There's something magical about tailgating at Chicago Bears games. The two just seem to go together, like, well, Yogi Bear and picnic baskets.

But now the Bears brass are being beasts about tailgating during games. A new policy that began last week says tailgaters without a ticket can no longer stay in the Soldier Field parking lots during games. Once the game starts, fans without tickets must vamoose. Those killjoys!

Michael Isaacs of Highland Park told The Associated Press how he feels about the new rule:

"If they can sit in the stadium and get hammered, why can't they sit out here and relax and watch the game?"

Why indeed?

The Bears fans who attend the parking lots, but not the games, are as rabid as the fans who enter the stadium. The only difference is they didn't buy the tickets.

Well, the team doesn't make money just from the sale of tickets in the games. Look at the tailgaters and see how many are wearing Bears jerseys or hats and have other licensed merchandise, from which the team earns lucrative royalties.

The Bears administration has a history of making dumb decisions regarding fans. In late 2005, remember, the Bears originally planned to offer playoff tickets only to Illinois residents.

The wail of fans in Northwest Indiana was loud enough for them to recognize just how close the state line is to Soldier Field. The team reversed its decision.

As George McCaskey, senior director of ticket operations for the Bears, said at the time, "Our goal to limit access to ticket brokers had too great an effect on an important part of our fan base, and they let us know about it."

Now it's up to the fan base to let the Bears know it flubbed again in establishing this policy banning tailgating during the games.

The message to the Bears should be simply this: The fans without tickets are already paying for the pricey parking spaces. They buy lots of Bears merchandise, from which the team profits. These loyal fans are vital to the team's economic success. Don't spoil their fun.