A parody Instagram post in tribute to Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai has caught the attention of the rookie himself.
“Like the ‘Lion King’? Yeah, I saw that,” Monangai smiled. “Everybody’s been sending it to me. It was definitely cool to see. And big shout-out to him who made that. He’s got some nice vocals. I can’t sing that well.”
Edgar Blackmon, a Second City alumnus and Richton Park native, created the post, taking inspiration from the familiar opening chant from the Disney animated hit, “Circle of Life/Nants’ Ingonyama,” the latter of which loosely translates from Zulu to “Here comes the lion.”
The melodic chant, according to Genius.com, goes as follows: “Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba / Sithi uhm ingonyama …”
While wearing what appears to be a homemade Bears headdress, Blackmon swaps in Bears-centric lyrics but sings them with the same accent.
“Kyle Monangai with a Bears first down (Bear down, Chicago Bears,” he starts off in the post with a caption that reads, “Me whenever Kyle Monangai does something good.” “Kyle Monangai’s in the end zone again (Bear down, Chicago Bears).”
Said Monangai: “I laughed. It was cool. My mom loved it. The whole family saw it, they loved it. And I know that everybody around here got a good laugh out of it. They loved it too.”
Monangai, 23, has 121 carries for 591 yards, and his five rushing touchdowns are tied with D’Andre Swift for the team lead.
The seventh-round draft pick is averaging 4.9 yards per carry through 12 games, putting up 176- and 130-yard days against the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.
“That’s right, he needs it,” Swift said of his fellow running back’s social media tribute. “He’s been playing great ball right now. So whatever love he can get, whatever recognition he can get, he deserves it.”
Receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, whose stall is near Monangai’s, loves to joke around with the rookie.
“Somebody sent it to me,” Zaccheaus said. “I really haven’t (teased him) but it may start getting some traction in the locker room.”