Posted on 02/04/2007 3:09:15 PM PST by Chi-townChief
Super Bowl gives Chicago a chance to show crass behavior toward opponents isn't the norm
The Bears are facing a big test Sunday, of course.
But so are Bears fans.
Can they root with class? Win with grace? Lose with dignity?
Two weeks ago, the team succeeded, but the fans failed. Not all the fans, of course. But it didn't take many poor sports--cruel, foul-mouthed Bears backers whose abuse of visitors from New Orleans became legendary--to shame the franchise and the city.
A photo taken at Soldier Field of a man carrying a sandwich board-size sign reading "Bears, finishing what Katrina started" was widely circulated and became emblematic of the extent to which the customary razzing got out of hand.
Online message boards at chicagotribune.com hummed with reports from New Orleans Saints fans who had traveled here for the NFC title game and from mortified Chicagoans who had witnessed their shabby treatment firsthand.
After attending the game, Robert Tortorich, 32, an insurance company manager from New Orleans who said in an interview he "lost everything" in the post-Katrina flooding, wrote Bears fans an open letter and sent it to several publications, including the Tribune. "Crass. Violent. Below the belt. Classless," he wrote. "These are the unfortunate words I must use to describe Bears fans."
Tortorich said he endured "verbal and borderline physical abuse" sitting in Soldier Field, then back at his hotel learned from fellow Saints fans that his experience was far from isolated.
"Some of the quotes from Bears fans directed toward Saints fans at the stadium: `I didn't know we accepted FEMA checks,' `You lost your city and you're a bunch of losers,' `Didn't God send you a sign two years ago when he tried to wipe out your city?' And `You should have drowned.'"
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Right. Like thats really gonna ever change. Bores fans will be Bores fans.
Eic Zorn is a buck-toothed butthole.
Colts 31, Bears 20.
Amusingly enough, Zorn means anger in Deutsch.
"verbal and borderline physical abuse"
Couldn't the same words apply to any pre-Christmas holiday sale?
:-)
Classless behavior is not new to the NFL, nor is it exclusive to Chicago Bears fans.
You think you may be correct.
Indeed. Thanks for adding some perspective on basic human behavior...it's what we do at times.
FMCDH(BITS)
The Bears. . . . . just scored.
and Hester gives reason to gloat!!
Why the barf alert? Is the author lying? Did those things not happen? I'm not challenging; just asking. This is the first I've heard of any of this.
If these things happened, then the author is right that the people who treated their visitors like dirt are without class.
Were these just a few isolated incidents? If so, I understand the barf alert due to the writer painting with a broad brush.
I've noticed a tendency here at FR for some people to act as if anyone and everyone from New Orleans are low lives. Granted, the media have tended to show only those types in their Katrina coverage, but I assure you, there are plenty of responsible decent citizens who were affected by Katrina in New Orleans and elsewhere.
I'm sure the fact that the Bears are playing the Colts will make the ribbing even more "good-natured."
I grew up in NW Indiana and the incessant stream of brain-dead ribbing about "dumb Hoosiers," usually from those with 3/4 of my IQ and twice my waist size, is one of the things I do not miss.
"If these things happened, then the author is right that the people who treated their visitors like dirt are without class. "
Duh its the NFL, since when has class been a real factor.
"Granted, the media have tended to show only those types in their Katrina coverage, but I assure you, there are plenty of responsible decent citizens who were affected by Katrina in New Orleans and elsewhere."
You're right there are plenty. I live in central Florida and we had 4 hurricanes in about 2 months.
The main force of Katrina didn't hit New Orleans, it hit Mississippi and Alabama. We never hear about those places and people. We never hear how hard those folks worked to put their lives back together while the Katrina victims sit in their soggy hovels and wait for someone else to clean up the mess.
The ONLY reason New Orleans suffered severe damage is because the levees failed. The same levees had millions of dollars allocated for repairs and upgrades. However those funds were spirited away by the practiced corruption that Louisanna is known for. These folks lived UNDER sea level and did not have flood insurance. They made their bed and I don't see why I should buy them a new one.
You are so right. Essentially NO was hit by a flood, not a hurricane. Early reports the next morning were all about how NO had dodged another hurricane bullet. If the levees had performed even close to spec, the damage would have been minimal.
If Katrina had actually hit NO dead on most of those now complaining would be dead.
Hence, reply #9 above.
This stuff is good-natured???
Yeah, it's not at all tasteful but kind of falls along the same lines as a Cubs' fan grabbing his crotch and saying to a St. Louis fan, "I got your Cardinal RIGHT HERE!!!"
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