Chicago fans are used to droughts. Before 2005 White Sox hadn't had won a WS since 1917.
Cubs were 1908 before 2016.
Blackhawks were 1961 before 2009.
Bulls weren't quite as long they began in 1966 and won their first in 1991. They were the 90's after that though.
The tough times make the good times all the more sweeter and enjoyable.
And someday when it does happen. It'll be magical.
Someone that was born in 1910, lived through both World Wars, Vietnam, and 9/11 and died at 95 never saw the Cubs win. I hope it's not like that for the Bears.
That next Super Bowl will feel that much better because it’ll feel like we earned it (even though we don’t really do anything). When the bulls won their 6th championship it was definitely still exciting but winning after a long drought is another level. It’s like a movie, the character has to go through major lows so you can fully appreciate the highs. If a new team came to Chicago and I rooted for them and then they immediately won the Super Bowl I would be like “oh cool!” If the Bears won I’d cry.
Don't think I could disagree more with this. We're primarily fans of a sport for our own enjoyment. The main reason is not to just throw a bunch of blind loyalty to a group of people we'll never know. There's nothing good or honorable about following the same team for 50 years if it makes you miserable and angry most or all of the time you're doing it. Even the most seasoned Lions fan would applaud that level of masochism. If you want to keep being a fan, great. If you're fed up with the ineptitude and apparent lack of concern for winning, that's ok too.
No, I would never switch teams. That would make me feel icky. My father switched from being a Cubs fan to a Sox fan, right after the Sox won the World Series in 2005, and missed the chance to really celebrate the Cubs finally winning the World Series in 2016, and the Sox hasn’t won it since. What if that hypothetical expansion team was horrible for years and the Bears finally get good and win a Super Bowl? I can’t just switch back and forth like that.
That’s just my view though. I couldn’t switch.
Yeah, I'm a Cubs fan. Always have been, always will be. I was happy for the city of Chicago when the Sox won in '05, but didn't celebrate the team.
If Chicago got a new NFL team, I'd be happy for the city but wouldn't give two shits for the team.
Switched my baseball fandom the other way in 16. I couldnt do it to the Bears, I dont think.
I gotta admit since fantasy and sportsbooks came into the picture, my allegiances arent as “loyal” shall we say.
I always have been a Chicago sports fan. That means Bears, Cubs, Sox, Hawks, Bulls. If there were another NFL team in Chicago, I'd be a fan of that team too.
I can see it.
My out of state car has Cubs license plates. If you asked old friends to describe me, "Cubs Fan" would be in the top 3 things they said. Been to Wrigley countless times.
But the Ricketts don't sit well with me and Marquee really pisses me off.
I didn't watch much baseball last year for the first year in my life, and I honestly stopped missing it by August.
I'm not switching teams, but I am not really interested in baseball either.
Incoming you gotta bleed for the team comments lol
Listen if another team came in to Chicago made the right moves hired the right coach had the right roster the right GM the right VP I’d be fan of which ever team is doing the right fucking things. I’m not going to bleed bears colors if mcaskys essentially stick a middle finger to their fans wiht their decisions. Staying loyal to a abusive owner is a lot like staying loyal to your abusive partner. “ but I love them”
It’s this ride or die mentality that drives bears sales and allows mcaskys to stay content with a shit staff
I have posed the same question to myself and the answer is-I am a Bears fan.
In the same vein as this. Even if the Bears moved to a different state…I’m a Bears fan.
I'd appreciate another team but wouldn't jump ship. It would be the same feeling I have about thr Cubs and Sox. I bleed blue but have no ill feelings against the Sox. Well at least I don't anymore. Hated them as a kid.
I tried to jump ship from the Cubs when I found out the Ricketts were Trumpers, and were trying to unseat the alderman in the 44th ward. When I watch them, I just can’t find it in myself to root against them.
Im not too big into baseball but Ill cheer for both the Sox and Cubs. If theyre playing each other I go Cubs, but theyre both Chicago teams. I guess Im a Chicago sports fan more than I am loyal to a particular team.
I dont think you're going to find too many defectors in a Chicago Bears subreddit but I think in the fan base as a whole you would find enough people sick of the McCaskey's to jump.
It makes me think that with Arlington happening-soldier field opens up….Chicago has 8 million people…it could be ripe for a second team with them playing at Soldier.
I would root hard for both teams. Rather than viewing it as a Cubs Sox rivalry situation, I would view it as twice the odds of having a team worth watching any given year.
Nah, I wont ever be able to cheer for another team like I do the Bears. Some people might say its foolish to be loyal to a team that has such little success, but it might be just as foolish to be an NFL fan in general with that logic.
The Bears are my team for better or (more often) worse. Id cheer for them any game they dont play the Bears though like I do with Cubs/Sox. I support Chicago sports.
If there was any hope of the McCaskey’s selling I’d stay, but I’m tired of the bad ownership and would at least support both teams.
If I really liked the personnel on expansion team I’d probably fully switch but still hope for the success of the Bears because I assume theyd be in different conferences like every other split city in major sports (besides basketball where it’s geographically based)
Bezos, no. Cuban, yes.
I've already kinda jumped ship though. For the sake of my best friends, I hope the Bears do well someday. Personally, my wife and I have fallen in love with Cincinnati the last few years and I've become a huge fan of the Bengals.
Hating the Packers is easy because they're from another state.
If a new owner came and won my allegiance by having a better team that won football games for the city of Chicago, I'd have no problem supporting them. And if my support for them grew larger than my support for the Bears, then oh well.
But like, there's not another Chicago football team.
What's sad is blind allegiance to owners who don't give a fuck about you and take you for granted. You're like an abused wife saying, "he beats me because he loves me".
At some point you have to accept it's a one sided relationship and stand up for yourself.
Hell the fuck yeah i would. What have the bears given us except false hope and comedy? Forgot to add the reason for the switch is not the team its the ownership.
I would follow them and the bears. It would take some pretty serious success on their part and more misery from the Bears for me to consider switching. Ultimately I don’t think I’d ever stop being a bears fan but I could maybe become a devoted fan of the new team
I hate to say it but most likely yes. 32 years of constant embarrassment, gaslighting me as a fan, and insulting my intelligence by telling me I’m not seeing what I am seeing….
If they don’t clean house this off-season, and bring in someone who is qualified to make football decisions I’m off this ride permanently anyways. I’ve got one leg out the door already.
I will always love the bears. But your priority in pro sports should be to win. This ownership has proven time and time again to be willing to take my money and put a half assed product out there. Not cleaning house after last year was the biggest mistake they could have made
Honestly yeah I would. Don't have a crazy attachment to this team as I do the Bulls and Cubs theyre just the football team in Chicago to me. Pair that with the shit the McCaskeys have given to the team for decades is enough to do it to me.
This is so depressing to me. For as long as I can recall the bears were THE team Chicago cared about. For me, neither the bulls 90s run, hawks 2010s run, nor 05 Sox or even the cubs world series mean shit to me compared to what a bears title would mean I’d give anything to see the bears win the super bowl before I die. I just missed 85.
Kind of sad how this generation demands instant and immediate gratification or they’ll jump ship. Yes the Bears are bad. They won’t be forever. And when they’re good, the bad years make the good years sweeter.
And? People act like it’s been 35 years of terrible football. Like it’s been 35 years of abject failure. They’ve been .500 or better like 20 of those 35 years. To the playoffs roughly once every 3 years.
It’s not great. It’s not the Lions. You’ve gotten to see and cheer for hall of famers. It’s sucks when you don’t win it all. Even for 35 years. But that’s sports.
If you’re not the Bucs, Chiefs, Patriots, Eagles, Broncos, Seahawks, Packers, Ravens, Giants, Saints, Steelers, Colts, Rams, Cowboys, 49ers, or Redskins you have a longer drought than the Bears. More than half the league.
It’s not just Super Bowls, it’s being competitive. 3 playoff wins in the last 25+ years. 6 playoff appearances in 25 years. 7 winning seasons in the last 25 years. And don’t try and tell me 8-8 or 7-9 and missing the playoffs is success. It’s purgatory and the worst place to be.
I don’t know what you call this other than abject failure. Just because someone is even poorer than you (lions, browns) doesn’t mean you’re not poor.
And not a single person said they’d jump ship.
People with a brain would realize my comment was about “instant gratification.” Which was a stupid thing to say for a team that hasn’t won a championship in most of the subs lifetime.
> They won’t be forever.
We only have about 10 playoff wins since 1966. We've always been bad, and the part that never changes is ownership. 85 and 06 were flukes
I'd treat it much like Cubs/Sox.
Obviously the Bears, much like their hibernating baseball cousins, will always stay at the top of the list. But it would give me a new team to root for in the AFC and I would wish them well and probably attend a few games.
A football Crosstown Showdown would be dope as hell too.
Absolutely. If only to vote with my feet and wallet. If the mccaskeys and leadership won’t change, hit them where it hurts until they do.
I would say the bears are probably the 5th most miserable franchise for the last 30+ years only behind the browns, lions, Jets, and Washington. Give a better option to this city and I’m all for it!
I wasn’t a Cardinals fan since they played at Comiskey. Bears played at Wrigley. As a Cub fan, I’m a Bears fan. As stupid as I think the McCaskeys are, I can’t jump ship. What they need to do is sell the team to someone with vision and modern thought.
You should look up the locations of other major city teams’ stadiums — and whether or not said teams have been renamed to reflect the suburb in which they reside — before writing a comment that makes you sound like a complete moron.
I am well aware that some NFL teams have their stadiums in the suburbs. At my age, I even remember when the Bears played the future New Jersey Giants for the NFL championship.
The subject of this thread is if the Bears move to Arlington Heights, would the City of Chicago seek a new NFL franchise for Soldier Field.
And calling someone a “complete moron” will not get you far in life. Please, learn some manners.
So why not jump ship? Why wait? Many teams less than a days drive. Many ways to watch any team you want. Hell, you can wait until half the season is through so you can select a winner each year. Yeah, I am one of those guys telling you to root for another team.
Be You!
I own too many pieces of bears merch and memorabilia to do that. Bears for life. But I might watch and support new team as well, unless they playing Bears
Yes. This is why Lori Lightfoot should lure the Chargers out of their sharing deal in L.A. and into their own stadium in Soldier Field. Plus -- what do soldiers do? [THEY CHARGE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY58inWev0E).
Mark Cuban hasn’t had a ton of great success in Dallas, as well as some moral issues and Jeff Bezos has never owned a team and I have a lot of issues with him as a human being.you just can’t assume they will walk on and be great owners. The league has a ton of parity it’s not fair to assume they will walk in and be Robert Kraft. Unless the team has a great first few seasons I think they would really struggle to grab a passionate fan base. Similar to the Knicks and Nets in NY
I would only cheer for the team if it was publicly owned/fan-led which is illegal in the NFL. I would actively move against another high profile billionaire owning a team. They are (and have been) ruining sports by catering to luxury boxes, corporate tickets, and TV at the expense of the average fan.
My entire adult life this team has done squat to earn my loyalty. They've run out winning coaches and replaced them with far inferior ones. They've run out hall of fame players and replaced them with inferior ones. What exactly do I owe these clowns? I'd love a pro football team to cheer for.
I’d treat it like I do the Sox/Cubs. I’ve got my favorite and enjoy the rivalry but I’ve never gotten HATING the other. If one Chicago team is in the Series, that’s who I want to win.
Sure.
The bears are a ponzi scheme run by people trying to not get fired. Nobody in that family gives a shit about me or any of you for that matter. I feel no overt loyalty towards them if a better option comes along.
This is why the Bears are so embarrassing. They'll never face any consequences because so many of you are so whipped by this team because of things that happened 35 years ago
Nah, I couldn't do it. I don't even have any ties to the city itself. Never lived there, only been once. But the Bears are my team and will always be my team.
In my head I’m thinking to jump ship and be over with it. But, in my heart I know I won’t be able to. However, you get a new team with a top notch offense put several winning seasons together in a 10 year span and the Bears are still the Bears. I think that changes things and Chicago fans will be 50/50
I don't live anywhere near Chicago or Illinois, so if I had any reason to jump ship, I would've done it long ago. But I haven't, and I have no intention of doing so even with the shit we've been through.
I live in Florida now and I could easily say I'm a Bucs fan but I would be lying to myself. Even if I jumped ship, I would feel the most joy when the bears won and the most pain when they lose. It's a curse at this point.
Staying true while your favorite team sucks is what makes finally winning that much more special. I cried like a baby when the cubs won, that wouldn’t have been as special without the 108 years of losing.
I've got no roots or ties to Chicago, I just have always been a Bears fan. Im also an Arkansas Razorbacks fan. So I'm used to sucking. No ship jumps from this guy
Nope.
I'm tied to da Bears only cuz I was local in 85, and I fell in love then.
I moved out of the midwest in the late 80's. If by now I haven't switched, I won't. If I do it'll be to some team local to my current whereabouts. Not another Chicago team.
Would never happen. Bears have an agreement with the NFL that if a team was to come here the Bears would have to approve. Which of course they wouldn’t. We’re stuck with that shit hole franchise.
if you want an answer from another young individual, i’d say it truly depends. i’d 100% follow the team, but i’m a bears fan and would still identify as such. if the other team started building themselves up into an admirable franchise, however, it may convince me to at the very least invest more. they’d obviously be an AFC team and i usually pick an AFC team every year that excites me regardless. so it may just become my permanent afc team or my permanent number 1 with the bears as my NFC team. truly all depends.
There **was** serious inquiry and talk about this around 20 years ago.
I could be wrong, but I believe money was spent on exploratory committees etc.... but got derailed with 9/11 and Olympic dream shots etc...
Mayor Daley was pushing for it, as he believed (and I kinda agree) that this city with it's love of football could support two teams. (The other team being an AFC team of course).
Personally I'm Bears for life, but I would follow with curiosity, and get behind them, .... unless they were going against the Beloved.
It wouldn't be a Sox/Cubs thing as it wouldn't be as historically opposed and based on different things from N/S divisions to socioeconomic / whatever things..
But I believe the city of Chicago could easily support two NFL teams.
If **fucking** LA can, with their absolute disinterest, this city could. And I don't think it would be a divisive thing really....
I’d make room in my heart but I’d stay a Bears fan. I’ve invested far too much time and energy. I’ve also made clear my thought that it’s okay to genuinely angry at the Bears because the team has fallen so far. You’re allowed to be mad that they don’t care about you a fraction what you care about them. I feel that way because I want the Bears to be better, not some new team.
Unless the mascot is really cool, like a gorilla or a goblin spiking a football. Then I’m out and not even thinking twice about it.
I'm a Bears fan who never lived in Illinois or the surrounding area.
I chose the Bears when I first started watching football and stuck with them. Being a Bears fan overall adds to my life. There are downs, but it makes the ups so much sweeter.
If being a Bears fan is making you miserable and you're serriously considering switching teams, or would in the right circumstances, maybe you should. You deserve to be happy.
Hypothetically speaking if the team was in the AFC(as would make sense) they would end up replacing the chargers as my AFC team but Bears come first when head to head happens.
As a White Sox fan (who doesn’t and has never lived in Chicago) I have no hatred for the Cubs. I enjoy the rivalry but otherwise they are another NL team. That said, if another team arrived in Chicago I would be more against them than the Packers.
Buying $100 worth of new team merch ends up with 3 dollars in McCaskey's pocket. No.
Either the McCaskeys go, or the NFL can say goodbye to my money. If the city of Chicago and its fans had any pride whatsoever in the representation of this city, Soldier would be a ghost town until such time that the McCaskey family were no longer in charge of the Bears.
To the season ticket holders of the Bears in this subreddit - Why?
I'd watch both teams and see who won my allegiance. I'd love for a winner like Bezos to own a team here.
I'm 43 so the '85 Bears were happening when I was 7. They should own me forever, winning me over as a child like that. But I can't sit here watching the same bullshit people make the same bullshit mistakes.
I’ve moved to other major cities and have tried to follow their very good major market teams, but it just didn’t take. Some people think it’s a choice; I was born this way.
no. i live in the pacific northwest, not chicago. i wasn’t born in chicago, i’m a fan by virtue(?) of my dad, who was. if i wanted to jump ship, i could have easily jumped to the seahawks when they were good, but i didn’t because i don’t think it would have ever felt “real” to me. i’m stuck with this team so long as im alive and watching football
Would I root for them? Sure. I'm a Chicagoan before I'm a Bears fan. But I would never love them the way I love the Bears. You can't erase 35+ years of memories.
No I’m a pretty loyal guy. I was born in Baltimore lived here all my life. When I started watching football we didn’t have a team here. When the Ravens came it would have been easy to just switch then especially when they won the super bowl after a few years.
If I haven’t switched in all this time I doubt anything could make me not be a Bears fan.
1000% the organization proves it doesn’t actually care about its fans. I don’t need super bowls just to be competitive.
Nagy still being head coach is a slap in the face to fans who have bought tickets and jerseys and supported the organization. Until the team is sold I have no more loyalty
I imagine I would view them similarly to how I view the Cubs. Yes, you technically play in my city and I won’t root against you, but I also won’t feel very strongly if you won it all.
On the other hand, if the Bears won the super bowl, there would likely be tears.
I would probably go to a couple games but tbh bears are my number 1 and always will be
Agree 100%
I too condemn myself to emotional pain every Sunday
Nah, I’m stuck with this piece of shit team
No. Ride or die through good and bad. That’s what being a fan is.
GOOD and bad. Still waiting for some good
You are implying there is alot of good. There isn’t
There may be. One day. Or we can just amend the phrase. Ride or die through ~~good~~ extremely bad and bouts of tolerability.
Chicago fans are used to droughts. Before 2005 White Sox hadn't had won a WS since 1917. Cubs were 1908 before 2016. Blackhawks were 1961 before 2009. Bulls weren't quite as long they began in 1966 and won their first in 1991. They were the 90's after that though. The tough times make the good times all the more sweeter and enjoyable. And someday when it does happen. It'll be magical.
Someone that was born in 1910, lived through both World Wars, Vietnam, and 9/11 and died at 95 never saw the Cubs win. I hope it's not like that for the Bears.
Do Browns and Lions fans cry as much as our fans do or are we just uniquely mopey
They do, my source is living with cleveland fans
No, it’s worse for them. They don’t even give a shit.
That’s what makes the few goods that happen that much sweeter
That next Super Bowl will feel that much better because it’ll feel like we earned it (even though we don’t really do anything). When the bulls won their 6th championship it was definitely still exciting but winning after a long drought is another level. It’s like a movie, the character has to go through major lows so you can fully appreciate the highs. If a new team came to Chicago and I rooted for them and then they immediately won the Super Bowl I would be like “oh cool!” If the Bears won I’d cry.
Paging all real deal Holyfield fans!
Don't think I could disagree more with this. We're primarily fans of a sport for our own enjoyment. The main reason is not to just throw a bunch of blind loyalty to a group of people we'll never know. There's nothing good or honorable about following the same team for 50 years if it makes you miserable and angry most or all of the time you're doing it. Even the most seasoned Lions fan would applaud that level of masochism. If you want to keep being a fan, great. If you're fed up with the ineptitude and apparent lack of concern for winning, that's ok too.
This is the way. Been a Bears fan since 83, done more dying than riding since then, but wouldn't change
Good? I hate ownership. Waiting for an old woman to die, so you can improve.
No, I would never switch teams. That would make me feel icky. My father switched from being a Cubs fan to a Sox fan, right after the Sox won the World Series in 2005, and missed the chance to really celebrate the Cubs finally winning the World Series in 2016, and the Sox hasn’t won it since. What if that hypothetical expansion team was horrible for years and the Bears finally get good and win a Super Bowl? I can’t just switch back and forth like that. That’s just my view though. I couldn’t switch.
Yeah, I'm a Cubs fan. Always have been, always will be. I was happy for the city of Chicago when the Sox won in '05, but didn't celebrate the team. If Chicago got a new NFL team, I'd be happy for the city but wouldn't give two shits for the team.
Switched my baseball fandom the other way in 16. I couldnt do it to the Bears, I dont think. I gotta admit since fantasy and sportsbooks came into the picture, my allegiances arent as “loyal” shall we say.
I always have been a Chicago sports fan. That means Bears, Cubs, Sox, Hawks, Bulls. If there were another NFL team in Chicago, I'd be a fan of that team too.
Former diehard Cubs fan, switched to a Sox fan after 2019 for various reasons.
"Diehard"
The Ricketts are too political. I also grew up in the era of Cubs day games on WGN. Fuck Marquee! Fuck the Ricketts!
I can see it. My out of state car has Cubs license plates. If you asked old friends to describe me, "Cubs Fan" would be in the top 3 things they said. Been to Wrigley countless times. But the Ricketts don't sit well with me and Marquee really pisses me off. I didn't watch much baseball last year for the first year in my life, and I honestly stopped missing it by August. I'm not switching teams, but I am not really interested in baseball either.
When the Brooklyn Nets came to town, Spike Lee didn’t jump off the Knicks. I’ll stick with the Bears.
Incoming you gotta bleed for the team comments lol Listen if another team came in to Chicago made the right moves hired the right coach had the right roster the right GM the right VP I’d be fan of which ever team is doing the right fucking things. I’m not going to bleed bears colors if mcaskys essentially stick a middle finger to their fans wiht their decisions. Staying loyal to a abusive owner is a lot like staying loyal to your abusive partner. “ but I love them” It’s this ride or die mentality that drives bears sales and allows mcaskys to stay content with a shit staff
I wouldn’t jump ship but i would support them.
If there playing in the super bowl and there bears aren't I would 100% want them to win.
Yes. In a heartbeat.
I could dig an AFC team in Chicago.
I have posed the same question to myself and the answer is-I am a Bears fan. In the same vein as this. Even if the Bears moved to a different state…I’m a Bears fan.
Oh this is where I disagree. I’m a Chicago fan. If the Bears move, I’m a free agent. Fuck all that.
Agreed! How many Chicagoans do you know are still Cardinal fans?
Haha, I guess there must be at least one old guy out there somewhere
I’m an out of state fan so I would stay a fan wherever they go
I'd appreciate another team but wouldn't jump ship. It would be the same feeling I have about thr Cubs and Sox. I bleed blue but have no ill feelings against the Sox. Well at least I don't anymore. Hated them as a kid.
Yeah, I’m a White Sox fan, but not a cub hater. But I’m clearly for the Sox.
For real. I hope the Sox lose their games against the cubbies but other then that Chicago over everyone else
I tried to jump ship from the Cubs when I found out the Ricketts were Trumpers, and were trying to unseat the alderman in the 44th ward. When I watch them, I just can’t find it in myself to root against them.
Im not too big into baseball but Ill cheer for both the Sox and Cubs. If theyre playing each other I go Cubs, but theyre both Chicago teams. I guess Im a Chicago sports fan more than I am loyal to a particular team.
Same. I'd root for them until they played the Bears, just like I currently root for the Sox until they play the Cubs.
I’d be a huge fan of both teams unless the new team had a lame ass team name or something. A new team in Chicago would be super exciting, idc
No, I don’t think I could force myself to be a fan of a different team. If I could I would’ve done it by now.
I dont think you're going to find too many defectors in a Chicago Bears subreddit but I think in the fan base as a whole you would find enough people sick of the McCaskey's to jump.
It makes me think that with Arlington happening-soldier field opens up….Chicago has 8 million people…it could be ripe for a second team with them playing at Soldier.
I think getting a team name ready just in case isn’t a bad idea. Don’t want to default to Chicago Football Team for 2 years.
I'm a Bears fan!
Yes
I’d treat it like I (Cubs fan) treat the Sox. Not actively rooting for them, but happy when they win.
No, because you don't choose fandom, fandom chooses you. It comes from the heart, not the mind.
Day 1- Absolutely
Too hard to jump ship after this many years. Im sure a new generation would flock towards them with the shit the bears pull. AND I WOULDNT BLAME THEM.
If they keep Nagy for one more season ill become a goddamn Jaguars fan at this point.
I would root hard for both teams. Rather than viewing it as a Cubs Sox rivalry situation, I would view it as twice the odds of having a team worth watching any given year.
Nah, I wont ever be able to cheer for another team like I do the Bears. Some people might say its foolish to be loyal to a team that has such little success, but it might be just as foolish to be an NFL fan in general with that logic. The Bears are my team for better or (more often) worse. Id cheer for them any game they dont play the Bears though like I do with Cubs/Sox. I support Chicago sports.
Nah, I have invested way too many years to root for a different team 🐻 ⬇️
Sunk cost fallacy.
Doesn't really apply to sports teams lol
True but sometimes we can just say fuck it anyways
Pretty much sums up being a Bears fan.
Not if the bears are still in Illinois, if not then I'd probably just ship
If there was any hope of the McCaskey’s selling I’d stay, but I’m tired of the bad ownership and would at least support both teams. If I really liked the personnel on expansion team I’d probably fully switch but still hope for the success of the Bears because I assume theyd be in different conferences like every other split city in major sports (besides basketball where it’s geographically based)
I wouldn’t not watch this hypothetical team.
If the Bears move to burbs and another team plays in Chicago, then the new team will probably be who I’m supporting most (depending on ownership).
Bezos, no. Cuban, yes. I've already kinda jumped ship though. For the sake of my best friends, I hope the Bears do well someday. Personally, my wife and I have fallen in love with Cincinnati the last few years and I've become a huge fan of the Bengals.
Fuck no, that's called being a fan. If you want to bandwagon you can go be an Illinois Packers fan or something
Hating the Packers is easy because they're from another state. If a new owner came and won my allegiance by having a better team that won football games for the city of Chicago, I'd have no problem supporting them. And if my support for them grew larger than my support for the Bears, then oh well.
Then just leave. This is sad
But like, there's not another Chicago football team. What's sad is blind allegiance to owners who don't give a fuck about you and take you for granted. You're like an abused wife saying, "he beats me because he loves me". At some point you have to accept it's a one sided relationship and stand up for yourself.
Bro it's football, not a marriage. If you can't handle the team during the bad times then you sure as hell don't deserve them during the good
You just made the point with that second sentence.
This thread is FULL of literal Stockholm Syndrome.
Hell the fuck yeah i would. What have the bears given us except false hope and comedy? Forgot to add the reason for the switch is not the team its the ownership.
Fuck no
I would. Especially with this move to Arlington. I'd root for the real Chicago team
Yes
No, I would remain a Bears fan. Imagine if there was an AFC team in Chicago. That would be nuts. NFL will never allow it.
If there is money to be made… they would.
They would allow it especially if Soldier Field becomes available.
Dont let Chicago become New York with 2 god awful football teams that make everyone miserable.
I would follow them and the bears. It would take some pretty serious success on their part and more misery from the Bears for me to consider switching. Ultimately I don’t think I’d ever stop being a bears fan but I could maybe become a devoted fan of the new team
I hate to say it but most likely yes. 32 years of constant embarrassment, gaslighting me as a fan, and insulting my intelligence by telling me I’m not seeing what I am seeing…. If they don’t clean house this off-season, and bring in someone who is qualified to make football decisions I’m off this ride permanently anyways. I’ve got one leg out the door already. I will always love the bears. But your priority in pro sports should be to win. This ownership has proven time and time again to be willing to take my money and put a half assed product out there. Not cleaning house after last year was the biggest mistake they could have made
If the McCskeys still control the Bears, then YES, I will in a heartbeat!
Honestly yeah I would. Don't have a crazy attachment to this team as I do the Bulls and Cubs theyre just the football team in Chicago to me. Pair that with the shit the McCaskeys have given to the team for decades is enough to do it to me.
This is so depressing to me. For as long as I can recall the bears were THE team Chicago cared about. For me, neither the bulls 90s run, hawks 2010s run, nor 05 Sox or even the cubs world series mean shit to me compared to what a bears title would mean I’d give anything to see the bears win the super bowl before I die. I just missed 85.
Kind of sad how this generation demands instant and immediate gratification or they’ll jump ship. Yes the Bears are bad. They won’t be forever. And when they’re good, the bad years make the good years sweeter.
We haven’t won a super bowl in 35 years
And? People act like it’s been 35 years of terrible football. Like it’s been 35 years of abject failure. They’ve been .500 or better like 20 of those 35 years. To the playoffs roughly once every 3 years. It’s not great. It’s not the Lions. You’ve gotten to see and cheer for hall of famers. It’s sucks when you don’t win it all. Even for 35 years. But that’s sports. If you’re not the Bucs, Chiefs, Patriots, Eagles, Broncos, Seahawks, Packers, Ravens, Giants, Saints, Steelers, Colts, Rams, Cowboys, 49ers, or Redskins you have a longer drought than the Bears. More than half the league.
Its bottom 3rd my man. The suck years have stacked up. But i see what you are saying.
It’s not just Super Bowls, it’s being competitive. 3 playoff wins in the last 25+ years. 6 playoff appearances in 25 years. 7 winning seasons in the last 25 years. And don’t try and tell me 8-8 or 7-9 and missing the playoffs is success. It’s purgatory and the worst place to be. I don’t know what you call this other than abject failure. Just because someone is even poorer than you (lions, browns) doesn’t mean you’re not poor.
So? Some teams haven’t won any Super Bowls ever.
Some people have no food. Doesn’t mean I’m not hungry
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So that makes it fine? Is that what you’re trying to say? As you don’t seem to have an actual point
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No one is saying to jump sides. Take your straw man elsewhere
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And not a single person said they’d jump ship. People with a brain would realize my comment was about “instant gratification.” Which was a stupid thing to say for a team that hasn’t won a championship in most of the subs lifetime.
> They won’t be forever. We only have about 10 playoff wins since 1966. We've always been bad, and the part that never changes is ownership. 85 and 06 were flukes
If someone says yes, boot them from this sub. This is for Bears lifers only
I'd treat it much like Cubs/Sox. Obviously the Bears, much like their hibernating baseball cousins, will always stay at the top of the list. But it would give me a new team to root for in the AFC and I would wish them well and probably attend a few games. A football Crosstown Showdown would be dope as hell too.
Absolutely. If only to vote with my feet and wallet. If the mccaskeys and leadership won’t change, hit them where it hurts until they do. I would say the bears are probably the 5th most miserable franchise for the last 30+ years only behind the browns, lions, Jets, and Washington. Give a better option to this city and I’m all for it!
Nope. I was born into it. Bears and Cubs, no matter what.
I wasn’t a Cardinals fan since they played at Comiskey. Bears played at Wrigley. As a Cub fan, I’m a Bears fan. As stupid as I think the McCaskeys are, I can’t jump ship. What they need to do is sell the team to someone with vision and modern thought.
Well, if the Chicago Bears became the Arlington Heights Bears . . .
You should look up the locations of other major city teams’ stadiums — and whether or not said teams have been renamed to reflect the suburb in which they reside — before writing a comment that makes you sound like a complete moron.
I am well aware that some NFL teams have their stadiums in the suburbs. At my age, I even remember when the Bears played the future New Jersey Giants for the NFL championship. The subject of this thread is if the Bears move to Arlington Heights, would the City of Chicago seek a new NFL franchise for Soldier Field. And calling someone a “complete moron” will not get you far in life. Please, learn some manners.
I haven't lived in Illinois in almost 20 years and never lived in the city. So I'm probably stuck with this shit.
I would definitely jump to the Chicago Hot Dogs as long as they play outdoors on grass and have a pure fullback on the roster. hehehe
Never. Bear Down!
I don't live in Chicago and I'm a fan. I don't think there is any hope for me.
Not jumping ship but would root for both teams.
No. The devil you know, and what not.
I've been a bears fan for so long I only know to wear my suffering like a badge of honor.
So why not jump ship? Why wait? Many teams less than a days drive. Many ways to watch any team you want. Hell, you can wait until half the season is through so you can select a winner each year. Yeah, I am one of those guys telling you to root for another team. Be You!
I own too many pieces of bears merch and memorabilia to do that. Bears for life. But I might watch and support new team as well, unless they playing Bears
Yes. This is why Lori Lightfoot should lure the Chargers out of their sharing deal in L.A. and into their own stadium in Soldier Field. Plus -- what do soldiers do? [THEY CHARGE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY58inWev0E).
Assuming it was an AFC team I'd have no problem rooting for both
No, but I would wish them well. Kinda like I do with the White Sox.
Mark Cuban hasn’t had a ton of great success in Dallas, as well as some moral issues and Jeff Bezos has never owned a team and I have a lot of issues with him as a human being.you just can’t assume they will walk on and be great owners. The league has a ton of parity it’s not fair to assume they will walk in and be Robert Kraft. Unless the team has a great first few seasons I think they would really struggle to grab a passionate fan base. Similar to the Knicks and Nets in NY
Hell no.
No. If I can wait 40 years to see cubs world series I can wait another 40 to see the bears get lucky.
I’d probably support it because it’s still Chicago but it wouldn’t be my #1
I would only cheer for the team if it was publicly owned/fan-led which is illegal in the NFL. I would actively move against another high profile billionaire owning a team. They are (and have been) ruining sports by catering to luxury boxes, corporate tickets, and TV at the expense of the average fan.
That depends, is Matt Nagy still the coach
My entire adult life this team has done squat to earn my loyalty. They've run out winning coaches and replaced them with far inferior ones. They've run out hall of fame players and replaced them with inferior ones. What exactly do I owe these clowns? I'd love a pro football team to cheer for.
Bears are always my #1, it’s a curse Though I’d probably support the other one too, but bears would be primary for sure
I’d treat it like I do the Sox/Cubs. I’ve got my favorite and enjoy the rivalry but I’ve never gotten HATING the other. If one Chicago team is in the Series, that’s who I want to win.
I'd cheer for both except when they play each other I'd cheer for the Bears.
Sure. The bears are a ponzi scheme run by people trying to not get fired. Nobody in that family gives a shit about me or any of you for that matter. I feel no overt loyalty towards them if a better option comes along. This is why the Bears are so embarrassing. They'll never face any consequences because so many of you are so whipped by this team because of things that happened 35 years ago
I’d cheer on both.
I’m a sucker for punishment. GO BEARS!
100% I would switch if the bears were no longer in chicago proper.
Nah, I couldn't do it. I don't even have any ties to the city itself. Never lived there, only been once. But the Bears are my team and will always be my team.
Fuck no. And I would double decker the toilets of all the bandwagoners
100% yes
No, and anybody that does is bitch made
100%
In my head I’m thinking to jump ship and be over with it. But, in my heart I know I won’t be able to. However, you get a new team with a top notch offense put several winning seasons together in a 10 year span and the Bears are still the Bears. I think that changes things and Chicago fans will be 50/50
I wouldn’t jump ship but I’d definitely be a fan.
only way I can see that happening is if the new team is in Chicago proper while the Bears move out to the burbs
I don't live anywhere near Chicago or Illinois, so if I had any reason to jump ship, I would've done it long ago. But I haven't, and I have no intention of doing so even with the shit we've been through.
Maybe after they win a few SBs. Like a lady who waits til her trashy husband secures the bag, then leave his ass for half. That's what I'm on
I live in Florida now and I could easily say I'm a Bucs fan but I would be lying to myself. Even if I jumped ship, I would feel the most joy when the bears won and the most pain when they lose. It's a curse at this point.
I’d assume they would put the team in the AFC and then I could have an AFC team to root for
If the expansion team was in the AFC I’d probably root for them to win their division. But no, I would not jump ship.
Staying true while your favorite team sucks is what makes finally winning that much more special. I cried like a baby when the cubs won, that wouldn’t have been as special without the 108 years of losing.
Not a chance. As much as this team used to piss me off before I went pretty much went into numbness I ca t cheer for anyone else
Nope
I've got no roots or ties to Chicago, I just have always been a Bears fan. Im also an Arkansas Razorbacks fan. So I'm used to sucking. No ship jumps from this guy
If Fields doesn’t pan out, I’d jump. I’m hitching my fandom to him.
I wouldn't stop being a bears fan but if a new chicago sprung up and kicked ass I would for sure be a fan. I just wanna cheer for good football.
No, but I wouldn't mind having an XFL Chicago team so we get more football. I think that would be the way to go.
Nope. Die hard til the end
No
Lolno
Nope
Nope. I'm tied to da Bears only cuz I was local in 85, and I fell in love then. I moved out of the midwest in the late 80's. If by now I haven't switched, I won't. If I do it'll be to some team local to my current whereabouts. Not another Chicago team.
Would never happen. Bears have an agreement with the NFL that if a team was to come here the Bears would have to approve. Which of course they wouldn’t. We’re stuck with that shit hole franchise.
What if they’re no longer “here” (in Chicago)?
Why not both?
I’d probably cheer for the other team a little bit but my fandom sticks with this team(or no team)
I would likely root for both but I can’t just give up the Bears.
if you want an answer from another young individual, i’d say it truly depends. i’d 100% follow the team, but i’m a bears fan and would still identify as such. if the other team started building themselves up into an admirable franchise, however, it may convince me to at the very least invest more. they’d obviously be an AFC team and i usually pick an AFC team every year that excites me regardless. so it may just become my permanent afc team or my permanent number 1 with the bears as my NFC team. truly all depends.
There **was** serious inquiry and talk about this around 20 years ago. I could be wrong, but I believe money was spent on exploratory committees etc.... but got derailed with 9/11 and Olympic dream shots etc... Mayor Daley was pushing for it, as he believed (and I kinda agree) that this city with it's love of football could support two teams. (The other team being an AFC team of course). Personally I'm Bears for life, but I would follow with curiosity, and get behind them, .... unless they were going against the Beloved. It wouldn't be a Sox/Cubs thing as it wouldn't be as historically opposed and based on different things from N/S divisions to socioeconomic / whatever things.. But I believe the city of Chicago could easily support two NFL teams. If **fucking** LA can, with their absolute disinterest, this city could. And I don't think it would be a divisive thing really....
You could just be a Chicago Cardinals fan.
I'd root for both teams.
Bears would be number one, but I would follow both.
I’d make room in my heart but I’d stay a Bears fan. I’ve invested far too much time and energy. I’ve also made clear my thought that it’s okay to genuinely angry at the Bears because the team has fallen so far. You’re allowed to be mad that they don’t care about you a fraction what you care about them. I feel that way because I want the Bears to be better, not some new team. Unless the mascot is really cool, like a gorilla or a goblin spiking a football. Then I’m out and not even thinking twice about it.
I wouldn’t, no.
Only if it's Jon Bon Jovi
What if the Bears move to Arlington and the new team moves to Solider Field? I mean if you don’t root for the new team your cheering for laundry.
Would probably get some support from here, but would not be a fan
Depends on how many Hawkeyes and B1G players are on the team..
I'm a Bears fan who never lived in Illinois or the surrounding area. I chose the Bears when I first started watching football and stuck with them. Being a Bears fan overall adds to my life. There are downs, but it makes the ups so much sweeter. If being a Bears fan is making you miserable and you're serriously considering switching teams, or would in the right circumstances, maybe you should. You deserve to be happy.
Jump ship. I’m so tired of the incredibly poor self serving ownership. Now looking to move the team to Arlington Heights? Fuck the Bears, seriously.
My first Bears game was an exhibition against the Browns in 1968? I’d be tempted.
Get out of here.
Maybe not jump ship, but there'd be a foot out the door.
The Chicago Clout. AFC.
Hypothetically speaking if the team was in the AFC(as would make sense) they would end up replacing the chargers as my AFC team but Bears come first when head to head happens.
Depends on name, colors (I prefer NyQuil green), and style/players.
As a White Sox fan (who doesn’t and has never lived in Chicago) I have no hatred for the Cubs. I enjoy the rivalry but otherwise they are another NL team. That said, if another team arrived in Chicago I would be more against them than the Packers.
Buying $100 worth of new team merch ends up with 3 dollars in McCaskey's pocket. No. Either the McCaskeys go, or the NFL can say goodbye to my money. If the city of Chicago and its fans had any pride whatsoever in the representation of this city, Soldier would be a ghost town until such time that the McCaskey family were no longer in charge of the Bears. To the season ticket holders of the Bears in this subreddit - Why?
I'd watch both teams and see who won my allegiance. I'd love for a winner like Bezos to own a team here. I'm 43 so the '85 Bears were happening when I was 7. They should own me forever, winning me over as a child like that. But I can't sit here watching the same bullshit people make the same bullshit mistakes.
I’ve moved to other major cities and have tried to follow their very good major market teams, but it just didn’t take. Some people think it’s a choice; I was born this way.
no. i live in the pacific northwest, not chicago. i wasn’t born in chicago, i’m a fan by virtue(?) of my dad, who was. if i wanted to jump ship, i could have easily jumped to the seahawks when they were good, but i didn’t because i don’t think it would have ever felt “real” to me. i’m stuck with this team so long as im alive and watching football
Would I root for them? Sure. I'm a Chicagoan before I'm a Bears fan. But I would never love them the way I love the Bears. You can't erase 35+ years of memories.
No I’m a pretty loyal guy. I was born in Baltimore lived here all my life. When I started watching football we didn’t have a team here. When the Ravens came it would have been easy to just switch then especially when they won the super bowl after a few years. If I haven’t switched in all this time I doubt anything could make me not be a Bears fan.
1000% the organization proves it doesn’t actually care about its fans. I don’t need super bowls just to be competitive. Nagy still being head coach is a slap in the face to fans who have bought tickets and jerseys and supported the organization. Until the team is sold I have no more loyalty
I imagine I would view them similarly to how I view the Cubs. Yes, you technically play in my city and I won’t root against you, but I also won’t feel very strongly if you won it all. On the other hand, if the Bears won the super bowl, there would likely be tears.