77 Hitmen

I should have switched the choices for the 3rd item around so that your answer was the name of a Swedish pop band.

It does not necessarily mean that. In this case, however, I think both happen to be true. If not "small", at the very least, it's a shrinking fanbase. The incoming owner is going to have to figure out something to change the trajectory of this team's market share. Sure, winning absolutely MUST be part of that, but unless they can rattle off a bunch of pennants in quick succession, they'll still be struggling to make themselves relevant in a city were the Cubs are as dominant as ever.

Did your interest level go back up?

Yeah, things worked about great for Jason!

I'd much rather argue about the following than Matt Shaw's right wing politics: Schriffen vs. Benetti The 78 vs. Rate Field vs. suburban stadium site Ishbia vs. JR Getz vs. Hahn/KW I say options B, A, A, and neither.

The Bears have been trying to get out of Soldier Field for almost as long as they've played there. They moved there in '71 and in 1975, Halas was seriously considering a new stadium at Arlington Park. Of course, they stopped looking to move when the 2002 renovations were done, but that didn't even last 20 years before grumblings about leaving the place surfaced again. The whole "Bears weather" being a huge home field advantage thing is pretty much an urban legend.

I believe he said it was the loudest he's ever heard a game at Soldier Field. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but he did NOT say it was the loudest he's ever heard a football game. He said this was the 31st time he's done a game at Soldier Field and this was the loudest he's ever heard the place.

Follow up: Above is a quote from a Sun-Times article from around the time Ishbia met with the Pope. https://chicago.suntimes.com/pope-leo-xiv/2025/11/19/justin-ishbia-pope-white-sox-stadium

He invited the Pope to throw out the first pitch a new Sox stadium. I don't know if he specifically said anything to the Pope about staying in Chicago, but during that visit to the Vatican he did make a statement that strongly suggested that he's committed to keeping the Sox in Chicago. That may have been to a reporter and I don't think it was to Pope Leo himself. There's probably a quote from Ishbia about this somewhere earlier in this thread.

Good Lord, how the f*** did this thread get derailed about a player that has never been linked to the Sox in any rumor mill as far as I know.....and for whom it would make little sense for the Sox to acquire since they'd have to give up a ton of their existing young talent to get him?

Maybe before Ishbia emerged as the next owner, there may have been a scenario where that could have happened. But, once it was announced that JR would eventually sell to him, that should have put to rest any concerns. Ishbia's comments during his meeting with the Pope in November should have slammed the door on any such talk. I think the only question remaining is whether Ishbia is going to bankroll a new ballpark for the Sox in the South Loop. We'll see, that's a lot of money- even for a billionaire. But I find it hard to believe his plans after spending somewhere close to $2B for the franchise is to keep them at "There's Nothing Wrong With It" Field for the next 35 years.

Pritzker in that video clip is saying they're willing to provide infrastructure toward the project and that the Bears are welcome to negotiate tax abatement with local authorities.....so what's the problem? Isn't that exactly what the Bears want? So, what are Warren and the McCaskeys looking for? On the other hand, it's one thing if state officials and the Bears just can't come to an agreement on numbers, but it sounds like state officials are going out of their way to poke the Bears in the eye by saying they aren't even going to consider any proposals for at least another year. I don't think that's a good way to get things done. Am I missing something? The Bears are offering to pay for the entire cost of the stadium, right? If we're waiting for everyone's cost of living concerns to be resolved before we spend any money on infrastructure, that's never going to happen. Let's say the Bears end up building a stadium complex in NW Indiana. What happens to the Arlington Park site? Just fill it with up with more crappy suburban strip malls and townhomes? Are the tax revenues from that kind of development going to be more than what the Bears would pay even if they get some tax breaks? Is that a "win" for Illinois residents? Also, how much would infrastructure cost to develop that land into something other than a stadium complex? I assume the plan isn't to just let 325 acres of prime real estate to sit vacant forever.

If I were NBC, I wouldn't put the Sox on Sunday Night Baseball, either. Maybe in a few years if they can build around some of their existing talent and the upcoming #1 pick and start to spend some Ishbia money on quality free agents. Until then, they just aren't a big draw outside the Sox fan base.

Thank you! The Bears have spent most of the last 3 decades fielding very mediocre and frequently getting embarrassed by their arch rivals. This is only their 7th playoff appearance in 30 years. ...and yet, fans in Chicago are as rabid about the Bears as ever (even before this year's resurgence). Let's get real. While they'd much prefer ending up in Arlington Heights, having a stadium in Gary/Hammond isn't going to slow their popularity.