Shane Taube is so pumped for the Chicago Bears season opener Sunday he plans to show up hours before kickoff with hopes of being the very first fan to enter Soldier Field.
Why? Taube, 50, hopes he can get rookie Bears QB Caleb Williams to sign the jersey he bought — even before Williams ever took a snap in the NFL.
Taube is not alone in his enthusiasm for Williams’ NFL debut, which has led to what seems like an unprecedented level of hype for a Bears home opener.
The Bears, who didn’t even come close to making the playoffs last year, are ranked eighth in ticket sales on resale site StubHub, with sales up 51% compared to last season’s opener.
The cheapest resale tickets for Sunday’s game were selling for $189, plus hefty fees, on Stubhub on Friday. Prices were similar on Ticketmaster ($179) and SeatGeek ($199). Prices were likely to increase leading up to game day.
Taube paid close to $850 for two tickets in section 146, near where Bears players exit the tunnel. He expected the high costs — so saved up “all year.”
“I love this stuff,” he said.
Mike Fosnaugh paid $850 for two 200-level resale tickets.
The steeper prices “sucked,” he said, but he thinks it will be worth it.
“It was something I wasn’t gonna wanna miss,” Fosnaugh said. “We’ve finally got the missing piece to the puzzle that we’ve all been talking about for over 40 years now, so as a Bears fan I definitely wanna be able to be there and experience that.”
Many Bears fans believe Williams has the potential to make history in Chicago.
“It’s really hard to come across one fan who doesn’t think Caleb is the real thing,” said 62-year-old Don Wachter, who is known as “Don the Bear Man” and dons a full Bear costume on game days. “They’re giving us hope not just for one season but for many seasons to come.”
Other fans are mimicking Williams to show their support.
Edgar Mejia, whose nickname is “Bear Misterio,” was inspired to paint his nails like Williams — whose mom has worked as a nail technician — does before every game.
“I’ve never been a ‘paint your nails’ kind of guy, but when I was looking at social media and looking at all the backlash he was getting from painting his nails, that’s when I decided [to do it],” Mejia said.“I kind of wanted to do it myself just to show people [it] doesn’t take away from who you are as a man or a person.”
Mejia predicts the painted nails will become more of a trend as Williams leads the team to wins. He already has fans on social media asking if they’ll get their nails done together after a Bears victory.
Fans are prepared to go further if Williams brings sustained success to the team.
If the Bears make the playoffs, Mejia said he’ll get a Williams-themed tattoo on his arm where it’s visible.
“[I’d] get the claw,” Mejia said. ” … I would put it somewhere on my arm.”
And if the Bears go all the way?
“If he wins us a Super Bowl, I will definitely do whatever he demands of us as fans,” Fosnaugh said. “Caleb Williams will have complete control over every Chicago Bears fan at that point.”