Pop quiz. What do Chicago and Arlington Heights have in common? Well, let’s see. Both are collateral in the stubborn stadium hustle of the Bears, often identified as a professional football team.
And this just in. Both are in Cook County.
The significance of this latest revelation may be lost on preschoolers and a nation that does not care, but it is now the core justification for a move of the Bears to the suburbs.
We have Bears president Kevin Warren to thank for pointing out the obvious, though, honestly being relatively new to the area, he may have been geographically unaware.
Living myself near the dividing line of Cook and Lake counties I am not always certain which one I am in, although I do know that I am not in Chicago. And I do have the handy divider of Lake Cook Road to keep me alert.
So what’s the big deal where the Bears play and by what name? By actual verifiable count, 10 of the 32 NFL teams do not play in the city that bears (no pun intended) their name. This does not include New England and Arizona, those GPS outliers.
Adding up the distances from downtowns to stadiums some 130 miles must be traveled to get a seat. The longest distance is 43 miles in Santa Clara, California, where the 49ers stubbornly refuse to change their name.
The Cowboys are 20 miles from Dallas, the Dolphins18 miles from Miami and two Los Angeles teams are 12 miles from LA.
Most notable of all the misplaced teams are the Giants and Jets, not even in the same state, never mind the same county. No one has ever boasted that you can see Manhattan from Bergen County. Nor is it necessary to sort out which Rutherford is east and which is west. The NFL tries not to notice and fans still show up on game day.
Putting my own mileage marker to the local task, I found that the Arlington site for the Bears is 35 miles from the lakefront, though I did get turned around in Des Plaines, so maybe it is a bit shorter.
Making the same trip from home to Soldier Field is roughly the same distance for me so the whole question of where the Bears play is a push.
This political pickle ball between city and suburbs has been well documented over the last year and half or so, and the favorite depends on the whim or the audience.
To quote Warren, the official speaker who speaks out of both sides of his mouth, “We’re putting our energy to downtown Chicago.”
That was said a few months ago, accompanied by full-color charts, lakefront renditions and a sound movie with subtitles. It was an impressive and convincing presentation.
Offered chairman George McCaskey proudly, “No other sports team embodies the character of the city it represents better than the Bears and Chicago.”
“This city,” said Warren, “has the intellectual capabilities, the heart, the passion, the foresight, the wisdom and the vision to do big things.”
I am not saying all of this is not true of the rest of Cook County, or of any of the 13 counties in Chicagoland (a possible name for a relocated Bears team), but more important now might be plenty of parking and “a train station that drops off right there.”
Plus, Warren suggests a “blindfold test,” for doubters. Enter the new stadium with a blindfold, take the blindfold off and “he’ll be able to tell he’s in Chicago.” No biggie. If he’s blindfolded at the corner of Madison and Wells he knows he is in Chicago.
This latest toggle in the stadium game came during the Bills preseason meeting at Soldier Field where Warren was allowed to inform an indifferent TV audience that the Bears “have a beautiful piece of land we now have to bring to reality.”
Sounds like lakefront no, strip malls, yes.
Well, good luck with all that. Good luck with the Illinois legislature and with whatever other barriers remain, public funding being the most serious consideration.
Something will get done eventually or Chicago isn’t in Cook County, and we have the Bears’ word that it is.