It may have been Rose's knee, but we all felt the pain.
"D-Rose is injured," said one fan. "What are we going to do now?"
Bulls fans had been in a fighting mood from even before the game started, confident that with their all-star guard back in shape, nothing could stop them.
"Bulls are going to go all the way. Yeah, for sure," said fan Megan Riesner.
But the air went out of building when with little over a minute left to play, Derrick Rose went down.
"I don't know why he was still in the game," said Edward Brice. "I don't think it was worth it at the beginning of the playoffs."
Rose just hasn't been able to stay healthy this season. He's battled groin, back, toe, foot and ankle injuries. So the question is can the Bulls make a run at the title without him.
"Utterly depressed," said Bulls fan Jim Grayheck. "I mean, I can't even begin to describe how depressing this is."
Saturday night at West End Bar and Grill, a few blocks from the United Center, Bulls fans still couldn't believe it the Rose injury.
"The season's over," Marcus Magee said. "I know Derrick Rose is the best player on our team. When he's down, we have nothing, you know."
"I literally could not catch my breath because he's the MVP of the world," Ashley Wentzel said.
Derrick Thompson said he is confident in the whole team, with or without Rose.
"It doesn't matter about D-Rose because we have the best team in the east," he said. Go Bulls."
A torn anterior cruciate ligament is one of the most common injuries in sports.
The Blackhawks' Daniel Carcillo tore his ACL back in January, knocking him out for the season.
The Bears' Jay Cutler and Matt Forte have both sprained their MCLs, a different ligament and their rehab lasted a couple months.
Rose's recovery will take longer.
"He's going to be alright down the road, but it's a six month injury," said Dr. Michael Terry, the Blackhawks' head physician.
Terry said the protection Rose was wearing wasn't designed to prevent injury.
Rose has been hobbled by injuries all season and it's possible those led to this one.
"Sometimes you're going to get hurt no matter what," Terry said. "But there are times when people are perhaps guarding a bit or modifying the way that they play or move. And it can lead to another."
