The Sporting News proclaimed Chicago the top sports town in the nation this summer, but that doesn’t mean there’s a monolithic fan base. We’ve got two baseball teams, and the only thing their fans agree on is how irksome it is that football dominates the talk shows and sports pages from the opening of training camp in July right on through the pennant race in September.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
The Cubs are the city’s favorite baseball team, and Wrigley Field, at Clark and Addison, is justifiably renowned as the most beautiful and inviting of big-league ballparks, but the Friendly Confines are considerably less friendly lately. The Cubs almost making the World Series in 2003 (they missed by five outs) raised fans’ expectations: ever since, the laughing flesh in the bleachers is still a debaucher’s paradise, but otherwise Wrigley isn’t as jolly as it used to be. Still, the Cubs continue to pack ’em in. Tickets need to be purchased soon after they go on sale, typically in February, via Web, phone, or box office, where they even run a bracelet lottery. Getting to Wrigley is easy on public transportation (and parking is limited), though the Red Line platform at Addison can get cramped. The bar scene around the park knows no off-season.
The Bulls are on the rise, with the addition of Ben Wallace to a young talent base, so tickets figure to be more in demand at the United Center (1901 W. Madison) this season. Bulls fans have suffered with the team since Michael Jordan’s first retirement and the end of an era in 1998, but they’ve had the memory of six titles and the greatest player in basketball history to console them. Look for a renewed intensity this season, on the floor and in the stands. The UC is accessible by bus–the 19 United Center Express (best bet on the way out) or the 20 Madison or 50 Damen lines–and the area is an up-and-comer for restaurants. Every visitor must pay homage to the Jordan statue on the east side of the arena.
The Major League Soccer Fire used to play at Soldier Field, but has exiled itself to the new Toyota Park in Bridgeview, just beyond the city limits at Harlem and 71st Street. The Globe Pub (1934 W. Irving Park) soccer bar offers bus service and PACE has an express bus from the end of the Orange Line at Midway Airport.
