CHICAGO | Everyone from rush-hour commuters to T-shirt vendors to transit workers started the week here in a collective funk, lamenting how their Bears fell short of their first Super Bowl championship in 21 years.

Asked if he was a Bears fan the day after Chicago lost 29-17 to the Indianapolis Colts, Bill Lortz peered over a cup of coffee at the city's Billy Goat tavern Monday morning, looked up and grumbled, "Not any more."

But Lortz softened minutes later, saying he still held out hope for the future.

"Yesterday was the Colts' day," the 60-year-old said. "I think the Bears will make it back to the Super Bowl next year."

Other fans were quick to express gratitude for the Bears at least making it to, if not winning, Sunday's championship.

"They did something for Chicago," said Gene Burchell, a 41-year-old rail janitor for the Chicago Transit Authority. "They represented us well."

Al Castellanos agreed.

"It was painful that they lost, but there were 30 other teams who didn't make it to the Super Bowl," said the 49-year-old, wearing a Bears cap as he walked through a Chicago train station. "Hopefully it won't be another 21 years."

City officials said they would have considered going ahead with a parade to honor the Bears, despite the loss -- but the team requested there be no such event. Last week, a post-Super Bowl celebration was tentatively planned for Tuesday.

"We wanted the team to know we appreciated them," said Cindy Gatziolis, a spokeswoman for the city's office of special events. "We would have done something, but it was the team's wishes not to unless they had a victory."

Some fans focused anger on Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, who had two fourth-quarter interceptions when the Colts still seemed within striking distance.

"I don't dislike Grossman. But he choked in a big game," said 28-year-old Jon Risk, a native Chicagoan who flew in from his current Brooklyn home to watch the game on TV. "Their offense did not look like they knew what ... was going on."

Others took solace in the fact that, however bad, the defeat could have been worse.

"They could have gotten blown out pretty easily," said Jose Reyes, 40, a Chicago-area computer applications developer. "They were able to stay in the game. ... It could have been like a 40-3 game."

Associated Press writers Laurel Jorgensen, Nathaniel Hernandez, Don Babwin and Andrew Seligman contributed to this report.