DeKALB | As the weather turned for the worse on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Bears recalibrated their game and are headed back to the Super Bowl for the first time since Jan. 26, 1986.

An ecstatic crowd at Fatty’s Pub and Grille was fully lathered up from the opening kick off until the ice-cold celebratory Gatorade shower poured over the broad shoulders of coach Lovie Smith.

The scoreboard read 39-14, and the Bears had punched their ticket to Miami for Super Bowl XLI.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life for this,” Bears fan Robert Rubinson said. “The last time they won a Super Bowl was three months before I was born.”

The capacity crowd was in full throat all game, but completely erupted when Thomas Jones crossed the goal line to make the score 38-14 with 4:19 left in the game.

Spontaneous chants of “Super Bowl, Super Bowl,” broke out, and random strangers danced in the aisles between waitresses busy delivering full shot glasses from table to table.

“This is the best place to watch sporting events in DeKalb,” said fan Veronica Dietrich.

A palpable apprehension hung over a crowd ripe with emotion as the Saints reeled off 14 straight points between the second and third quarters.

But, with defensive ends Mark Anderson and Adewale Ogunleye quickly closing in, Saints quarterback Drew Brees was forced into an intentional grounding penalty from his own end zone.

The resulting safety would be enough to turn the tide in the Bears favor.

“The Bears defense is the key,” said Julie Ziegenhorn, an unabashed Packer fan. “The Bears can win with Rex Grossman, but the defense is the key.”

When wide receiver Bernard Berrian hauled in a 33-yard Grossman pass from his back and somersaulted into the end zone, the Bears had a 25-14 lead. A euphoric sigh of relief could be heard throughout the bar.

The defense took control, and went after the Saints like sharks onto the scent of blood in the water.

Brees had a jersey dyed in field paint, and Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher made sure Saints wide receiver Marques Colston received a face mask full of sod after dropping a pass over the middle.

The crowd at Fatty’s let out a primordial growl of “UUUUU-RRR-lacher,” to coronate the devastating hit that was delivered on a turf that was quickly disintegrating into a slip-and-slide from the steadily-falling snow.

The moment and a special request for Super Bowl success wasn’t lost on one Bears fan.

“This is something I can carry with me the rest of my life,” fan Keith Bertog said. “Cedric Benson is a God among men, he’s unbelievable and I’m glad the Bears are finally using him more.”