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WARE, England – Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey learned something new in the week leading up to the franchise's third overseas game of the regular season.

In August 1960, the Bears played a preseason game against the New York Giants in Toronto. McCaskey was only 4 years old at the time. The two teams played each other on the 110-yard Canadian field, and according to the New York Times story of the Bears' 16-7 win, it was the first game between two NFL teams in Canada.

To McCaskey, it symbolized another example of the Bears being at the forefront of something that would soon become the norm in the NFL – playing in other countries. 26 years later, in 1986, the Bears became the first NFL team to play in London.

McCaskey joked that he wasn't bitter about not being able to make the trip. His brother Brian, then an assistant coach, was able to attend the “American Bowl” against the Dallas Cowboys.

“We just came off the Super Bowl and these guys were like rock stars,” McCaskey said. “They caught the attention of people who weren't even fans of American football. It was new. Even now, in 2019, the people in the stands seem excited that there is an event.”

McCaskey spoke to The Athletic from Hanbury Manor in Ware, home of the Bears, in the week ahead of their game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As a member of the league's international committee, McCaskey certainly had a front-row seat to the NFL's expansion of the international series, from one game a year to four, and soon to be eight. The 17-game season, which meant nine conference home games, created a situation where even the Bears had to forgo a Soldier Field game and come to London for a “home” game.

“The argument that was made was that you don’t lose a home game,” McCaskey said. “You will play internationally if you have 'nine' home games. Chicago fans still get eight regular-season games at Soldier Field. We make ourselves accessible to a global audience. This is what Michael Scott would call a win-win-win situation.”

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