LAKE FOREST, Ill. — DJ Moore was mobbed by teammates as he made his way to the middle of the locker room moments after the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers in overtime on Dec. 20 to earn their 11th win of the season.
Head coach Ben Johnson handed Moore the game ball — his second in as many weeks — and the receiver danced as Lil Wayne’s «Go DJ» was cued up from the mega speaker behind him.
The object atop Moore’s head swayed back and forth as the celebration began. It was symbolic. The 28-year-old wide receiver had just shredded Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon in the end zone at Soldier Field while hauling in a 46-yard touchdown in overtime to seal the 22-16 victory for the Bears.
So naturally, Moore sported a giant foam hat in the shape of a cheese grater, a troll-worthy ode to the triangular yellow cheeseheads worn by Packers fans for decades.
«I didn’t know what that was honestly until the day after,» tight end Cole Kmet said. «I saw DJ wearing that in the locker room and I couldn’t tell what it was. But good for the guy, whoever made that. I’m sure he’s doing pretty well right now.»
Caleb Williams wore one as he handed out boxes of food at his foundation’s holiday giveaway event. Since then, Foam Party Hats has received over 7,000 orders from fans and had several major retailers reach out in hopes of distributing their product. The company has completely sold out of its cheese grater stock and is on back order until at least March.
And it’s not just Bears fans who have taken notice. At least one Packers player caught a glimpse of the hats that are expected to be throughout Soldier Field on Saturday night.
«That ain’t got nothing to do with me,» wide receiver Jayden Reed said.
As the Packers and Bears gear up for their third meeting this season and third meeting ever in the playoffs when Chicago hosts Green Bay in the wild-card round (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video), Rojas now has a vested interest in the game.
«After this, I’m a huge Bears fan,» Rojas said. «I got my DJ Moore shirt already. I never had a reason to be a football fan because I didn’t grow up with it [in Venezuela] or watching the games, but now I have an excuse to do it.»
