The city of Chicago has a lot of things that it’s known for including the bean, the sky scrapers, and many more things. One of the more iconic things are the local sports teams that many locals are die-hard fans for. Chicago has one of the biggest fan bases in all sports, and there has been plenty of success in almost all of the different franchises and teams for a variety of sports. Some of the notable popular teams Chicago has to offer are both the Cubs and the White sox, football with the Bears, hockey with the Blackhawks, and basketball with the Bulls. All these teams have achieved success at one point or another but something that has been a constant in Chicago sports is the culture of grit shown by each team. On top of that, the fans are known for being there for their teams through the thick and thin and the highs and lows.

Cubs:

  The Chicago Cubs are one of the Chicago teams that didn’t have much success up until six years ago in 2016 when they were finally able to win the World Series after a 107-year drought. For this season they are expected to have an underwhelming year due to dismantling many of their star players last year. Although they don’t have high expectations this year, they had some notable off-season signings. Some of which include the signing of star player from Japan, Seiya Suzuki. The Cubs also added pitcher Marcus Stroman who has had a good career up until this point. Aldo Soto from Sports Mockery says Stroman “was by far the biggest move made by the Cubs prior to the lockout”.

White Sox:

  Unlike the Cubs, the White Sox are expected to have a good year. A star player heading into the year is Luis Robert who has been unbelievable for his few years on the White Sox so far. Some other stars include catcher Yasmani Grandal who is one of the best catchers in baseball, and amazing closing pitcher Liam Hendricks who made his second all-star game last season. After making the playoffs last year but getting eliminated in a disappointing fashion, they are hoping to have a bounce-back year and make it back to the playoffs with hopes of advancing farther.

Bears:

  The Bears are one of the Chicago sports teams that have made the playoffs a few times recently but they just can’t seem to win in the playoffs. According to Alyssa Barbieri from the BearWire, “The Bears now hold the sixth-longest drought for playoff wins” with the last playoff win coming in 2010. Despite the struggles that the Bears have had, there have been front office changes and added player personnel that have given fans newfound hope. First, the Bears hired new general manager Ryan Poles and new head coach Matt Eberflus, who is the former Colts defensive coordinator. The Bears also have quarterback Justin Fields, who the franchise has high hopes for. With new additions to the Bear’s leadership come new expectations. One of those things Ryan Poles emphasized is that he doesn’t ”want to get away from bringing the right type of players in and really setting that culture and making sure the core is strong and guys are motivated, [and] they’re playing hard but they’re playing together.” This is a good sign for the fans because it seems like Poles has his priorities straight for putting the team back onto the right path.

Blackhawks:

  This year has been a big disappointment for the Blackhawks, despite having a few solid players in Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. Although the team has had plenty of success in its history as a franchise, with six total Stanley Cups it has been quite a few years since making it anywhere deep into the playoffs. It seems like the fans of the Blackhawks are in for a few years of rebuilding, and hopefully the team can reach a higher level of hockey in future seasons.

Bulls:

  The Bulls started this season with things looking bright. Players such as Chicago native Ayo Dosunmo being drafted by the Bulls excited fans, and other players like Demar Derozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso were picked up in free agency. On top of that, the Bulls already had all-star player Zach Lavine. After starting the season super well and being ranked second in the Eastern Conference during the all-star game break, things went somewhat downhill. This happened because of injuries to some of our best and most promising players. One of those players was Patrick Williams who was drafted in the 2020 draft out of Florida State. He dislocated his wrist early in the season after a scary fall, and according to Julia Poe from the Chicago Tribune, “Williams is determined to make sure the injury is remembered only as a small setback”. This is good news to hear for fans of the team because he is one of the building blocks of the franchise’s future. The Bulls ended up making the playoffs for the first time in a few years, but lost in the first round series to the defending NBA champions Milwaukee Bucks in five games. Although the season ended in the first round of the playoffs, fans should be hopeful moving forward.