These Were Actual Trends The Last Time Bears Drafted Top 5 Quarterback

Can anybody remember the last time the Chicago Bears drafted top 5 quarterback? It's a fun trivia question for casual fans. Most who don't know will smack their heads upon hearing the answer. It was none other than Jim McMahon back in 1982. The team took the standout from BYU with the fifth overall pick that year. The first under new head coach Mike Ditka. McMahon would be one of the more controversial players of the decade, but also one of the best. He went 46-15 in Chicago during his run, helping the franchise to win its first Super Bowl in 1985. He's also the last quarterback to make a Pro Bowl for them. In all a pretty good return on such an important pick. Over the past 35 years though the Bears have had three other opportunities to get themselves a top five QB and failed to pull the trigger. In 1998 and 2003 they didn't pull the trigger because the options available were poor. However, the streak should've ended in 2005 when they had Aaron Rodgers on the board with their #4 pick. They took Cedric Benson instead. So the streak continues. Want to feel old? Here are a bunch of things that were popular in 1982 when the Bears made that pick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwrU8s-M-gc The CD player debuted in Japan Think about that for a second. The CD player was rendered obsolete by the iPod and iPhone technologies over a decade ago. Yet it wasn't even a thing in the U.S. back in 1982. People considered it radical and groundbreaking not long after it swept Japan. Even then it wouldn't even become mainstream until the early-to-mid 1990s. Nowadays anybody who still uses a CD player is considered old or totally out of touch with reality.

Plaid was an "in" fashion

Clothes gurus of today would start crying when they heard this revelation. In fact plaid was such a popular fashion trend that year that an actual movie came out with it in the title. No, seriously. It was called "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." Steve Martin was the star. One of the great movie comics of all-time. The trend was so popular that a young up-and-coming actor by the name of George Clooney embraced it as pictured above. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7-2PB4jj2o

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial was the blockbuster hit

Steve Spielberg was untouchable in the early 1980s and one could safely say that 1982 was his peak. He was just coming off the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark. People were wondering how he could possibly top himself. Well somehow he did it, crafting arguably the greatest tale of alien encounter in cinematic history with E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. There isn't a movie fan alive today who hasn't seen it and the praise is almost universal. Remember that they spent $10.5 million to make that movie. It grossed $792.9 million. What many don't know is that shortly after he produced and wrote another iconic picture. A treasured little horror flick called Poltergeist. Keep in mind Spielberg is 70-years old now. He was 35 when he did all that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

Michael Jackson released his new album "Thriller"

The fact that Michael Jackson is dead should be the first thing that puts this in perspective. To think that maybe the greatest music album of all-time was released the same year the Bears last took a top 5 quarterback? Madness. Utter madness. Yet it's the truth. The King of Pop hit his zenith in the early '80s and it was Thriller that made him a pop culture god. To date it's reported to have sold a ridiculous 65 million copies. That's 15 million more than Back in Black by AC/DC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHgluf9Axdw

Knight Rider debuted on television

David Hasselhoff remains one of the greatest television stars of the modern era. Everybody knows the name and has seen one of his wildly popular shows. It was this one that put him on the map though. Before 1982, Hasselhoff was a young actor who got guess spots on various shows and soap operas. Then he caught a break portraying Michael Knight, a former police officer-turn-vigilante who battles crime with help from an artificially intelligent car known as KITT. To this day the theme of the show and the car itself are instantly recognizable. It made him a megastar. That year is where it all began. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjBeCwz2fXg

Vince McMahon took over the World Wrestling Federation

To this day the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) remains the uncontested king of professional wrestling in the world. A billion dollar corporation showcasing some of the best athletes from around the globe. Well back in 1982 it was know as the World Wrestling Federation and was known mostly as a wrestling company that owned most of the northeast and east coast. It wasn't until a young man named Vince McMahon Jr. bought majority control of the company from his father that everything changed. He turned wrestling into "sports entertainment" and ushered in a new era that would showcase future celebrity stars like Hulk Hogan, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock. Everything started with the daring move by McMahon to take over the company and take it national. Something nobody had ever tried before. Fun fact? Steve "Mongo" McMichael, who'd signed with the Bears around that same time, wound up working for the WWF a decade later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdDuIJiJBjM

EPCOT opened at Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World was just coming into existence in the early 1980s. Now of course it's the most popular theme park in the world. In 1982, one of the most highly anticipated attractions was set to open. That was EPCOT. It was the last brainchild of the great Walt Disney himself shortly before his death, standing for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow." It was meant to be a showcase of new ideas and technologies in American industry. At the time it was the largest construction project on the planet. How it opened was rather memorable too.

"During the finale, doves and many sets of balloons were released. Performing groups representing countries from all over the world performed in World Showcase. Water was gathered from major rivers across the globe and emptied into the park's fountain of nations ceremonial containers to mark the opening."

It may not be the most popular attraction these days, but EPCOT was one of the big reasons that Disney World would become a household name in the decades to follow. Feel old yet?