It was an up-and-down Super Bowl night for Chicago Bears fan Scott Shiner. The Anderson resident watched his team jump out to an early lead, only to lose it in the second quarter and then commit multiple turnovers at pivotal moments in the game.
As if the loss wasn't enough, Shiner drove home Sunday night knowing he owed his wife a debt: a foot massage.
Shiner bet his wife, Indianapolis Colts fan Cindy Covert, that the Bears would take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The couple were part of a group of about 30 people who gathered Sunday night at Scotty's Brewhouse, almost half of whom were Bears fans.
Across the Village and Ball State University campus, the Bears were well-represented by a group of fans who were in the minority, but in most cases, not by much.
At the Palmer/Davidson Super Bowl viewing party, Bears fans Larry Ruiz and Brett Lezon became frustrated by halftime and said the weather was partially to blame for the Bears' five turnovers. The two freshmen were among the about 50 Ball State students who gathered on the seventh floor of the Studebaker West Complex to watch the game.
Though Bears fans didn't get the victory they wanted, they didn't let their team's first Super Bowl appearance in more than 20 years pass them by without celebrating - at least while they could.
At the game's outset, Ball State University senior Chris Gerrity extended his clenched fists from the sleeves of his Chicago Bears sweatshirt as Bears kick-returner Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XVL for a touchdown. Seated at the same table at Scotty's Brewhouse and wearing Indianapolis Colts jerseys were three of his friends, all of whom slumped in their chairs.
Wearing a Bears stocking cap, Shimer walked past Gerrity's table ringing a bell with the Bears' emblem engraved on the side of it. Seated at another table, Covert sat motionless, staring at the TV screen with her Indianapolis Colts bell sitting in front of her. A stuffed Bear wearing a baseball cap signed by former Bears player Walter Payton sat next to a horseshoe license plate at the head of the couple's table.
Bears fans thought the opening kickoff would "set the mood" for the night to come - a night in which Bears fans would celebrate a Super Bowl XLI victory, Gerrity said.
By the end of the game, the scoreboard didn't reflect an outcome Bears fans had hoped for, but most Bears fans in the Village remained in good humor.
As Gerrity drank from a 16-ounce pitcher of Colts-blue Miller Light, he defended himself for purchasing the Colts-themed beer.
"It's a darker blue, so it's more of a Bears drink," Gerrity said.
Of the group of people at Scotty's, almost half of them were Bears fans, and across the street at The Giant Locker Room, numbers were similar.
Emily Fultz, who comes from a family of Bears fans, said though she wore her Colts jersey for the game, she has a secret affinity for the Bears franchise.
"I go back and forth all the time," she said. "Deep down, I really want [the Bears] to win, but I've been following the Colts more."
As families and groups of friends were divided by the shades of blue on their hats and shirts, Bears fans maintained a polite civility toward Colts fans.
"It's gonna be a great game for the Midwest, no matter how you look at it," Shiner said during the first quarter of the game.
Bears fan Kelly Lankowski said she got along well with Colts fans at Scotty's and The Giant Locker Room.
"After two interceptions I had to go to the Locker Room to take some shots," Lankowski, a senior, said. "Even then, the Colts fans were civil."
16 Locker Room TV sets were tuned to the game, and an even split in number of Bears and Colts fans existed, Alex Banet, senior and Locker Room Manager, said.
Though Gerrity was disappointed by the game's outcome, he said he congratulated Colts fans after the game.
"I thought it was better that we lost to the Colts because I have lots of friends who are Colts Fans," Gerrity said. "If it was somebody else, I would have felt worse. I'm glad somebody in the Midwest [won], and I'm glad we did as well as we did."
The Bears became the fourth-straight NFC team to lose in the Super Bowl. It was Chicago's first Super Bowl appearance since the 1985 season when the team defeated the New England Patriots.
Despite the loss Sunday, many Bears fans said the season was a success.
"I'm a little upset the Bears didn't win, but I can't complain because no one picked them to go this far," Ruiz said.
By the end of the night, senior Bears fan Kelly Lankowski said Colts and Bears fans drank and celebrated the game together. After leaving Scotty's, Lankowski went to a house made up exclusively of Colts fans to socialize.
And even after the Bears' loss, she said, Chicago pride will not fade.
"We've got the Cubs and the Bears next year - World Series and Super Bowl," Lankowski said.
Jason Marer contributed to this story.
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