bigfan wrote:
I honestly don't think it would be a good thing for the Bears to do the show. Feel like it puts a little bit more of a target on their back if they get more hype.
The reason the McCaskeys dont want to do the show is because they all have a slight case of Aspergers and are just a socially awkward group of people that love the behind the scenes power of owning the Bears and getting the big checks. Without doing much else, such as something like Hard Knocks.
The entire organization has still never created anything to really bring back long time Chicago vets into the fold. So many ex players live in this city still, yet have zero affiliation with the Bears. yes, I know last year they did the 'Welcoem back Ditka thing" and I agree its a start.
An unwillingness to maximize the popularity of this team has plagued them for years and it all comes back to an inability to deal with people.
The Bears are the NFL's #1 market. Yes, NYC is a bigger market but the fan base gets split between teams. There is a reason this team is on National TV 5 times this year and I know the radio ratings for Bears games do better than any market.
All that and they play in the smallest stadium, which is rented! If that fact alone doesnt show you how inept the Mccaskeys are, I guess we dont see eye to eye on this one.
Half of NYC's tri-state area is still bigger than all of Chicago's, though it's not like the two teams there have anything approaching a 50/50 split. I can't argue with anything else you wrote (except maybe the entire McCaskey family being on the autism spectrum. Don't ascribe to autism what can be more readily ascribed to incompetence), particularly the folly of playing in a such a tiny dump of a stadium.
I can't see the Bears winding up with Hard Knocks either. While I know the NFL said they can foist it upon anyone they want now, I feel like the McClaskys still have too much juice with the league to let that happen. That kind of look at the Bears goes against the secretiveness, insularity, and low profile that to me really define the Chicago Bears.
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