Cooper: ‘Wanted to show appreciation’ through letter to Bears’ fans

Marcus Cooper knew it wasn’t just another team with which he was signing as a free agent.

The cornerback who had gone from the San Francisco 49ers to the Kansas City Chiefs to the Arizona Cardinals was now joining the Chicago Bears, who have as rich a history as any team in the NFL.

‘I had some fans tweeting me asking to make sure I signed a contract’

He was overcome by that during his visit to the team’s headquarters. And he wanted Bears fans to know just how much he appreciated being a part of it. So he wrote a letter, via Twitter that said, in part:

“As I walk through Halas Hall, I couldn’t help but feel like part of the rich tradition of the Chicago Bears. I saw the pictures of the greats: Butkus, Ditka, Sayers, Urlacher and Sweetness. I was greeted by Coach (John) Fox, Coach (Vic) Fangio (the defensive coordinator), (defensive backs) Coach (Ed) Donatell, to players, front-office executives, GM Ryan Pace. I immediately felt at home. I say here and now to you Chicago, I’ll work hard for you. I will never quit. I will sweat and bleed for you and I’ll be a player who’s worthy to wear the blue and orange.”

‘It’s a great city, first and foremost’

During an appearance on NFL Rewind, with Zig Fracassi and Geoff Schwartz, Cooper said the letter was the best way he could express himself.

“I just wanted to show my appreciation to these guys,” Cooper said. “This is a new city I’m going to and once I got there, I felt like I was at home. I had some fans tweeting me asking to make sure I signed a contract. It was just an amazing opportunity.

‘It’s a lot of tradition there’

“I didn’t know how to express that and me and my agent sat down and just put our heads together and came up with the idea to write the letter just to express my gratitude of being in this city. It’s a great city, first and foremost. The fans there are amazing. And it’s a lot of tradition there, a lot of history there and it’s something that I wanted to be a part of.”