Cousin Bink's Country Beer Jamboree

Volume 1, Issue 2
Second City of Weird

I'd like to start out with a warm birthday greeting to fellow blogger CTB. Enjoy it big fellow.

Chicago is a weird place. From a cow starting a fire that nearly destroyed the town to Donald Trump making a really big building, there are plenty of crazy stories in the history of the Second City, and sports is no different.

A couple days ago I heard a sports radio host talking about how hard it must be for Derrick Rose to grow in the NBA when in Chicago he will always be compared to THE greatest basketball player ever, Michael Jeffery Jordan. I mean his statue is outside the freaking stadium Rose plays in. Not a lot easier for Matt Forte or any other running back the Bears bring in, as the large shadow of Walter Payton still looms over Soldier Field. At least the Bulls made the best of things with Jordan, winning six titles. Meanwhile the Bears with Payton, and one of the greatest defenses of all time, were only able to win one damn Super Bowl.

It doesn't end with the Bulls and Bears. While the other 3 professional sports teams in Chicago (Sox, Cubs, and Blackhawks, for this discussion we'll leave out the Skye and Fire) have had plenty of great players none would really be called one of the top 5 of all-time in their sport like Jordan and Payton. The White Sox and Cubs, who together have played 210 baseball seasons since the advent of the World Series have won a measley 5. For you mathematical wizards out there that comes out to a whopping 2.3%. This is absolutely pathetic. The New York Yankees alone have 26. Hell the Florida Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks have 3 World Series victories in a combined 25 years. Whether a North Side Guy (Lou) or a South Side Guy (Ozzie) when looking at both franchises they certainly share ineptitude as well as the same city.

And now for all you hockey fans let's look at the Blackhawks. The Hawks, the mighty Blackhawks, have won three Stanley Cups, the last coming in 1960-61. 3 Cups is kind of disappointing considering they're one of the Original Six teams in the league going back to 1926. Again 3 out of 82 isn't too good, coming out to a staggering 3.6%.

What does all this mean? Not much, just that of the five teams in Chicago, four of them which are original franchises in their sport, the most successful would arguably be the one team that is only a mere 42 years old. Arguably because while the Bears do have 9 world championships, only 3 have come since the end of World War II, while the Bulls won 6 out 8 titles with a legit dynasty. As for which team will once again lead Chicago to greatness? I'm not making any bets, except for saying it probably won't be the Northsiders.