During this past holiday season, I went to my first NFL game.  My family and I were visiting my grandparents and cousins in Chicago, and we had tickets to see my favorite NFL team, the Chicago Bears. They were playing the Detroit Lions for the second time this season on December 22nd at Soldier Field. Caleb Williams and the 4-10 Bears were set to take on Jared Goff’s 12-2 Lions.

My parents and I took a shuttle from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago straight to the field. This was a fun and easy way to get to the stadium as the bus was filled with Bears fans all dressed in the team’s colors and excited for the game.

Soldier Field is located in downtown Chicago right by Lake Michigan so the late December low temperatures and high winds in the stadium were no surprise.  The area surrounding Soldier Field is called Museum campus and also includes attractions such as the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, and the Adler Planetarium. While we didn’t have time to visit the museums, they are easily walkable from Soldier Field for visitors who have more availability on game days.

When standing in front of the stadium you’ll see the George Hallas statue to the left and the Walter Payton statue to the right. We entered through the west gate underneath the pillars on the side of the stadium. In the stadium itself fans could stand next to life-sized posters of the players or take pictures with Staley, the team’s mascot.  Similar to other sports venues, the place was also filled with hot dog vendors and other food stands. There’s also an awesome view of the city from the higher levels of the arena, one of the advantages of having the stadium be right in the downtown area.  We saw Bearman, the superfan who comes to all of the team’s games with his face painted blue and orange while wearing a bear costume.  We could also see the lyrics of the Bears fight song, “Bear Down, Chicago Bears,” written along the inside wall of the stadium.

We found our seats on the home side of the field from which we could see the Detroit Lions emerge from the away team locker room a week after losing to the Buffalo Bills 48-42 at home.  Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears were entering the day with an 8-game losing streak including a 23-20 loss to the Lions earlier in the season.

Unfortunately for Chicago fans everywhere, the Bears division rivals jumped to an early 20-0 lead and never looked back.  While it was fun to watch my favorite team play for the first time, I would have preferred a better showing than a 34-17 loss.

I will always remember my first NFL game at Soldier Field for the cold weather, the great food, and the extension of the Bears two-month long losing streak.