Courtney Cronin
Kalyn Kahler
Kalyn Kahler
ESPN
Kalyn Kahler is a senior NFL author at ESPN. Kalyn reviews on a variety of NFL subjects. She reported in regards to the affect of teaching brokers on NFL hiring and discovered what present and former Cowboys gamers actually take into consideration the tour teams of followers that roam about The Star daily. Earlier than becoming a member of ESPN in July of 2024, Kalyn wrote for The Athletic, Defector, Bleacher Report and Sports activities Illustrated. She started her profession at Sports activities Illustrated as NFL columnist Peter King’s assistant. She is a graduate of Northwestern College, the place she was a varsity cheerleader. In her free time, Kalyn takes Spanish courses and teaches Irish dance. You’ll be able to attain out to Kalyn by way of e-mail.
CHICAGO — Ari Levy, the co-owner of the Chicago hot-dog stand The Wieners Circle, was scrolling by social media whereas watching the Miami Dolphins-Buffalo Payments sport final Thursday when a second of inspiration struck.
Levy, 46, noticed a daring declaration on X that was selecting up steam.
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“Ollie Gordon scores an anytime landing and I will textual content my ex, who’s getting married on Saturday, that I nonetheless love her,” the put up learn.
Gordon, a Dolphins working again, discovered the tip zone on a 2-yard run with 6:29 to play within the first quarter of Miami’s 31-21 loss. The retweets and likes — over 44,000 — poured in and piqued Levy’s curiosity to create a promotion between his hot-dog stand and his favourite soccer workforce, the Chicago Bears.
“It obtained me pondering, what can we do to simply get in on the enjoyable?” Levy instructed ESPN. “What’s a considerably inconceivable however achievable quantity for [quarterback] Caleb [Williams] to hit? I checked out some information and thought there was perhaps a 5 to 10 % likelihood that he would hit [four touchdowns]. He did it as soon as final 12 months, so I believed we would get in on it.”
The following morning, Levy fired off a put up on X. As Williams and the Bears regarded for his or her first win of the season, followers in Chicago can be handled to free sizzling canine on Sept. 23 if the quarterback threw 4 landing passes, one thing he did as a rookie in a win over Jacksonville.
pic.twitter.com/RVcOYcUfJt
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 21, 2025
The put up was reshared over 1,700 occasions and acquired greater than 7,900 likes. Late Sunday afternoon, as Levy watched the Bears take down the Dallas Cowboys 34-14 whereas Williams threw landing passes to vast receivers Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, DJ Moore and tight finish Cole Kmet, The Wieners Circle co-owner was shocked when he heard the quarterback acknowledge his restaurant’s promotion.
“I’ve heard in regards to the four-touchdown factor,” Williams stated postgame. “Congrats, everyone, you bought free sizzling canine.”
The Wieners Circle ordered an additional 2,000 sizzling canine forward of Tuesday’s giveaway the place patrons may go to the Lincoln Park location for a free sizzling canine between 11 a.m. and eight p.m., or till they ran out. Levy credited Chicago-based bread firm S. Rosen’s for donating 2,000 poppyseed buns to assist the giveaway.
By midday on a sunny September Tuesday, the road stretched up Clark Road and across the nook of Drummond Place. Native information vans arrange in entrance of the well-known hot-dog stand to seize the scene. Vehicles drove by with the home windows rolled down and shouted, “Go Bears!”
When the Vienna Beef hot-dog truck whizzed by and honked its horn, the road of lots of of Bears followers and Chicagoans patiently awaiting their free sizzling canine cheered.
Rain or shine, Chicago confirmed up 🌭 pic.twitter.com/ZciXzGfsKM
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 23, 2025
Jose Figueroa, who calls himself the “No. 1 Bears fan” pumped up the group as they waited, strolling forwards and backwards in entrance of the road on the sidewalk. “Let’s go Bears!” he shouted again and again as he waved his arms.
Figueroa, a Bucktown resident, wore an apron with a Chicago-style sizzling canine on it that might cross him for a Wieners Circle worker, however he was there in an unofficial capability.
“I obtained right here at 8 a.m.,” he stated. “I am simply volunteering and wished to come back down and convey everybody collectively.”
Gina Parentino and Michael Father or mother had the time without work from work, in order that they waited an hour in line for his or her free sizzling canine. Father or mother stated he was nonetheless residing off of the ’85 Bears however is feeling optimistic now in regards to the 2025 workforce.
“If Sunday was a preview of what we’ll maintain getting, that is nice,” Father or mother stated.
Parentino added: “If the Cubs can win after 108 years, Bears can win after simply 40, we obtained this.”
Joe Patrick, 67, a lifelong Bears fan, was fishing Tuesday morning close by on Lake Michigan.
“I really like The Wiener Circle, and I used to be within the neighborhood, so I might be loopy to not come and assist the Bears,” Patrick stated. “The Bears are going to win each sport till they lose one, after which they’ll win each sport after that till they lose that one.”
José Figueroa is the unofficial hype man for the Weiner’s Circle and the Bears today- conserving the group going throughout the hour lengthy await promised 4 touchdowns without cost canine promotion. He obtained right here at 8 am pic.twitter.com/lAAZIFfzFb
— Kalyn Kahler (@kalynkahler) September 23, 2025
Allison Miller and Davin Strouse waited in step with their golden retriever, Clark, who donned a Bears jersey for the event. Miller and Strouse moved to Chicago six years in the past and have gone to at least one Bears sport a 12 months since.
They had been sitting within the North finish zone Sunday and counting Williams’ landing passes. They’d seen The Wieners Circle’s put up about free sizzling canine if Williams handed for 4 touchdowns, however they did not suppose it will ever occur.
“Most likely not,” Miller stated.
“With the way in which the season has gone,” Strouse stated, “however he hit two fairly fast, and that flea-flicker was fairly outstanding.”
When Williams had three landing passes by halftime, Miller and Strouse began speaking about the potential for free sizzling canine with the opposite Bears followers of their part, and when Moore caught the fourth landing within the north finish zone, proper in entrance of them, all of them high-fived to their free hot-dog future and the Bears’ win.
“The trick performs and even the scheme offers you lots of hope,” Strouse stated. “And the way in which Caleb performed on Sunday, hopefully it is a turning level.”
