Blue-Collar Worker Finds Fame As ‘Cheese Grater Guy’ In Bears’ Iconic Playoff Win Over Packers

CHICAGO — Brandon Martinez is a blue-collar worker and born-and-bred Chicagoan from the Southwest Side.

Now, he’s one of the world’s most recognizable Chicago Bears fans after he was shown on national television shredding cheese with a handheld grater during Saturday’s playoff game against the Green Bay Packers.

“The Bears finally score a touchdown, and I just started ripping it. So everyone’s going nuts,” Martinez said. “A camera crew asked me to do it again.”

The 38-year-old saved up for last-minute resell tickets to the game by clocking overtime shifts.

By the fourth quarter, as the Bears mounted a comeback for the ages to beat the Packers 31-27, Martinez’s savory celebration was splashed across the internet.

“I look at my phone and there’s over 300 text messages,” Martinez said. “I nicked two of my fingers, but yeah, I’d do it again.”

The union man operates blenders for antifreeze and airplane deicer at a chemical plant. He has risen to represent a sudden change in spirits for Chicagoans, who find themselves on the winning side of a bitter rivalry, finally, against the despised Cheeseheads.

With a waitlist of more than 10,000 to buy cheese grater hats, Bears players and fans haven’t been shy about rubbing it in — or shredding it.

“People were coming up to me with their hands out,” Martinez said. “They’d throw cheese in the air. The energy in the city is through the roof.”

Brandon Martinez, 38, is a proud father of two and union worker from the city’s Southwest Side. Credit: Brandon Martinez

An Easy Pass Through Security

Martinez already had a quarter-wheel of cheese from Costco in his fridge because his two boys like parmesan on their pasta, he said.

On the way to the tailgate Saturday, Martinez picked up beers and a $8.99 cheese grater with a plastic cover from Jewel-Osco.

Security at Soldier Field didn’t stop him. A confident Martinez said he was loaded up on steaks, sushi and “Miller Lattes” as he strolled through metal detectors.

“Not even a beep,” Martinez said. “I didn’t even think anything of it.”

Martinez was also strapped with four cheese chunks that his wife put in Ziploc bags and stuffed into his pockets.

The rest is Chicago history.

Martinez’s cheese stayed mostly in his pockets until the Bears started chipping away at the Packers’ 21-3 lead after halftime. He said he’s the kind of fan who “always watches until the end.”

“The way they came back, not against any team, but Green Bay, to finish their season, it was everything,” Martinez said. “You can’t count these guys out. Once they get going, the momentum doesn’t stop.”

He kept shredding until there were only “three nubs left.”

“It’s in a bag on the kitchen table,” Martinez said. “When the Bears are good, it’s good for the city.”

Brandon Martinez is known by his friends as the “life of the party” Credit: Brandon Martinez

The ‘Life Of The Party’ Makes It Big

Breakout quarterback Caleb Williams — who passed for 361 yards and led the Bears to 25 points in the fourth quarter — joined Martinez by shredding his own block of cheese in his postgame interview.

Martinez’s act was widely applauded online. His shredding has been dubbed to Chicago rapper Chief Keef’s “Faneto.”

Superfans before him include “Cane Guy,” whose hexes helped the White Sox, as well as countless Ditka impersonators and “Bearman.” Martinez said he’s ready to take his rightful place as “Cheese Grater Guy.”

“People are posting videos of their kids shredding cheese,” Martinez said. “I think that’s cool.”

Andy Ruiz, who grew up with Martinez in Gage Park, said the two try to make it to a few Bears games a year. They bought secondhand nosebleed seats shortly before kickoff but stood near a balcony for the whole game.

“We were calling this our Super Bowl. We cannot lose to Green Bay. We just can’t. We had to be there,” Ruiz said. “Brandon, he’s always like the life of the party.”

Ruiz had the honor of telling his childhood friend that he was going viral.

“He couldn’t believe it,” Ruiz said. “After the game, people were coming out of bars, honking car horns, and he was still shredding cheese walking down the street.”

The Bears host the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Martinez is hoping tickets get cheaper. Either way, he’ll probably give his new cheese grater a break until pizza night with his kids.

“It’s a Packers thing,” Martinez said.

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