LAKE FOREST, Ill. – A chant rang through Soldier Field late in the Bears’ home finale, a 6-3 loss to Seattle where they failed to score a touchdown.

It was as unique as it was unmistakable.

And, no, it wasn’t “Bear down” or “Packers suck.”

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It was a message of dissatisfaction with the state of the team and its ownership.

“Sell the team! Sell the team! Sell the team!”

Chairman George McCaskey heard it or at least heard about it. That was a new one aimed at a family ownership group with lineage back to the founding of the NFL, a true charter franchise.

McCaskey didn’t take offense. He understood fans’ ire at the end of a disastrous season that fell well below expectation.

“It’s understandable,” McCaskey said on Tuesday. “…Our fans are passionate. They’re incredibly frustrated. They wanted to make their voices heard.”

McCaskey was more upset by another display in the previous game. He saw Lions fans flooding Solider Field to celebrate the NFC’s best team in a new venue. Detroit’s faithful packed the stadium in a way that’s rare for Solider Field, which is normally populated almost exclusively by Bears fans. With such a bad product at the end of a terrible season, some chose not to go.

“I was more bothered by the week before when Lions fans tried to take over Soldier Field and force the home team to go to a silent snap count,” McCaskey said. “Fortunately, that didn’t happen. It’s understandable that Bears fans would sell their tickets because of the way the season has gone, and the challenge for us is to put a team on the field that Bears fans are so excited about that they’re not interested in selling their tickets.”

That’s the goal moving forward, as McCaskey embarks on yet another coaching search, looking for a new leader of the franchise that can establish a period of sustained success.

“We know this has been an incredibly frustrating season with the expectations of September and the disappointments of December, and they stuck with us, and we’re grateful for that,” McCaskey said. “They deserve a winner, and we’re going to do everything we can to give it to them.”