Free Republic

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...

In most NFL observers' minds, the Eagles and Raiders vie for supremacy atop the list of knucklehead fans. So it is with irony that we note the behavior of Chicago Bears die-hards. Remember when Hurricane Katrina hit? The Saints played their next exhibition game in Oakland, and emotion -- and donations -- flowed. Yeah. Not so much in Chicago. The Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald talked with several Saints fans about their experiences at the NFC championship, which included: • Signs reading ``Bears Finish What Katrina Started'' and ``Ride your boat back to New Orleans, Katrina victims.'' (The newspaper has a...