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Chapter 1: What sparked the discussion about the Bears moving to Hammond?
Rahimi Harrison-Grody. Bears tight end Cole Komet. Cole, welcome to the party, pal. Well, thanks for having me. I heard it was a big day, so naturally I dropped everything I had going on today.
You've complained a lot through the years about not being able to hear the score on the 670 AM dial when you're inevitably cruising around downtown. And now that we have an FM signal, Cole, you can now hear the score all day, all the time, all you want. You can hear all the Bears hot takes you want.
Well, that's perfect. I'll make sure I blast that in the locker room. Rahimi Harrison-Grody.
Chapter 2: What are the implications of the Bears advancing their stadium project?
Midday's Tindall 2. On 104.3 The Score. The Hammond Ham.
Rahimi Harrison-Grody. We are right now, as far as Stadium Saga is concerned... In the exact same place, I think, that we were when we left you on Friday. You having a good time over there? You're vibing a little bit right now to this music.
We're going to leave the door open because that's clearly what the Bears are doing because we got the initial statement from the Bears, and then we learned about the conversations happening between Kevin Warren and people here in Illinois, and I'm like, oh, so the door is really wide open.
I think so, yeah. And here are the bullet points. I always love having bullet points. And on Friday, the Bears voted to advance the stadium project in Hammond, Indiana. Arlington Heights, among others, expressed their disappointment. that the state didn't pass any legislation. As the mayor, Jim Tenaglia, said, quote, this is a fumble for the state of Illinois, close quote.
Illinois State Rep Cam Buckner, who is one of the original sponsors of the original bill. Talked to Kevin Warren on Friday saying that the Bears president committed to continuing discussions around an Illinois stadium, as Marshall Harris just alluded to.
When I sort of let this sink in, because the news broke at 11 o'clock right on our watch on Friday, so we were in full breaking news, come up with stuff on the fly, get information at the moment, and I thought we did a great job. When I had time to let it marinate with me,
Just the idea that if the Bears really are going to Indiana, like I had it in my head, what would it actually... I put myself in that mode. The Bears are going to Indiana. And it's been a while, but... It bothered the hell out of me. The idea that the Bears would leave this state, let alone the city, got to me, whereas it has been a while since it got to me. It just doesn't feel right.
And I know other places have done it, but I think that this is a different beast. This is a different animal. This is Chicago. This is the Bears, and we know how passionate the fan base is here. We're different. We just are. So that's one thing. The other thing, too, is... I went to a party on Saturday. It's graduation season, kids. And probably about 50 people. Great outdoor party. Wonderful.
And I would say that there were probably half of this party... was talking about the stadium stuff. I'm not just saying with me. I would overhear conversations. I got pulled into, obviously, a lot of the conversations. And these are all people from, this is St. Charles, so far western suburbs.
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Chapter 3: How do fans feel about the Bears potentially leaving Illinois?
There are people from all over the suburbs, a very suburban party I was at. Every one of them hates it. Hates it, hates it, hates it. Because there's a crowd. There is the crowd of, I don't care anymore. Just tell me when you know. I don't want to hear about it anymore. Like my mom, who probably turned off the radio before this segment started.
But then there is, and I had not been running in these circles as much, the don't you dare move out thing. of the state of Illinois. Don't you dare go to Indiana. That sucks. It's horrible. It freebases the whole thing. Except for the one couple, dear friends of mine that are from Whiting, Indiana, that were there, that all they wanted to hear was Indiana.
But I guess in the cross-section I was with, I hadn't realized in a while how much people actually do care because I've been hearing the don't care crowd so much.
Yeah, I think the don't care crowd is vocal for what we do on our text line, our phone calls.
And that's my influence, probably.
I think more people, way more people care than don't care. But I also think there's a segment of the population that cares and they do not want the Bears to leave, whether it's Soldier Field downtown or leave the state, either way. But they're like, the Bears are going to do what the Bears are going to do.
I think that's where I am personally, is understanding how this works, how it has worked in so many other places in this country, seeing teams leave their city of origin. There's a fair way to call it. Whether it's New York, the Giants and the Jets, whether it's Santa Clara as opposed to San Francisco. You can go Arlington as opposed to Dallas for Texas. There's a long list of places you can go.
And I think I'm just into the point where... I believe that most corporations, most businesses, especially billion-dollar businesses, and we're talking about an $8, $9 billion business here, are going to do what they can do to maximize profits being led by the league itself. That's why I've accepted it.
And so while I would love the Bears to stay within walking distance of where I live, because that's, let me be very clear, when I covered Bears games, I would walk home most of the time. I'd walk to and from. Uh-huh. I love that convenience.
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Chapter 4: What concerns do fans have regarding traffic and accessibility to a new stadium?
It's one of the most beautiful walks that I look forward to, especially after noon games, walking along the lake after a Bears game from Soldier Field.
But where we are with late-stage capitalism, with... the billionaires and not wanting to subsidize things for billionaires, I always figured they would just take the best deal or the deal that suits them best long-term, which I still believe is Arlington Heights if they get the tax certainty where they want it.
I don't know if they'll get there, but if they get the tax certainty, they're not going to Indiana. I don't think they want to go to Indiana, but they got to have a backup plan. You need a backup plan in life, and this is the Bears' backup plan, but I think we're a long way from putting those proverbial shovels into the ground.
Well, I hope so because I'm caring more now. I mean, it's a fluid situation for everybody. And look, I still think it's good that the Bears played that card. I've been urging them. You have that in your pocket. You must play it instead of doing what I thought the Bears were doing, and that was acting like they didn't seem to be moving forward in any way, shape, or form with Indiana. It's there.
Everybody knows that Indiana is ready and waiting, but they're not going through with the studies. They still don't know exactly which site it would be on. And there are a couple of clues other than what senators and representatives are saying right now that Kevin Warren is still leaving the door open and they're still willing to talk about Illinois.
Some of the evidence is just that, that they still need to do studies. They haven't announced the exact site. And then the biggest thing, I think... that is evidence that the Bears are still very, very, very interested in hearing what Illinois has to say, is that they're not talking about it. They released a statement.
If you really are making this triumphant, historic move for the Chicago Bears, you're holding a press conference, you're talking about shovels in the ground, you're answering the hard questions about Illinois, we had to do what we had to do, we're going, and they don't dare do that because they are not ready to, the Bears, to answer those questions because the door is still open for Illinois.
See? Back to Silksonic. Leave the door open. Leave the door open. That's what the Bears are doing. Yeah. I understand. And I'm glad, like you said, I'm glad they made... They did the vote. They made the announcement. One step closer. Illinois, what you got for us? Yeah. And if Illinois doesn't have anything for them, okay, go to Indiana.
If Illinois does have something for them, they'll stay in Illinois. Right. And my question for you is, because you said you're feeling more feelings now about them leaving... I am.
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Chapter 5: How does the Bears' situation compare to other teams' relocations?
No. Does it now feel untenable? Yes, at some point in time, you just can't be stupid about it. You know what I mean? You have to accept it is what it is. I love that land there. I love Soldier Field. I love the whole scene. And so I definitely wanted it to be Chicago, and Arlington Heights felt like a foreign country to me at the time. Now it feels like they got me now. You know what I mean?
Now they're like, okay, I'm willing to settle for Arlington Heights. Okay, okay, okay, okay. I'll do that. Just not Indiana.
The reason I brought up the question... is because I want you to remember that feeling and where you've come since you had that feeling. Because guess what?
Whether you like it or not, and this is for the majority of the people listening who have been complaining about this, whether they're tired of it or they don't want the Bears to leave, just like you got over it, so to speak, with Arlington Heights, you and everybody else who are Bears fans will get over Hammond, Indiana.
I think so, and I was literally saying that on Friday. That's how fast things change, and maybe I'm just going through an episode. Maybe I'm having an episode right now.
I think you went and hung out with a whole bunch of people who don't want the Bears to leave the state of Illinois, and it affected you, and that's natural and normal.
But I think if the Bears do, and I don't think they will, but if they do move to Hammond, Indiana, people will mourn, they will be angry, they will not be happy with it, and then Caleb Williams will go out there and do Caleb Williams things, and then they'll be back on board. Yeah.
Because the majority, stark, vast majority of the people we're talking about, the 3.1 million people who live in the Chicagoland area, that's just actually the city of Chicago, they ain't going to games anyway.
That's true.
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