Bears have beaten three likely playoff teams.

Getting to and from a Sox game is only easy because no one is there but it really isn't easier than getting to a Bears game. In fact, it is an almost identical route.

Concession prices are identical and the weather is really only unpleasant in December...just as the weather for April games suck.

Price is really the only factor.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Isn't price the deciding factor in most things? If the team is crap, the decision is easy.

but we are discussing convenience as the deciding factor

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Well if you are tailgating, which I assume most like to do, there is no way in hell you are taking public transportation. So scratch that. That leaves the exiting of Bears game in a car which is a royal pain in the ass. And the parking fees. So, I'm not sure how that is convenient. Especially when the team is crap.

GD, I think you're greatly oversimplifying the game day experience. First of all, parking. There is an annual lottery to get a parking pass, and there are years I got one and years I didn't. You can also end up in the dreaded underground garage, where, of course, you can't tailgate. Getting a South Lot pass is not guaranteed, which then sends you to the secondary market for $100 or so for a good weather game.

Secondly, it takes a great deal of time to get into and out of Soldier Field. This is simply logistics--there are not many entrances. As I stated before, the time commitment for a suburbanite is about 9 AM to 6 PM, door-to-door.

Inside the stadium, the bathroom experience and concession lines are still horrible--you can miss half of a quarter going to the john. Next time you watch on TV, watch how long it takes for the seats to fill up after halftime. That's not because people are enjoying a nice view from the colonnades, it's because (at least from the 400 level), you can't get down, get food, go to the bathroom, and get back up to your seats in less than 30 minutes.

That said, it's still can be a really fun day--tailgate, the game, singing the song when they score, etc., but it is a huge time commitment.

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1) You said the Sox are bad but still occasionally play a good game which makes it more palatable. So do the Bears.

2) You like the convenience of an empty stadium. Great. There are Metra trains that can drop you off next to Soldier. There are Pace busses that drop you off right next to the gate. There is an El stop at Roosevelt.

3) No, I want to compare December weather to April weather. I will compare an August night game to a September afternoon game.

4) We all like watching a good team.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

If you are making the 9 am to 6 pm door to door commitment, Soldier Field is in and out traffic. Get there at 11 and it is a pain. Get there at 10 and you barely tap the breaks.

The Sox and Bears is an inexact comparison because the Sox are an empty stadium. Compare it to the Cubs, which was filled even when they were bad. Get off at Addison one hour before first pitch and you have all the frustrations you do getting off LSD one hour before kickoff.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

No, compare the Cubs to the Bears because there is literally no affordable parking near either stadium.

1) The Bears occasionally play a good game. They haven't in month. When the Sox play like complete shit for 25% of their season, then you can talk.

2) Even the handful of times the Sox have a huge crowd, parking, bathroom lines, concession, etc are still way easier to deal with than at Solider Field. Public transportation is still easier getting a Sox game than a Bears game. I noticed you completely glossed over the driving and parking down at a Bears game. As I have stated, I can leave my house 2-2.5 hours before a Sox game, pay a reasonable fee, and park in Sox easy out lot. If I show up at 10am for a noon-kick Bears game, how much is it going to cost me to park and how far away from Soldier Field will I be?

3) This was your initial post; you attend white sox games on summer days and evenings. You said summer.

4) Have fun freezing and watching a terrible football game on Sunday.

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free to park at 31st and canal. its a canton neighborhood they are not going to break into your car. 10 minute walk to the cell.

Except it is going to be 47 and sunny. Brrrrr!

Show up at 10 am with your parking pass and it is $50 with in and out traffic.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I can park for $10 in Printer's Row, grab a Hackneys burger and get to the stadium in 20.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I lived in Printer's Row, that Hackey's sadly has been replaced.

That is the point. No parking pass and you're screwed.

Show up to a Sox game anytime-- even if its Opening Day or Cubs/Sox series-- and $20 gets you an easy out parking spot with no more than a 2-4 block walk to the park. That is impossible to do for a Bears game.

You have also completely ignored Heisenberg's comments on the 30-40 minute round trip to the bathrooms & concessions at Bears games.


For the $50 you pay to park at a Bears game, I can get a Sox ticket, pay to park, get a beer and a hotdog, and have little to no hassle walking around, getting in to or out of the stadium, and miss maybe a batter or two going to the bathroom.

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Its reopened as H. Same Hackney burger but I think it allows them to use the space as a bar at night.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

lol, the Hackney's in the city as simply "H." Too perfect.

My takeaway from this discussion is that some families are simply Bears Families and derive a great deal of enjoyment from the attendance of Bears games, and that's dolphin. I have gotten the impression here and there that the Soldier Field experience is a bit lacking compared to venues around the league, but I've never been to an NFL game, so I can't really say.

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Don't FarveFan me. I cannot address every nuance of every comment addressed to me when I am being addressed by multiple people at the same time.

I disagree with his assessment but maybe 300 and 400 sections have different experiences.

I believe you can park on the other side of the railroad at Soldier for $20 and is as close as walking over a bridge. But price isn't convenience.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Showing up at 10am with your parking pass is not some sort of subtle requirement. It completely changes the narrative. If you have pass, you're fine. If you don't, you're screwed. Pass or no pass, you can drive right in to a Sox lot.

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I don't argue that Soldier Field is some kind of transformative experience but it is a comfortable place to watch game.

I am going to the game in Detroit as I will be there on business and it is a Saturday game. I haven't been to any other NFL stadiums so I will see.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I'm not criticizing Chicago/Bears for the location of Soldier Field. It is what it is. It's better to have a stadium that convenient-ish to reach via multiple forms of transportation.

But it's location has drawbacks/tradeoffs compared to backwater cities like Green Bay, Cleveland or any college town. For myself, I consider the tailgate more important and the true star of attending a football game. We have a difference in preferences.

On a sold out day?

No.

You said you could leave your house 2-2.5 hours before the game. If I leave my house at 9:30 I am in the parking lot at 10.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Yes. I was at Opening Day a few years ago and had no problems parking at 12pm. I was at the Blackout game and had no issues parking about 90min before first pitch.

You are STILL missing the point. You are in the parking lot at 10 as long as you have your parking pass. You have to acquire said pass well before the game. If you do not have a pass, you must plan far ahead of time for parking and tailgating. Literally the only thing you have to do before driving to a Sox game is to put ice in your cooler and check the traffic report. Drive to lot, pay, park car. You cannot do this for a spur of the moment trip to a Bears game!

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Would it break your heart if the Bears were out near EGV and just had their own Foxboro-style suburban fiefdom? I still think Soldier Field is a terrific waste of the lakefront.

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I got free tickets to a game about a month ago at the last minute (like 9 AM the morning of the game). I didn't have a parking pass, so I was pretty much had to hunt for parking somewhere west of the stadium on the other side of the tracks. All the lots I saw between State St and Lake Shore Dr. were a minimum of $30, and the lots that allowed tailgating were even more (about $50-$60).

Getting into the stadium is also a complete joke regardless of any time you are arriving. You would think they could have alleviated the entry and exit issues when they remodeled the place, but I think it's even worse now.

We had club seats, like 4th row on the 40ish Yard Line. The seats are incredible for a football game, but football is still by far the worst sport to see in person. No matter where you sit, at least 50% of the action is going to be at a terrible view.

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I walked up to the blackout game and got a ticket and I cannot remember the last time opening day didn't have tickets available.

I guess I have to concede that an empty stadium is very convenient. You got me.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Ease and accessibility of games:

1.Sox
2.Bulls/Hawks
3.Cubs
4.Bears

You would have to pay me to attend a Bears game.

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No you didn't. Maybe you picked one up at will call, but that game sold out in advance real quick.

The Christmas Eve Bears Browns game will likely have a half empty Soldier Field, and it will still be a pain ass to get in and out of.....unless you have your special, $50 season ticket holder parking pass.

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Not at all. It does seem like Park District tries to maximize the use Soldier Field for what it is unlike JERRY!.!1 and the G-Rate. But totally agree that Soldier Field is a waste of prime lakefront.

Chicago isn't Green Bay or a college town where a football stadium is/needs to be the premier attraction.

More parking lots!

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!