Bears Fans Are Finally Hitting the Team Where It Hurts Most

People like to build perception on things they're angry with. For the longest time Chicago Bears fans have preferred to think team ownership is just a bunch of idiots only interested in making money and not building a winner. Unfortunately there is evidence to support that theory from inflated ticket prices to a seven-season losing streak that is continuing one of the darkest stretches in franchise history. Is John Fox to blame? Is Ryan Pace? Or are the years of mismanagement prior to their arrival still having a lingering effect? Everybody has an opinion on which it is but the bottom line remains unchanged. The Bears are about to endure their fourth-straight losing season. After almost two years of non-stop fury at watching such an ugly product on the field, fans have grown weary of speaking out. So instead they've decided on a different and likely more effective means of protest. If this ownership is indeed cheap and money-seeking as many believe, what better way to hit them where it hurts than in the wallet?

Chicago Bears fans no longer freely buying into team

Over the past few weeks it's become especially clear that fans are starting to prefer saving their money than spending it on a weak product. According to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times, the number of empty seats at Soldier Field have grown by almost double in a short span of time. Combine this with a steady decline in TV ratings and the money machine is starting to break down for the McCaskey family.

"Bears fans are turning off the Bears. More than 6,000 fans skipped the Bears’ loss to the Brett Hundley-led Packers. A week later, there were more than 10,000 unused tickets for the Bears’ loss against the Lions. The 49ers and Browns (Christmas Eve) are not big draws. Look at social media. Fox fatigue is a real thing. 10. A season-ticket holder from Chicago I know well texted me early Sunday, saying that he was skipping the Eagles game in Philadelphia after traveling to 10 consecutive road games to watch his beloved Bears. The apathy is real."

Digital age is killing the Bears' media mojo

To this point the organization has survived on trust and faith that a turnaround would come soon enough. The last time the Bears had a streak of at least four losing seasons was from 1996 to 2000 during the end of the Dave Wannstedt era and start of the Dick Jauron. Yet even that period didn't feel quite as soul-sucking as this one. That's likely because the rise of the internet and social media has made poured gasoline on the flames. Fans are able to follow the team and talk to each other like never before. Certain people are getting the word out that maybe it's just better if they don't spend their money on an organization that seems at best half interested in winning. How much longer before the panic button is hit?