Bears fans reaction: Heartbroken
By KiM JANSSEN Staff Reporter January 23, 2011 1:28PM
Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM
Red-faced and slumped against a concrete pillar amid piles of trash behind the north end zone at Soldier Field, 38-year-old Bears fan Ed Foss looked like he might cry — or throw-up.
“This sucks,” he said, as a few yards away hundreds of Packers fans whooped and hollered “Super Bowl” until they were hoarse.
Just minutes after the game had ended, most sickened Bears fans had left and the whole city was trying to forget losing what was hyped as the biggest football game in Chicago history.
It might take a while.
The Green Bay Packers won a ticket to Dallas for Super Bowl XLV by beating the Bears 21-14.
“I’d like to sue everyone in Green Bay,” said personal injury lawyer Ryan Valente, 28, of the North Side. “Because believe me, this hurts.”
“Even if they lose the Super Bowl, it won’t make up for it until we win one.
Fans forked out as much a $2,000 per ticket for a chance to witness history being made.
It wasn’t the financial hit, but the limp offensive performance against their hated rivals that angered them. Bears fans who had texted abuse to Packers-supporting friends all week had little to crow about once the game began.
“I’ve seen enough,” said season ticket holder Tim Rueckert, 45, of Glenview as he and hundreds of other fans headed for the exit after the Packers took a 21-7 lead with six minutes left, thereby missing a thrilling finale.
Silenced by the Packers early dominance and star quarterback Jay Cutler’s injury, the crowd finally got into the game in the fourth quarter when third-string quarterback Caleb Hanie twice led the Bears to within a touchdown of Green Bay.
“If the Bears come back and win this, I’m totally taking my shirt off and running around,” said David Shayatovich, 40, of Woodstock, as the crowd heartbreakingly believed for a few minutes.
Alas, he never got the chance.
Ultra Bears fan Don “Bearman” Wachter, whose Bear-skin costume and facepaint has made him a minor celebrity, looked about as sad as a grown man in a stuffed-bear hat could look as he wandered the walkways, posing for trophy photos with Packer fans.
“Not a lot of work is going to get done in Chicago tomorrow,” Wilmette mom Paulita Pike said after watching the game with her son, Laith, 8. Laith hoped, forlornly, that he would get the day off school Monday to recover.
For his part, Foss said he would “muscle through” on Monday and would still host a Super Bowl party.
“I’m not watching the game, only the ads,” said his wife, Rhonda.
Avoiding Packers fans is likely to be tough for Bears fans everywhere.
“We’ll never shut up about this,” said Packers fan Steve Roth, 46, stating the obvious as he celebrated with pals. “This was the Super Bowl for us.”
But at least one Bears fan had found a way to move on.
“Bull tickets!,” shouted Joe Dutton, 31, as fans trudged back to their cars. “Who wants Bulls tickets?”
Contributing, Mary Houlihan and David Roeder