For the first time in a while, people are optimistic about the Chicago Bears. They drafted quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze in the first round, and have made many other additions over the past couple of years that have the future looking bright.
There is some caution when talking about them because of how things went the last time they rebuilt around a first-round quarterback. Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields both failed, and the regime that brought both of them in is gone. The Bears have gone about it differently this time — building a strong foundation for a rookie QB — which gives more optimism that it could work this time.
When looking at the overall landscape of sports in Chicago, it isn’t very bright. There is a lot of darkness hovering over the teams that call “The Windy City” home. Honestly, the Bears appear to have the brightest future.
The Chicago White Sox are the worst team in the MLB. At 21-58, they are 30.0 games out of first place and 21.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. There is no future there right now and things are only going to get worse before things get better.
On the other side of town, the Chicago Cubs had a nice start to the season, which lined up with the spring training MLB predictions. The problem is that they have almost been as bad as the White Sox since the start of May. At 37-41, they are 2.0 games out of a wild card position. They currently sit in fourth place in the NL Central and are 8.0 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.
The Chicago Sky made two brilliant first-round picks in 2024 with Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. However, it is going to be a while before they are back in contention for the WNBA title. Their future isn’t as bleak as others in town, but they have a long way to go.
On the West Side, where the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks reside, there are two different situations. The Bulls are almost as bad overall as the White Sox, which makes sense because they share an owner. Instead of making solid trades during the season for a better return, they tried to make the playoffs, which was a failure as well. Now, they will suffer the consequences.
The Blackhawks, like the Sky, have a nice young foundation being built around Connor Bedard. However, it is going to be a long time before they are competing for the Stanley Cup again. Out of all the teams in Chicago, the Blackhawks might be the closest to the Bears in terms of overall optimism.
The Bears are going to save everyone in town when it comes to their sports fandom. They still have a lot to work on when it comes to the on-field play, but they are on the right track. With the way Williams played at USC and Oklahoma, it is hard to see him not leading Chicago to where they want to go. Hopefully, this all works out well and they do start competing for championships.