As professional athletes who travel across the country and around the world, long distance is status quo in the marriage of Bears safety Jonathan Owens and Olympic gold medal gymnast Simone Biles. Sunday, Sept. 29 produced the rare occasion in which the pair was performing on the same day just miles and hours apart. Follow Owens during the 24 hours he shared with Biles on a Bears gameday.
It is 8 a.m. on Sunday morning and Jonathan Owens wakes up to start his gameday routine. He irons his shirt, gets dressed and eats a bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce for breakfast. A strange tradition, but one he feels works.
He leaves the hotel to head to Soldier Field for the Bears’ Week 4 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. Before driving off, he FaceTimes his wife, Simone Biles – the most decorated gymnast of all time, who is fresh off her record-breaking performance at the Olympics.
But this call is different – for a great reason.
For the first time in weeks, the couple swaps out their usual “I miss you” for a “See you soon.”
Due to a scheduling coincidence, Biles will perform at the United Center later that evening during a stop on the Gold Over America Tour [GOAT], where she is joined by other gymnasts from around the world to show off their elite abilities in arenas across the country.
“We were planning out times to see each other [during the season] and it just so happened to work out like that,” Owens explains.
Around 9:30 a.m., Owens arrives at the stadium and heads to the field to start warming up.
About an hour later, he is joined by his biggest supporter.
While running practice drills with the rest of the Bears secondary, Owens pops over to the sideline for a brief, but meaningful exchange with his wife.
“It’s a special moment,” Owens says. “Especially not being with each other for the last few weeks and now she’s at my game. It makes you want to play a little bit harder. She gives me some words of encouragement. That moment of embrace — it’s a comfort thing, like, ‘okay, I’m ready now.'”
As the clock strikes noon, it is game time. Owens remains a main contributor on special teams against the Rams while the Bears defense produces another productive outing. The group limits their opponent to 21 points or fewer for the 10th consecutive game — the longest active streak in the NFL.
Biles and company have to depart during the fourth quarter, just before Owens and the home team take care of business and prevail over the Rams 24-18 following a game-sealing interception by fellow safety Jaquan Brisker.
There is nothing like an NFL locker room after a win, so before Owens leaves to watch his wife twist and flip inside the United Center, he joins in on a team-wide dance party with some moves of his own.
Following the celebration inside the locker room, Owens is off to reciprocate Biles’ support. He hops in his car and heads straight from Soldier Field to the United Center. After he arrives, he heads down to the floor to watch Simone get ready to perform. He clings to every minute he gets to spend with her, even if it means observing her warmup routine right before show time.
“I was on the floor during warmups, and everyone was saying, ‘Go Bears! Go Bears!’ to me,” Owens recalls.
By the GOAT’s 7 p.m. show time, Owens is joined by his teammates, including Kevin Byard III, Andrew Billings, Josh Blackwell, Elijah Hicks, Amen Ogbongbemiga and Byron Cowart, who are in attendance to show their support for him and cheer on Biles.
“Everyone was in awe of gymnastics and the respect for the craft — the performance they put on because it is like a show,” Owens says. “It’s like two hours with a 20-minute halftime.
“We were all jamming, kicking it in the suite. My boys said, ‘this feels like Broadway.'”
The star gymnast ends the show by yelling ‘Go Bears’ into the mic.
“The crowd went super crazy, so that was dope,” Owens mentions.
With that, a busy Sunday for the couple comes to an end. For the first time in their relationship, both Owens and Biles showcase their professional talents in the same city on the same day. More importantly, they are about to relish the unique opportunity to support each other’s careers on the same day.
“It just makes you think that everything is happening how it is supposed to,” Owens says with a big smile. “Understanding this is your window. You’ve got to maximize it. Like who gets to say they are headlining their own tour? And for me to be at noon and her performing at 7:00… It’s just moments like that, that lets you know we’re right where we are supposed to be. You miss each other, but then stuff like this works out. It just lets you know it’s going to be alright. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.”
As Biles rides off on the tour bus at 12:30 a.m., heading to the airport for the next stop in Newark, New Jersey, Owens heads to bed with a sense of gratitude from the jam-packed day.
8 a.m. Monday morning, Owens is back to work at Halas Hall as the Bears get ready for Week 5 of the season and another home game at Soldier Field.
