Can you feel it, the ground shaking underfoot, that is, and the sky opening up to let in eternal sunshine, with flocks and flocks of bluebirds?
Did you see Da Bears game Saturday night? If that wasn’t a Christmas miracle, my name isn’t Kris Kringle.
And what’s more, the White Sox of all people signed the “Japanese Babe Ruth” to a two-year contract. What the hell is going on?
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear the Chicago sports scene shows real promise — maybe for the first time since 2013 when the Bulls, Bears and Blackhawks all had winning records and Chicagoans braced themselves for the end of the world.
But it’s a new dawn and a new day, and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling good!
— Bob Ory, Elgin
Elegant, forceful win
What a sweet victory over the Green Bay Packers! Seeing the Bears make such a spectacular comeback at the end of regular time and then much more forcefully and elegantly at the end of overtime was, truly, of historical proportions.
All of Chicagoland deserved such a triumph, especially over the Packers.
Congratulations, big time, to Da Bears!
— Alejandro Lugo, Park Forest
Bad call on trick play
Will some qualified medical professional please take the necessary steps to remove any and all Dan Campbell DNA from the cerebral cortex of Bears head coach Ben Johnson? Bear fans are intelligent enough to know that a trick play on fourth and goal is no place for a trick play — especially with the running game smoking on down the field and having D’Andre Swift, Kyle Monongai and Caleb Williams from whom to choose to run it across.
What an utterly silly play call. It may have been early in the first quarter, but history tells us that anything can happen between the Bears and the Packers. Forgoing such a touchdown opportunity, as well as the lead and field position, even early in the game, makes no trick play needed.
— Alan O. Hracek, Miramar, Florida
Who watches you
Chicago Bears management cracks me up. They can’t seem to get their priorities straight.
Congratulations are certainly due for finally coming through with a winning season. Best of all, they somehow managed to piece it together just fine in their Chicago stadium, filled with die-hard loyal fans.
Fans and a city that have been loyal supporters, giving everything possible when it was possible, since 1922. Fans and a city that the Chicago Bears are determined to leave behind.
I’m trying to think of what comes at the top of the list for making a sports team successful. Obviously, the right players, coaches and staff. But what do you think is second on the list of factors for success?
It isn’t where you play; it’s who wants to watch you play. And building a longtime loyal fan base to fill the seats requires something the Chicago Bears clearly don’t care about: being loyal in return.
So I say to the Chicago Bears: “Keep up your fight-or-flight scheme.” Become the “Hoosier Bears” or whatever floats your boat. Just remember one thing.
When a sport becomes more about the money than the joy it brings to people, it has lost its heart and its integrity. It no longer meets the definition of sportsmanship toward vital contributors to their organization … the fans, a world-class city and a remarkable 100-year tradition.
None of which, like a new stadium, you’re likely to see being rebuilt if you move. Maybe run that through your return-on-investment analysis.
— Linda Finley Belan, Chicago
Lawmakers’ lesson
Why are we surprised the Bears are looking to another state to build a stadium? Our forward-thinking, business-friendly lawmakers have created this competition. The Bears want tax certainty and assistance with infrastructure for this massive project. Any developer owning that site would ask for the same or more.
If the Bears elect to move anywhere but Arlington Heights, what happens to the massive pile of dirt left behind in Arlington Heights? It would sit vacant for many years with no sane business willing to purchase it knowing the precedent has been established for zero participation by Illinois to develop that site. If the state couldn’t make this work for the Bears, why would any business invest time and effort on a development plan? The value of that property will plummet along with the negotiated tax revenue it now generates.
How many more businesses will our government officials push out? Citadel, Boeing, Caterpillar and many more should have educated our lawmakers, but it appears not. The Bears project is a massive job and revenue creator.
Why does this have to be so difficult?
— Rick Sidor, Lake Barrington
Warren a Grinch
Regarding the editorial “Leverage-obsessed Bears do their best to squelch the good seasonal vibes” (Dec. 19): Hooray for calling out Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren. The first thought I had when I read it was: Move over, Grinch!
— Joel Shoolin, Glencoe
Bears negotiations
Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren was a true waste of money, and the Bears make themselves look like an incredibly greedy family. This sort of “negotiating” over the stadium only ticks folks off. It does the opposite of what Warren, et al., is likely attempting to accomplish.
— Jim Dorey, Chicago
Stop the distraction
I was among the Bears season ticket holders who recently received a form letter from Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren providing an update on stadium plans. Of course, the mention of moving the Bears to northwest Indiana contained in that letter has now become a media storyline. We all know that such a suggestion is nothing more than a leverage ploy while at the same time punking our Indiana neighbors. The timing of raising the possibility that the Bears might relocate out of Chicago demonstrates that Warren is tone-deaf to the distraction this creates at a time when we all need to be reveling in team success.
The trickle-down effect of this pronouncement leaves the coach and players responding to media inquiries that distract from preparing for the next opponent. To Warren: Time to change the game plan. Stow the negotiation strategy until after the Bears’ first playoff game in their current home field location: Soldier Field.
Stop being the Grinch!
— Ron Bearwald, Northbrook
No jumping for joy
The Tribune Editorial Board talks like it’s only the Bears wanting leverage. The Bears know that all leverage ends when they put a good-faith shovel in the dirt. While I do not support taxpayer funding for this project, I do support the Bears asking for a reasonable deal. Neither Mayor Brandon Johnson nor Gov. JB Pritzker has negotiated anything that would make the Bears jump for joy either.
Indianapolis did a great job with the Colts in revitalizing Indianapolis. While northwest Indiana needs a lot, I would not dismiss that region in the editorial board’s hubris either.
— Randall Ray, Gurnee
Math for lawmakers
I found it amusing that state Sen. Bill Cunningham said the Bears had a legislative math problem. If our legislators knew math, then they would also know what everyday citizens already know. You cannot spend more money than you can take in!
There is no more simpler mathematical fact than that.
— Ken Stead, Aurora
Just make it bistate
Why not build the proposed Bears stadium on the Illinois-Indiana state line? Fifty yards plus end zone in each state, each half representing the unique characteristics of each, whatever that might be. The possibilities are almost endless.
— Paul Helman, Wilmette
It is no pot of gold
Regarding the Bears’ latest letter on expanding the stadium location search: I don’t feel they are taking the core fans into consideration. If the goal is to provide a world-class stadium to the affluent, then no taxpayer funds should be provided.
Most longtime fans will be forced to let go of their tickets — and then travel to Indiana? With salaries approaching $1 billion for a single player, surely the Bears can provide a couple billion for a stadium. Go to the NFL for money; surely, they need those lakefront TV shots.
Finally, don’t be so sure Indiana will be a pot of gold. The current governor is not popular, and the legislature has parted with him, as evidenced by the redistricting vote.
— Rick Cosenza, Lombard
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