One thing is especially clear this holiday season: The Hallmark Channel loves Chicago.
First, there was A Knight to Remember, which was set in the Windy City. But while Chicago provided the backdrop for that romance, it didn’t become a character in its own right quite like it does in Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story.
This year’s installment of Hallmark’s annual Holiday Touchdown franchise is all about the Chicago Bears, celebrating the team, the resilient spirit and most importantly, the lifelong fans.
It also put a huge spotlight on what makes the city distinctly Chicago, especially around Christmas, when we really get to shine.
There’s plenty of fun local Easter eggs, and while I don’t recall a single mention of deep-dish pizza, they did serve Italian Beef at the family get-together, and Malört got its well-deserved moment. It’s a rite of passage!
Bears fans will also appreciate all the cameos from newcomers and legends alike, including Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, Charles “Peanut” Tillman and Mike Singletary. Stranger Things‘ breakout star Jake Connelly, who played Derick in season 5 and is a local hailing from Arlington Heights, also makes a brief appearance, as do a few Hallmark favorites, Tamera Mowry-Housley and Marilu Henner.
It also serves as a beautiful tribute to one of the most legendary figures in Chicago sports history, Mike Ditka, affectionately known as “Da Coach,” who led the Bears to their historic Super Bowl XX victory in January 1986. The tribute takes on even greater significance now, following his death on Oct. 9 at age 86, just days before the film’s premiere.
The rom-com follows Avery (Lyndsy Fonseca), a New York-based reporter who doesn’t like staying in one place for too long. But when she arrives in Chicago to visit her mother, Jody (One Tree Hill’s Barbara Alyn Woods), and get to know her new husband, Ron, whom she married after a whirlwind romance, Avery finds some much-needed perspective in the most unexpected place.
Avery has absolutely no interest in sports, making that clear when a handsome stranger at a bar approaches her with an enthusiastic “Go Bears!” mentality. Her response? She’s strictly Switzerland when it comes to football.
But even Avery can’t resist getting swept up in the magic of Chicago’s passionate fandom, especially when she takes on a freelance assignment profiling Darlene (Marsha Mason), an octogenarian Bears superfan preparing to attend her 500th Chicago Bears game.
On the surface, the two women couldn’t be more different. Avery seems like an odd choice for the piece, as she couldn’t care less about football, while Darlene’s life has largely revolved around the Bears.
But what Avery doesn’t realize is that this seemingly random assignment—and the woman at the heart of it—might be exactly what she needs to stop running, get off the sidelines, and start living her own life.
The assignment comes at the request of Darlene’s grandson, and anyone who’s ever watched a Hallmark movie can probably guess where this is going and how it’s going to end up.
The grandson turns out to be Matt, the very same Bears-loving guy Avery met at the bar. Oh, and he’s also a Chicago firefighter, played by One Tree Hill alum Robert Buckley, so we’re definitely not complaining. (Say thank you, Hallmark!)
Avery writes an article profiling a woman attending her 500th Bears game who only agrees to the story if her grandson serves as Avery’s ambassador to Chicago for the holidays. Photo: Robert Buckley Credit: ©2026 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Elizabeth Sisson
Darlene agrees to the profile on the condition that Matt serves as Avery’s personal Chicago ambassador, showing her around the city and giving her all the family insight she needs for her story. After all, Darlene is a very busy woman. And, as it turns out, something of a matchmaking wizard.
Not that Avery and Matt really need it. Their pull toward each other is organic, though they both benefit from the little nudges to actually take things to the next level.
What makes Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story especially charming is that their blossoming romance almost feels like a secondary storyline, as there’s so much more happening beneath the surface.
Darlene, for one, is an absolute spitfire, and her love for the Bears is about far more than football.
Her own love story began at a Chicago Bears game in 1971, where she met Bernie, the man who would become her husband. Sadly, Bernie didn’t live to see her reach her 500th game.
But his memory remains a driving force behind the milestone, especially after Darlene’s breast cancer diagnosis. Reaching that 500th game isn’t simply a testament to decades of dedication to her favorite team; it’s also a celebration of survival, resilience, and the promise she made to keep going.
Of course, the Bears and Chicago are just as central to the story as Avery, Matt and Darlene, even if some of the local references feel a little on the nose.
Yes, we love our Christkindlmarket. And yes, cornhole (or bags) is a Midwestern staple, but I’ve never seen anyone get passionate about an annual cornhole tournament at the Christmas market. In fact, in all my years of visiting, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen anyone playing bags there. It’s usually way too cold for that!
Still, I had to chuckle at the suggestion that cornhole is practically the Midwest’s official sport.
I’m also not from a sports-obsessed family, so while I know Chicago fans live and breathe for their teams, I can’t say whether people really shout “Go Bears!” at random holiday gatherings or wear their Bears gear on Christmas morning (though I did really love Avery’s Bears jacket). If you do, please feel free to correct me!
Avery writes an article profiling a woman attending her 500th Bears game who only agrees to the story if her grandson serves as Avery’s ambassador to Chicago for the holidays. Photo: Lyndsy Fonseca Credit: ©2026 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Elizabeth Sisson
But I understand the sentiment that the film is trying to drive home—Chicago’s relationship with its teams is less about what happens on the field (mostly), and more about community, loyalty, and a shared purpose and love that brings together—and bonds—generations.
I also appreciated the city setting. While so many holiday rom-coms unfold in picturesque small towns, it was refreshing to see a major city receive that same kind of treatment, allowing me to romanticize Chicago for a moment, even if life here isn’t always as simple as it is in those fictional holiday villages.
The movie even earns a few points for acknowledging one of Chicago’s less magical realities: downtown traffic.
When Darlene needs to make it to her milestone game, the script recognizes that getting across the city without an assist from the Chicago Fire Department is nearly impossible. She would have never made it to Soldier Field on time.
The film also brings home the resilience and pride of Chicago. As Darlene mentioned, Chicagoans keep going when things get difficult; we stand by our people, and we don’t count ourselves out when there’s still time left on the clock.
That spirit runs through Darlene’s journey, starting in 1971, and eventually to Avery’s realization that she can put down roots without giving up the career she’s worked hard to build.
On the surface, Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story is a sweet Christmas romance about two people who fall in love and find themselves reconsidering what they want out of life, but it’s also a love letter to Chicago and the beloved Bears, whose fans remain loyal through the highs and lows, the victories and the defeats.
Avery writes an article profiling a woman attending her 500th Bears game who only agrees to the story if her grandson serves as Avery’s ambassador to Chicago for the holidays. Photo: Lyndsy Fonseca Credit: ©2026 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Elizabeth Sisson
And by the end, Avery found something she didn’t even know she was looking for—a home in sweet home Chicago.
She’s no longer content sitting on the sidelines of her own life, as she accepts a job that allows her to stick around and build a future with Matt, along with new traditions with her mom and Ron.
She falls in love with Chicago, the game, the passion and the people, which is something any Chicagoan can understand, despite the freezing temperatures, unpredictable traffic, and occasionally heartbreaking football seasons.