By BOB McGINN
Posted: Jan. 14, 2007
Chicago - Playoff fever wasn't exactly alive and well Sunday at sold-out Soldier Field.
On an extremely mild afternoon for mid-January in America's third-largest city, 6,659 fans with tickets for the NFC divisional playoff game between their Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahawks didn't attend.
The Bears announced that there were 62,184 tickets distributed but only 55,525 fans were in attendance, leaving the hefty no-show count.
It's a situation that would be unimaginable in places such as Green Bay, Denver and Kansas City, and in almost every city with a National Football League franchise. After all, the Bears were seeded No. 1, the temperature was 32 degrees at kickoff, the wind was mild and there was no precipitation.
Several Bears played laughed at the suggestion that their fans might not be all that supportive by league standards.
"I guess the 55,000 or so made up for it," cornerback Charles Tillman said. "It was loud. But I have no clue. You might have to ask the 6,000."
A Bears spokesman said tickets had face values between $120 and $150. The only theory was that some fans were taking a "show me" attitude and had no plans to show up until the Bears made the NFC Championship Game.
Let's compare that to the Packers...
By Tom Silverstein
of the Journal Sentinel staff Jan. 4, 1997
And the Packers achieved it all in typical Lambeau fashion. They overcame 34 degree temperatures, 9-degree wind chill, 20 mph winds and a steady downpour to send the 49ers packing for the second time in two years.
"I woke up about 4:30 this morning, but I couldn't go back to sleep," Green Bay defensive tackle Santana Dotson said. "I was trying and trying, but it was such a big game that I couldn't go back to sleep.
"I heard the rain outside, but I was like 'Well, this is Lambeau conditions. Green Bay conditions. I'm at home, let's just enjoy it.' I was hoping the 49ers were more concerned about it than we were."
Of course, the Packers would have looked pretty bad had they shown concern for the weather. Considering a record crowd of 60,787 fans braved the elements without heated benches and sideline blowers, the Packers couldn't complain.
The most amazing thing about the attendance numbers was the fact there were only three no shows. Speculation was either they were giving birth or their cars didn't start.
"They probably got stuck in traffic," safety LeRoy Butler said.