Super Bowl champ still thrills the fans

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Even though Braeside fourth-graders weren’t alive when Dennis McKinnon and the 1985 Chicago Bears won Super Bowl XX, the Highland Park 10- and 11-year-olds were awestruck by the presence of the former Bears wide receiver.

McKinnon spent the morning with each fourth-grade gym class Friday after a group of parents paid a four-figure sum to win the opportunity for their kids during the school’s auction fund-raiser March 4.

“Silky D” offered to lead athletic drills and toss the football around before signing autographs and taking pictures with the students. McKinnon also brought his replica version of the Vince Lombardi Trophy that the Bears won in Super Bowl XX.

With the Chicago Bulls on their mind, however, the Braeside students also challenged McKinnon to dunk a basketball, which he did.

“He was so warm and so friendly while interacting with the kids,” reported Braeside mom Alisa Bay, who is also the school’s PTO co-vice president. “He was so generous.”

He then spent time talking to the kids about health, fitness and staying active.

“Even though it was long before they were born, they know its special,” Braeside principal Pat Kritzman added. “There is just something about a Super Bowl champion.”

McKinnon signed everything from footballs, hats, photos and even shirts on students’ back.

“The kids were thrilled,” Kritzman said.