Chicago Bears' Win Streak Heats Up Bars, Stores, Shirtless Fans
Shirtless and screaming, Chicago Bears fan Dan Samardzic runs through the stands at Soldier Field, exhorting home-game seatmates and ignoring subfreezing temperatures. He says he and Chicago are just getting warmed up.
``It's Bear weather and this is what we're all about,'' says Samardzic, a 25-year-old ironworker, as he cheered the National Football League's Bears on to victory over the Atlanta Falcons, 16-3, on Dec. 18. ``They have a really good chance of going all the way this year.''
Two months after baseball's Chicago White Sox won the World Series to end an 88-year drought, the Bears are making an unexpected run at the NFL playoffs. The team has a division- leading 10-4 record, including the longest win streak -- 8 games -- since the team's last Super Bowl title in 1986.
Fans are packing sports bars, team-merchandise stores and Soldier Field, built in 1924 on Chicago's Lake Michigan shore. The Bears hold a two-game lead over the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football Conference North division, and would clinch the division title and a playoff spot with a win Dec. 25 against the Green Bay Packers, or a loss by Minnesota against the Baltimore Ravens.
Still, the football drought may worsen: While a league- leading defense has carried the Bears, critics say the team won't go far in the playoffs with the second-worst passing game in the NFL. Even Mike Ditka, a former coach who led the Bears to their last Super Bowl victory 20 years ago, says this team needs to improve its offense to survive.
``They've got to be more consistent on offense,'' says Ditka, 66, who's now a football analyst for Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN. ``You've got to be able to play defense, and they can play defense.''
Packed Bar
Heightened interest in the Bears is boosting sales for business owners like Jeffrey Thomas, an owner of Blackie's, a bar and restaurant about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Soldier Field.
More than 300 customers typically come through Blackie's on Bears game days at home, about triple the attendance -- and revenue -- on days when the team isn't playing, Thomas says.
He's relishing the prospect of a playoff game in January. Twelve teams will qualify for the NFL playoffs, which begin Jan. 7, and the Bears will host at least one game should they win their division. The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 5 at Ford Field in Detroit.
``Football is the No. 1 sport in Chicago,'' says Thomas, 50.
Helmets Sold Out
At Sports Authority Inc. stores around Chicago, fans are snapping up replica jerseys of players like Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, says Tom Chesson, district manager for the Englewood, Colorado-based retailer. To keep up, the company is having suppliers ship some merchandise straight to stores.
Even so, items including miniature Bears helmets were temporarily sold out, he says.
``We absolutely see a spike in business whenever these guys start doing well,'' Chesson says.
In January 1986, the Bears, led by Ditka, capped a 15-1 regular-season record with two shutout wins in the playoffs and a 46-10 defeat of the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
The Bears have since tested fan devotion. Ditka was fired after the team went 5-11 in 1992, and two other head coaches, Dave Wannstedt and Dick Jauron, were hired and fired as the team had 10 losing seasons in the 13 years ended in 2004. The Bears haven't won a playoff game since 1995.
`A Long Way'
This year's team, led by second-year coach Lovie Smith, has climbed back behind a defense that leads the 32-team league in allowing the fewest points, 10.8, and fewest yards, 267.7, per game on average.
In the Bears locker room after the Dec. 18 victory, Urlacher says winning the Super Bowl may lead to a bigger celebration than when the White Sox clinched the World Series in October.
``You see the Sox win, the fans go crazy for that,'' says Urlacher, 27. ``But we've got a long way to go.''
As Ditka points out, the Bears need offensive improvement. The Bears have scored an average 16.1 points a game this year, 24th among NFL teams. The Seattle Seahawks, with the best conference record at 12-2, average 29.1 points, second to only the Indianapolis Colts' 29.2 points.
Chicago's offense had been led this season by rookie Kyle Orton, rated the NFL's poorest-performing quarterback. Orton was replaced in the Atlanta game by Rex Grossman, who hadn't played since breaking an ankle in an August pre-season contest.
Grossman led the Bears to a second-half touchdown and field goal to seal the win. He has been named starting quarterback.
In the stands, Samardzic, the shirtless ironworker, clutches his coat and warms to the possibility of the Bears' first Super Bowl appearance since he was 5 years old.
``It feels all right,'' says Samardzic, who grew up on Chicago's southeast side. ``It's all adrenaline, being here and watching this team.''
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