Much to the dismay of fans — especially those who braved the traffic getting in and out of Levi's Stadium — the 49ers lost their first regular season game at the stadium to the Chicago Bears 28-20. It was the first time the Niners have lost a home opener under coach Jim Harbaugh and the end of an eight-game winning streak against the Bears on the Niners' home turf.

All in all, there was none of the traffic drama that looked like it would plague stadium-goers after the experience of the pre-season games. That may be due to the promise of plenty of pre-game entertainment, including a big opening ceremony involving a field-long flag and 49er alums like Jerry Rice and Joe Montana.

But that's not to say that some people didn't encounter traffic nightmares. Per the Merc:

Fans who arrived early for the 5:30 p.m. game realized some of the parking lots hadn't opened yet. A lot of them just got out of their cars in gridlocked streets and started tailgating right on the spot.

But fans going to the blue lots off Lawrence Expressway reported pregame waits of up to two hours.

"I have to say, it's beyond frustrating," San Jose resident Joey Windham, 35, said from his car before the game, where he had barely budged for two hours. "It pretty much has zapped the life out of everybody."

There was also grumbling about the fact that lineman Ray McDonald was allowed to play despite a recent arrest on domestic violence charges.

Train sang the national anthem, Snoop Dogg provided a surprise halftime concert, and actor Jeremy Renner narrated a pre-game video about the team's history.

Anyway, they lost. Nit 70,000 people showed up, and most of them have gotten home by now.

[ABC 7]
[Chron]
[Mercury-News]
[49ers.com]