In the beginning, there were the first rounds of beers and the handicapping. And it was good.
The Bears would catch the 49ers by surprise, hopeful fans speculated Saturday. All we need are a few breaks.
But then came the game.
“It’s a little worse than I expected,” said Bears fan Doug Adams, among the fast-deflating crowd at Harry Caray’s in the North Loop as San Francisco pulled away in a 44-15 drubbing.
“Oh, well, it was another weekend to come to a bar and watch football,” said his friend, David Snyder. “Hey, we’re one of the four best teams in the NFC.”
There were no tears. To be among the Bears faithful Saturday was to be among realists. A year ago, the Bears had a fullback nicknamed “Ironhead.” These were “the Levelheads.”
Many fans recognized the Bears didn’t stand much of a chance against the San Francisco juggernaut. The point spread, 17, reflected that.
Crowding around a table in the bar at Harry Caray’s, four middle-aged guys with gruff voices and at least a few dollars on the game brought portable phones to keep in touch with friends sitting at a bar in Elmwood Park. They rooted hard, but cautiously, for the Bears to win-until the second quarter, when it seemed hopeless. Then they rooted hard, but cautiously, for the 49ers to miss their extra points. Then they rooted for concussions. And finally, for an earthquake.
They left at halftime, having not bothered to make a phone call to Elmwood Park since the beginning of the second quarter.
At the Cubby Bear Lounge, 27-year-old Sheryl Ferdman, a lifelong Bears fan who once wrote a fan letter to former offensive lineman Noah Jackson on Raggedy Ann stationery, stuck out the game until the bitter end. She tried to make the best of a bad playoff game by focusing on the team’s surprising year.
“I never thought I’d be watching the Bears play in January,” she said. “Whatever they’ve done is icing on the cake.”
Around Ferdman, loyal Bears fans crammed in front of two large-screen televisions, hoisting beers and rocking tables every time a Bears defender leveled a hard hit or Steve Walsh completed a pass. But by halftime, the mood flattened like a half-filled football, leaving the room empty of all but die-hards.
“We need to score, we need a TD, we need . . . something,” said a frustrated Carol Laube, 31. Laube wasn’t about to leave until the Bears fulfilled what little hope she had of a moral victory.
“To come away with a score would be a good start for next season,” Laube philosophized.
“The Bears had a great season-overachievers, probably-and came up againt a Pro Bowl team,” said Greg Niemeyer, 27. “They’ll improve. They’re a young team.”
