The Indiana Bears?

[Guacamole]

Seriously? Indiana? I can't imagine....Will there be riots?

 

[tynimiller]

Being a northern Indiana resident I already deal enough with Bears fans LOL

Riots...nah, essentially our NW corner is a suburb of Chicago in most ways....high crime rate...tons of political issues....they'd feel at home LOL

 

[Magooch]

I wouldn't be too surprised to see it go through, but yeah, "The Region" is basically just Chicago East....

And of course, the plan has always been to leave Soldier Field (and by extension won't technically be in "Chicago" anymore either way). If it's not Indiana, they'll probably go through with the move to Arlington Heights.

Ironically Arlington Heights, while still in Illinois, is further from Soldier Field (30 miles) than the proposed site in Hammond, IN is (27 miles) lol

To be fair though a lot of fans come in from the north or west side of the city so it's moving the opposite direction for a lot of them. Coupled with the city traffic it makes a considerable commute to/from for gamedays. But technically speaking the Indiana site is "closer" than their proposed IL move

 

[rmontro]

They'll still be the Chicago Bears. I don't really see what the big deal is, lots of teams play outside the city they're named for. The Giants and Jets play in New Jersey. Northwest Indiana is basically part of Chicago anyway. I guess it would be upsetting if the Packers moved to Upper Michigan. But as an Indiana resident, I think it will be good for our state. Even though I can't stand the Bears.

 

[El Guapo]

The Bears will still suck no matter what state they are in

 

[Guacamole]

So they could be the Chicago Bears of Indiana

 

[tynimiller]

New York has I believe two teams in New Jersey no?

 

[Pkrjones]

The Bears in Arlington Hts. would've been fantastic for the suburbanites who actually attend & fund the Bears... but the Bears ownership completely botched negotiations. I'm guessing they'll fumble negotiations with Indiana, as well. Look for the Bears in Soldier Field for the next decade, with the Parks Dept. continuing their crap care of the painted dirt.

 

[El Guapo]

So they could be the Chicago Bears of Indiana

...or the team formerly known as the Chicago Bears.

 

[Poppa San]

Players get an income tax break moving to Indiana to play. If I recall hearing correctly, negotiations with the city to get out of the Soldier's Field lease included leaving the Chicago name out of the teams new moniker. How the new stadium and property taxes interacted in Chicago were a sticking point.

 

[milani]

Players get an income tax break moving to Indiana to play. If I recall hearing correctly, negotiations with the city to get out of the Soldier's Field lease included leaving the Chicago name out of the teams new moniker. How the new stadium and property taxes interacted in Chicago were a sticking point.

Maybe instead of using " Bear Down Chicago Bears " as their theme song the organization can switch it to " Indiana Wants Me. "

 

[rmontro]

Maybe instead of using " Bear Down Chicago Bears " as their theme song the organization can switch it to " Indiana Wants Me. "

It could be their "Roll Out the Barrel".

 

[Calebs Revenge]

Sup y'all,
Anyways..... cash is king when it comes to manipulating the cap in today's NFL and Chicago is worse than broke there in debt to their eyeballs with corrupt politicians meanwhile, Indiana is about 2 billion in the black so moving to Indiana will increase the franchise as wealth by about 20% day, one on taxes and incentives alone, we're gonna be the Chicago Bears brought to you by Hammond Indiana....
Cash rules everything around me.

 

[milani]

Sup y'all,
Anyways..... cash is king when it comes to manipulating the cap in today's NFL and Chicago is worse than broke there in debt to their eyeballs with corrupt politicians meanwhile, Indiana is about 2 billion in the black so moving to Indiana will increase the franchise as wealth by about 20% day, one on taxes and incentives alone, we're gonna be the Chicago Bears brought to you by Hammond Indiana....
Cash rules everything around me.

They are still the Bears and still have Halas looking lovingly down upon them.

 

[gopkrs]

Down or up?

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Sup y'all,
Anyways..... cash is king when it comes to manipulating the cap in today's NFL and Chicago is worse than broke there in debt to their eyeballs with corrupt politicians meanwhile, Indiana is about 2 billion in the black so moving to Indiana will increase the franchise as wealth by about 20% day, one on taxes and incentives alone, we're gonna be the Chicago Bears brought to you by Hammond Indiana....
Cash rules everything around me.

So I have seen polls saying 50% of Bear fans will stop following them if they move out of State. How accurate do you as a Bear fan think that is?

If the Packers moved to Iowa, I would probably lose some interest right away and overtime, probably stop watching them and the NFL all together.

 

[rmontro]

If the Packers moved to Iowa, I would probably lose some interest right away and overtime, probably stop watching them and the NFL all together.

That's in no way an accurate analogy of what's going on though. Chicago is right on the border of Indiana, and really northwest Indiana might as well be basically part of Chicago. Green Bay is nowhere near a state border, so there is no comparable situation. A more correct analogy would be if the Packers were based in Marinette, WI, and decided to play their games at a stadium in Menominee, Upper Michigan. You could wave to your neighbor in the next state. I just don't see it as a big deal.

I call BS on half the Bears fans not following them anymore if they move to Hammond. If they do move, it would actually be a shorter drive for a lot of Chicagoans.

 

[Pkrjones]

I call BS on half the Bears fans not following them anymore if they move to Hammond. If they do move, it would actually be a shorter drive for a lot of Chicagoans.

I agree that da' Bears won't lose 1/2 of their fanbase. This is the same fan base that, year after year, support the White Sox & Cubs.

Both Chicago & Arlington Hts. politicians played hardball rather than actually negotiate with the Bears... allowing Hammond IN to undercut them. Arlington Hts. would've been ideal, as the western burbs & MUCH easier freeway(tollway) access, as well as hotel/restaurant/parking would have bolstered their revenue stream... but idiot politicians thought they held ALL of the cards.

 

[gopkrs]

I stuck with theBraves until all the players were gone

 

[milani]

So I have seen polls saying 50% of Bear fans will stop following them if they move out of State. How accurate do you as a Bear fan think that is?

If the Packers moved to Iowa, I would probably lose some interest right away and overtime, probably stop watching them and the NFL all together.

If the Packers moved to Iowa I could go to every game. LOL!!!

 

[milani]

I agree that da' Bears won't lose 1/2 of their fanbase. This is the same fan base that, year after year, support the White Sox & Cubs.

Both Chicago & Arlington Hts. politicians played hardball rather than actually negotiate with the Bears... allowing Hammond IN to undercut them. Arlington Hts. would've been ideal, as the western burbs & MUCH easier freeway(tollway) access, as well as hotel/restaurant/parking would have bolstered their revenue stream... but idiot politicians thought they held ALL of the cards.

How was it when the Giants abandoned Yankee Stadium and the Jets left Shea? Did they both actually play in Jersey at the Meadowlands?

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

If the Packers moved to Iowa I could go to every game. LOL!!!

If it wasn't for those pesky restraining orders, so could I!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

That's in no way an accurate analogy of what's going on though. Chicago is right on the border of Indiana, and really northwest Indiana might as well be basically part of Chicago. Green Bay is nowhere near a state border, so there is no comparable situation. A more correct analogy would be if the Packers were based in Marinette, WI, and decided to play their games at a stadium in Menominee, Upper Michigan. You could wave to your neighbor in the next state. I just don't see it as a big deal.

I call BS on half the Bears fans not following them anymore if they move to Hammond. If they do move, it would actually be a shorter drive for a lot of Chicagoans.

So when the NFL expands and Chicago gets another team, what then?

Short term, I agree with you. Bears fans would have nobody to get behind, but the Hammond Bears. But the importance of a team playing in your home state is there, at least for me. If I moved to N. Beloit, I would remain a Packer Fan, but if I moved to S. Beloit (in Illinois) who knows what team my kids would root for. If they go to a school with mostly Bear fans, they might cave.

 

[gopkrs]

Man, didn't they just improve their stadium?

 

[rmontro]

So when the NFL expands and Chicago gets another team, what then?

Short term, I agree with you. Bears fans would have nobody to get behind, but the Hammond Bears. But the importance of a team playing in your home state is there, at least for me. If I moved to N. Beloit, I would remain a Packer Fan, but if I moved to S. Beloit (in Illinois) who knows what team my kids would root for. If they go to a school with mostly Bear fans, they might cave.

Funny you mention Beloit, I was thinking about using it as an example instead of Marinette/Menominee.
Chicago could get another team, they're a big city, but if so that would probably happen whether they move to Hammond or not. I hope not, there are too many teams now. More teams just means you might win a Super Bowl every 50 years. Anyway, they're still the Chicago Bears. As for kids, you can't control them anyway, they have a mind of their own.