CHICAGO | Super Bowl Sunday in Chicago started out hopeful for Bears fans, despite the frigid weather.

Practically everyone on the city streets, restaurants and bars donned blue-and-orange paraphernalia. Bears remixes and songs played on almost every Chicago radio station.

The 20 below zero wind-chill emptied the normally busy streets and pushed Bears fans indoors to watch the kickoff.

“Nothing is going to stop me from enjoying the game,” said Mason Ishii, 24, of Chicago. “Win, lose or draw, I’m going to be out there.”

Inside The Double Bubble Sports Bar, 6036 N. Broadway Ave., fans kept warm by reveling in the glory of the Bears and remained hopeful that the team would bring home a victory.

“I’m very hopeful,” said Marty Moran, 30, of Chicago. “I could probably cry [if they win]. I love the Bears.”

Devin Hester’s record-breaking 92-yard kickoff return jump-started the atmosphere. Fans screamed and cheered with a positive outlook for the game.

Despite two turnovers and the Colts gaining the lead, the crowd remained upbeat after the second quarter. After halftime, the crowd began to take on a more serious tone as the fans began to question Rex Grossman’s abilities. At the end of the fourth quarter however, the bar was silent.

A somber tone enveloped the once loud and cheerful Double Bubble. As Indianapolis players and fans stormed the field in Miami, Bears fans began bundling up to face the cold walk home.

“You put all of your emotions into it,” said Bo Swoboda, a sophomore at Marquette University. “When they lose, it’s a huge letdown. You feel like you failed.”

Chicago Police officer Stephen Tentler, 38, said he understands Swoboda’s feelings but looks on confidently toward the next season.

“In Chicago, we’ve been champions of mediocrity for 100 years,” Tentler said. “But like a true Cubs fan, we’ll wait until next year.”

Despite the Bears’ loss, fans at the Double Bubble and across Chicago remained celebratory and are still proud to be Bears fans.

“[Being a Bears fan] is everything,” Swoboda said. “It’s part of being from Chicago. It’s part of who you are. It’s part of your identity.”

Walking out onto Broadway Avenue after the game, the streets remain emptied and quiet.