Fans' early jubilation turns to second-half despair

The tears were blue and orange.

Chicagoaans wept in their beer over a bear of a night Sunday, as their beloved Monsters of the Midway went from an opening heart-stopper to a closing heartbreaker.

"I think they choked," said Chris Gertmann, 27, a Lake Geneva resident commiserating with friends at Ditka's. "Rex Grossman did not want it as much as Peyton Manning did, and that's all there is to it."

Draped in a Bears flag, Annie Kasey, 21, shed a few tears, hugged her barmates and sang "Bear Down, Chicago Bears."

"I'm hurting so bad because I felt in my heart they were going to win," said the Loyola University Chicago student from Downers Grove. "The Indiana Colts -- does anyone even know them?"

And it all started so sweet.

When Devin Hester ran for his incredible touchdown moments after the Bears won the opening toss, anything seemed possible.

Grown men hugged, jumped in the air and traded high-fives at the Cubby Bear in Wrigleyville. Margo Lewandowska, 29, wound up wearing some of her beer in the jubilation, but who cared?

"It was really unbelievable," she said minutes later. "No one expected it -- especially not the Colts."

But by the end of the first half, Jason Coats was the only one rejoicing at Shenannigans on Division Street.

"Every prediction I've made -- even before this game -- came true," said Coats, 37, a downtown resident who grew up in Muncie, Ind. "We're coming back.

"I'm fearless. I'm the only Colts fan in this bar."

Standing nearby, Lincoln Park resident Jason Graun, 26, shrugged it off. "There's still a lot of game left," he said. "I'm not worried at all."

Down the street, 10 guys at Finn McCool's started the second half ready to try a little voodoo. They formed triangles with their fingers and waved them in the air, calling them "Bear-muda Triangles" -- representing a Bears defense that they said would make the Colts disappear.

"I'm not superstitious, but I'm wearing the same thing I was wearing during the NFC championship -- well, maybe not the same boxers," said John Pappas Jr., 35, a Gold Coast resident.

At Soldier Field's parking lot, in single-digit weather, 13 people were huddled in the 1990 Toyota Mini Cruiser of "Mama" and "Papa Bear" -- Michael, 50, and Maggie Behun, 49. They watched the game on TV and munched on chili, guacamole and brats.

When the Colts solidified their lead at 28-17, Navy corpsman Rachel Behun, 24, stormed out of the RV, walking up and down in the cold. She fumed over a bet she had made with a Marine.

"I bet him 50 bucks, and I have to go on a date with him," she said.

Earlier, she and her friends and brother celebrated every good Bears play by rocking the Mini Cruiser back and forth. As the night wore on, it stayed pretty stable.

"Oh no, are you kidding me? Grossman, you suck," Michael Behun Jr., 21, complained.

His sister remained optimistic: "It's not over yet."

But within minutes, it was.

Inside Finn McCool's, tears streamed down Kelly Barry's cheeks as her boyfriend, John Wawczak, threw his Bears cap to the floor at game's end.

Police reported no major problems. But the mood soured on Division Street.

"F--- the Bears," many yelled as they left the bars. "F--- Rex Grossman."

Dolled up in fake mustaches and aviator glasses to look like "Saturday Night Live's" Super Fans, Dan Karagiannis and Borys Kedziora consoled each other at the Cubby Bear.

"I've been waiting my whole life for this, and I guess I'll have to keep waiting," said Kedziora, 22, of Lincoln Park. "But spring training starts in two weeks."

At the Fifty-Yard Line Sports Bar & Grill at 69 E. 75th, Jeffrey Saunders, 26, and Lawrence Johnson, 28, both wearing Bears jerseys, hugged each other. "There'll be next year," a teary Johnson, of Roseland, said.

Others in the capacity crowd found some cheer.

"The only reason I'm not totally depressed is because [Tony] Dungy is a black coach, and I'm happy for him. I'm sad for my Bears, but for African Americans, this was a win-win year, regardless," said Steven Ali Clay, 52, of Hyde Park.

Contributing: Chris Fusco, Maudlyne Ihejirika