A handful of analysts picked the Chicago Bears to be Super Bowl contenders based on the team's upgrades made throughout the offseason. As soon as the Bears faltered in Green Bay, most of those writers starting jumping ship. After the Bears' impressive win against the Dallas Cowboys (in Dallas no less), the confidence in this Bears team is beginning to reemerge. The game they put together in Dallas was strong on all fronts. The Cowboys made a handful of execution gaffes along the way that made the Bears' performance feel a little more dominant than it probably was, but there is little doubt this was the most complete game the Bears have played this season.
You could call it "surprising" any time a defense scores two touchdowns in a game, or anytime Devin Hester scores an offensive touchdown, but there was one thing that was more surprising than anything else in this game: The ridiculous number of Bears fans that were present in Dallas. We aren't talking about respectable amounts; we are talking about it feeling like there were more Bears fans than Cowboys fans. While that's probably not true, it sure felt (and sounded) that way.
I counted 11 "tweets" from Chicago Bears pointing to that very fact. The general consensus followed a "Can't believe the number of Bears fans in Dallas! Felt like a home game!" format --all under 150 characters, mind you. Surely, the Bears' impressive performance is what made those fans loud, but even in the early stages of the game --it was a staunch defensive game early--the Bears fans were loud. Jon Gruden mentioned that Jerry Jones may have made a mistake in building (and publicizing) the premier venue in sports. Teams are getting "fired up" to go play in Dallas, effectively removing Dallas' home field advantage. When a visiting team is bringing along as many fans as the Bears did, then they might as well be playing at the visiting team's stadium.
The Bears are looking better and better as time goes on. However, they have an enormous trap game on the horizon against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Whether fans make the trip or not, the Bears need to take care of business to keep up with the Green Bay Packers (2-2) and the...Minnesota Vikings (3-1)? Wait, what?
Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.
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