CHICAGO (AP) — Sweetness. Ditka. Papa Bear.
The NFL is beginning its 100th season in a city that follows football with a fevered intensity.
The league is throwing a birthday party that includes a free fan festival and concert and culminates with one of its biggest rivalries: Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers visiting Khalil Mack and the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.
The beginning of the regular season comes with the league still dogged by questions about safety and other issues.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck retired last month at age 29, stripped of his love for the game by years of injuries.