CHICAGO _ An odd vibe smothered Soldier Field late Thursday. In the fourth quarter of a huge game on a big stage, the Bears were driving. They were entering the red zone and knocking on the door of a potential tying touchdown.
It was the type of scenario championship teams live for, a moment confident crowds help fuel. Yet the energy across the lakefront was eerily muted.
Where there once had been deafening excitement, there now was just contagious apprehension. A game that had begun with Super Bowl hype, a season that launched carrying Super Bowl hopes, suddenly had way more anxiety than Chicago was prepared for.
First-and-10 at the Packers 16.
Opportunity.
Somehow, though, a once-amped crowd had been so disheartened over the previous 2{ hours that it felt like a fait accompli. The Packers' seven-point lead felt like 40. The next disaster seemed inevitable.
Naturally, on third down from the 16, Mitch Trubisky stared right at Allen Robinson from the snap, allowed safety Adrian Amos to break on the corner route and threw a loss-sealing interception in the end zone.
The reaction proved apropos. Between the flustered boos, the distressed looks and the agitated disbelief, it felt like footage from the grounds of Fyre Festival.
Bears fans had signed up for an unforgettable and exhilarating experience. Alas _ on the first night of the season, anyway _ not only would there be no Major Lazer, no Instagram models, no party that was absolutely lit, there wasn't even running water or electricity.
Looking for the VIP luxury villas? Sorry, all that's available are rain-soaked beds in disaster relief tents.
That premium gourmet food everyone was expecting? Here's your cheese sandwich.
