalled. "I save it and have it in the drawer. I read it this morning. It said, please hire Ben Johnson."
It was another Saturday night for Ryanne Braun and Chris Stein. The Bears fans were eating dinner and watching the Commanders-Lions game at Old Pueblo Cantina in Lincoln Park.
"We got seated at the bar and looked over and saw Kevin there in his three-piece suit," Stein said. "I knew it was him from there on."
Braun and Stein said Warren was locked into the NFL Divisional game, and presumably the Lions offense, while his wife was cheering for Detroit.
After the bartender confirmed it was Warren, the couple wanted to send a message.
"She was the one suggesting to send him a drink," Stein said. "I was the one who wanted to send a note along with the drink."
Stein and Braun passed over two shots and a note that read, 'Please hire Ben.'
"It was a shot of tequila," Warren said.
"His wife took hers and poured it into her margarita," Braun recalled. "I believe he took his before he left because it was empty. It was really fun and so Chicago."
Warren then returned the favor, "We had two shots back our way," added Stein. "Very nice of him to do that."
The picture circulated on social media, but was missing the signature.
"The end said, 'Sincerely Bears fans everywhere.'"
The post garnered a lot of attention, and soon went viral.
"I saw some Bears fans asking if it was well or top shelf." Stein said, "It was Don Julio so we didn't go cheap and it was nice tequila they sent back our way."
In the end, Bears fans got what they wanted.
"Happy to see in my opinion, they made the right decision," Stein said. "The future is limitless for them."
It left a lasting impression on Warren as well.
"I actually saved it," he said after Johnson was introduced. "I'm going to give it to Ben and hopefully one day it'll be framed on a wall."