Bears Fans Searching 'Burden' for Injury News Find an Australian Student's Post Instead: 7 Million Views and a Care Package Offer From the Team
On Sunday night, November 8, in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, the Chicago Bears edged the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24. Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III finished with 97 receiving yards and a touchdown before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a concussion after a helmet-to-helmet hit. That night, large numbers of Bears fans went to X and searched his surname, "Burden," for injury updates, and instead came across a post by Yuri, a student in Australia. According to CBS News, Yuri had written that if they were no longer alive, they would no longer be a burden to anyone.
The post first drew one unfriendly reply, from someone who said fans were looking for Burden injury updates and told Yuri to stop posting. Bears fan Chris Lobosco told CBS News that other fans quickly pushed back on that reply, saying it was not acceptable, and thousands of messages of encouragement then flooded Yuri's post. The messages included "People love you and now Chicago Bears fanbase loves you too," "Life is worth living homie, I promise," and the Bears rallying cry "Bear down."
According to CBS News, Yuri's original post was ultimately viewed more than 7 million times. Yuri later posted that they had no idea who the Chicago Bears were and that they were Australian; that follow-up post drew about 160,000 likes and nearly 5 million views. Yuri's account, which had started with only a handful of followers, grew to well over ten thousand within days, most of them Bears fans. Fans also wished Yuri luck on school exams and invited Yuri to a future Bears game.
Jonathan Singer, a social work professor at Loyola University Chicago, told CBS News that it is common for people to share intense personal experiences on social media, and that in this case the fans told a stranger, in effect, that their life has value simply because they exist, and that they wanted them to stay.
The Bears organization then noticed the exchange. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, on Wednesday, November 11, Yuri posted a screenshot showing the Bears' social media team writing that they had been following the story, loved the way fans had adopted Yuri into the fan base, and would love to send a care package. The Bears' official X account posted the same day, extending "a special welcome to all the newest members of Bears FC." Yuri later thanked the fans, saying they had helped at a very low point, and has since returned to posting about classes and studying.
The Bears are on their bye week. According to Operation Sports, Burden is not expected to miss any games because of the concussion.
Source: CBS News
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Luther Burden III本人资料图（2025年10月摄于Landover，Joe Glorioso / All-Pro Reels摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons）
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