Bears Fans are Classy

Not everything about the Bears has been good news since beating New Orleans 39-14 Sunday night to earn a trip to Super Bowl XLI.

A lot of Saints fans in town for the game have complained about the poor treatment they received from Chicagoans while at Soldier Field. In fact, in this video from ABC26 in New Orleans, we're described as despicable.

Keith Olbermann even went as far as to include Bears fans in his "Worst Person in the World" list, which he does nightly on his MSNBC show, Countdown with Keith Olberman.

The sign that caught Olbermann's attention and prompted his rage was one that hung along the sidelines during the game. It read, "Bears Finishing What Katrina Started."

Gonna have to agree, that is more than a little bit out of line. God knows what Bears fans were actually saying to Saints fans in attendance. Foul Balls site guru, Silvio was there and doesn't remember too much (something about beer and actually watching the game), but recalls some things:

"I heard some things like, 'Why are you here? Shouldn't you be rebuilding your shitty city?' followed by 'Fuck you. Drunk whore!!'"

There's a difference between giving visiting fans a little crap and being a douchebag. On Sunday, a lot of Bears fans veered into douchebaggery. For that, I and most Chicagoans are sorry.

And while I don't think it's fair that all Bears fans are being lumped together and being called despicable, I can't really blame the people of New Orleans for doing just that.

We're paying the price. Chicago is taking a ton of flak for this, (just read the comments on the Deadspin post) with people treating Bears fans like they're the most disgusting humans on Earth.

But the truth is, no matter where this game was played, the same things would have happened.

If this game had been held in Philadelphia, imagine what would have been said. Oakland? New England? Anywhere there is a football team in this country, had the Saints come to town to play a game of this caliber, the locals would have said the same things.

People are stupid, and they get even stupider when you throw sports and alcohol into the mix.

Were Bears fans wrong for saying some of the things they said? Yes.

Should the Bears have taken that sign down? Yes.

Are we the worst people on Earth? No.

We're no better and no worse than the rest. In this case, sadly, we're pretty much just like everyone else.

(Thanks to Deadspin for the links)