Piece By: Alex Cuthbert
Disclaimer: any time I say ‘we,’ I am referring to the City of Chicago.
I addressed the pick of Justin Fields by the Chicago Bears this past draft as a turning point in a once storied franchise turned mediocre by the simple fact that cities on the interior of this country, regardless of how big they may be, aren’t free agent destinations. Chicago, for the past couple decades, has been stuck between a rock and Lake Michigan. We can’t seem to attract the same talent as coastal cities for what analysts cite as a plethora of reasons, but I personally never saw why any player would shy away from Chicago. Sure our people are rude, our taxes are high, our weather sucks, but it’s still a large market with extremely dedicated fans. If a basketball or football player comes to Chicago and rekindles the fire in the hearts of Chicago sports fans, they would become legendary.
Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to sell any superstars on Chicago as a destination in free agency for either basketball or football. And I think it’s a tragedy because when Chicago teams are competitive, sports are just better. We have been starved of championships and parades for far too long. I can speak from personal experience that mediocrity has been the norm in Chicago for a while now; watching teams fail to be good, but also be too good to be bad. But there is hope on the horizon.
The aforementioned pick of Justin Fields to the Bears caused a change of direction in the winds of Chicago, but after this years’ free agency in the NBA has initiated a tornado that cannot be stopped. The Chicago Bulls picked up Lonzo Ball and Demar DeRozan among some other minor signings. These pickups have seemingly vaulted the Bulls into playoff contention and possibly a deep run. Now I don’t think this team is quite a championship contender, but that’s not what we need this year. All we needed was noise, and boy do we have it now.
Players need to be reminded that Chicago is just as much of a destination as any big coastal city. The legacy that could be built by re-establishing a winning culture in Chicago is infinite. I’m hoping that this very recent trend of major sport teams in Chicago being able to attract bigger name players and being able to draft the right players will continue on into the future; not only for the sake of Chicago sports fans, but for the sake of sports fans around the country.
The John Fox days are over, the post-MJ days are over (I’m not forgetting about the Derrick Rose Bulls, they just didn’t end up winning anything), and the days of Chicago sports teams being competitive are just around the corner. So I say welcome Lonzo, welcome Demar, welcome Justin. You guys are already more appreciated than you can hope to imagine, and if you can establish a culture of good basketball and football, the whole country will be better for it. Don’t mess it up.
Comments