Paul Bixby , Bears Super Fan

We've had a couple jokes at Indianapolis' sake on here for a few days, and it's all in fun, but I'd like to address something serious here for a moment. Our city's honor has been stained. Thoughtless acts by a few have laid shame at the threshold of our home. The snopes article can be found here.

It seems some of our fellow Bears fans were more than a little rude to the people of New Orleans when they came to visit us. It wasn't enough that we knew that the Saints were coming here to get the Fleurs de Lis handed to them when everyone else claimed they would dominate our Bears at home. No. Apparently some fans took it upon themselves to craft signs that say things like "Bears finishing what Katrina started" and "In the Flood, Noah took the Bears, not the Saints." Even worse, according to John Kass on Wednesday, some fans even accosted a black New Orleans area reported with taunts, a shove, and the n-word.

As a Bears fan, I am ashamed at this behavior. The ignorant punk who slung such scum at our guests were, according to the witness, drunk enough to think it at all appropriate to say such a thing. That is no excuse. It's shameful that what should have been a proud reclamation of the Bears primacy of the NFC was so quickly dashed by the least representative among us.

All the reports I saw prior to the game told how New Orleans fans were impressed with the friendliness of Chicagoans and were amazed by our respect to them for what they had gone through and for the efforts of their teams. Now, unfortunately, the last image these people have returning home is of stone ignorance amongst our fans. I am astounded by the lack of class displayed by these idiots.

On their behalf, and on behalf of all Bears fans, I'm sorry to the people of New Orleans. I'm sorry that some of our citizens and fans can't separate the seemingly high-stakes of a football game from the truly high stakes of Mother Nature's wrath being visited upon your home and hearth. I'm sorry that these jackasses seem to believe that apparent disrespect for our football team justifies actual disrespect for the plight of your city and your people. I'm sorry that our worst element was on display. I'm sorry that we could not be the class act that most of Chicago truly is. Please understand that these morons don't for a second represent the vast majority of our fans and citizens.

I think that, as a society, we have forgotten the useful function of the feeling of shame. Shame is the embarassment one feels at being discovered doing something wrong. It is a hard feeling. It is a painful feeling. It is a feeling that is best experienced infrequently. Too often, we excuse anti-social behavior instead of making the perpetrator feel shame for betraying the trust of society, the contract of acceptable behavior in a civilization. Shame burns so painfully, that one is loathe to repeat the action that brought it on - much like placing one's hand in a fire. The people who did this should be ashamed. We should do what we can to make them feel that burning shame.

If you were the morons who made such disgusting signs or the idiots who said such horrendous things to our guests, shame on you, and I expect your apologies as well - first to the People of New Orleans, and second to me, the rest of the Bears fans, and the rest of your city for bringing such shame upon the rest of us. Because of you, the rest of us must shoulder the burden of your shameful acts. You disgust me.

Labels: Bears, Katrina, Posters