A loss to a division rival and a rookie quarterback wasn't the start the Bears had hoped for during their first appearance on Monday Night Football in nearly 30 years to start the season. 

However, fans in Arlington Heights are focused on the future. The mayor of the village said he's proud they're the topic of water cooler conversations.

In one office, the Bears are bound to come up in conversation. But in water cooler talks on Tuesday, it's all about the team.

George Wienold has been building Bear Construction and said it's been in business for 41 years—for about as long as the bears have been building a winning team.

"I think we have a good team," he said. "The question mark is it just all gelling, and that's what football is. It's about gelling."

Wienold said there was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm while he was at the season opener against the Vikings on Monday night. 

The Bears started strong in the first quarter but then blew the lead in the 4th quarter—a loss that's tough to stomach for any fan.

"There were some missed passes that I think should have been completed. Some bad overthrows as we saw," Wienold said.

His coworkers try to look at the glass half full.

"It can be heartbreaking at times, but at least we care," Cassidy Tarpey said.

"I've been a Bears fan since I was a kid, and I've never seen a good Bears team, really, besides 2018, but they didn't do much after the playoffs," Michael Rinieri said.

The office is invested in the team, and so is Arlington Heights.

The old racetrack, where the Bears have proposed building a new stadium, is just a Hail Mary heave away from Bear Construction, which is across the street.

The Bears want to break ground and even host a Super Bowl as soon as 2031.

"I'm looking forward to it being there, and you know, tailgating in our parking lot and walking on over. That'll be fun."

Formal plans have not yet been approved, but when it comes to all this talk about the Bears, the office will never get its fill.

"Well, cheers. Here's to a better Bears season than the first game." "Let's hope so." "We're hoping the rest of it comes together."