The Chicago Bears in Indiana? What are we doing here?
Pardon my rant ...
The Chicago Bears in Indiana?
The pride and joy of Illinois … in Indiana?
You kidding me?
What’s this world coming to?
As reported by CHGO’s Adam Hoge, who’s been all over this story, the Bears will commit $2 billion to building a stadium in Hammond, Ind., located in the Northwest part of the state, not all that far from the city’s border.
It will probably be easier to get to than Soldier Field for a majority of the fan base that regularly attends games.
That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t mean that it should happen.
Far from it.
Surely, we will hear in the coming days from the concerned parties about what a benefit this will be for the franchise and its fans, about how the economics make sense for them and blah … blah … blah.
I don’t care. You don’t care.
And let’s face it: The people making these decisions don’t care.
Look, this is a college football-focused website. When relevant, we dip into the high school ranks. We may be based in Chicago, but we try to show no bias. And for what it’s worth, I’m a Giants fan and my in-laws, Southside Chicago natives, are Packers fans who loathe the Bears. So I have no dog in this fight.
But this story is relevant on a larger sports scale, and particularly in the college space.
If I can sound like an old man for a second, the idea of the Chicago Bears playing their home games in Indiana is emblematic of what sports has become.
It’s like asking people in the Mid-American Conference, as I did this past week, why in the world the conference is adding Sacramento State — and all, to a man, answering with some version of: “Why wouldn’t we? We’re getting their money.”
How many folks in sports are currently mercenaries who care only about making the most amount of money possible in the shortest period of time, without worrying about the long-term impact that that line of thinking has on the constituents who ultimately make these teams and schools what they are.
These are public trusts, after all. The Bears are special because of everything that has happened in the history of the charter franchise of the NFL, not because of anything that Kevin Warren or Ted Phillips before him are doing.
Is it any wonder that 16 of the Big Ten’s 18 presidents were so gung-ho about signing a 20-year private capital deal? It’s a cash infusion for places that need more cash, and not a single person responsible for it will be in his or her same position to answer for the deal in Year 20.
What’s the long-term impact of the Chicago Bears not playing in Chicago? And yes, while you can count me as one of the folks who believe that teams should play in the cities that they are representing, I would have been fine, given the circumstances, with the Bears in Arlington Heights. It’s within state borders, there’s a lot of land to be had and the non-football events there would be great for the state of Illinois.
Now Indiana looks to be the beneficiary of all of that, for some Godforsaken reason.
I know, I know: You’re a New York Giants fan, Matt. Don’t you realize that they play in New Jersey?
Sure, but the relationship between those states has always been symbiotic. They are hosting the World Cup together. They share a regional transportation authority (Port Authority). And the sport of football, by my rough estimation, is 100 times more important at the grassroots level in New Jersey than it is in New York City.
This? The Chicago Bears in Indiana?
C’mon.
It’s the same line of thinking that allows a school like USC to join the Big Ten … and then complain about Big Ten travel … and then complain about Big Ten schedule strength … and then become responsible for canceling the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football with Notre Dame.
Who’s better for all of that? The idea of West Coast football, viewed through the lens of a regional entity, is dead as we know it.
Lincoln Riley isn’t responsible for USC’s move to the Big Ten — in fact, I doubt he would have left Oklahoma for USC had he known that the conference move was coming — but he has sure become the avatar of all that has gone sideways for the Trojans since leaving the Pac-12.
After losing the Alamo Bowl, he said: “I really believe a window here has opened up that’s taken a lot of effort by a lot of people, a lot of commitment by a lot of people. Four fun, but really challenging years to get it open, and it’s open now.”
Hear that, Trojans fans? It’s taken four whole years for your team, a college football blueblood, to finally be in position to compete at the standard you expect from the program.
How long did it take Curt Cignetti to open that window at Indiana, by the way?
Then again, Indiana is a football state. Just ask its newest tenant, the Chicago Bears.
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Me neither. There is plenty of blame to go around.
I absolutely hate this for Bears fans. I understand the city not wanting to pay for a Stadium, but for the Arlington Heights project not to work out and the team winds up in Indiana is a disaster.