Where's the most sports carzy area of Chicago (Lincoln, Atlanta: home, layoffs)

[MN55]

Are there any areas/neighborhoods where the entire place completely shuts down for Bears or Cubs games in Chicago?

I live in St. Paul where yes, the Vikings and Twins have a following, but when they're playing, outside of maybe seeing a few people walking around with jerseys, life generally just goes on as normal for most people. Heck, I'd say over half the people wouldn't even know a game is going on. Contrast this with Pittsburgh or Boston where during a Steelers or Red Sox game EVERYBODY is going crazy. Even when they're not playing, most people are talking about the teams. Go into a grocery store in Pittsburgh during the middle of a Steelers game and you'll literally be the only one there.

Anyways, I'm wondering if Chicago is more like the Twin Cities (or say Atlanta or Seattle) where sports are followed, but they aren't insane? Or is it more like Pittsburgh or Philly or Boston where everything seems to revolve around the teams? If the latter, what areas or neighborhoods would you describe as the most SPORTS CRAZY where all the bats and resteraunts seem to be jammed back with fans?

Just curious...

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by MN55

Are there any areas/neighborhoods where the entire place completely shuts down for Bears or Cubs games in Chicago?

I live in St. Paul where yes, the Vikings and Twins have a following, but when they're playing, outside of maybe seeing a few people walking around with jerseys, life generally just goes on as normal for most people. Heck, I'd say over half the people wouldn't even know a game is going on. Contrast this with Pittsburgh or Boston where during a Steelers or Red Sox game EVERYBODY is going crazy. Even when they're not playing, most people are talking about the teams. Go into a grocery store in Pittsburgh during the middle of a Steelers game and you'll literally be the only one there.

Anyways, I'm wondering if Chicago is more like the Twin Cities (or say Atlanta or Seattle) where sports are followed, but they aren't insane? Or is it more like Pittsburgh or Philly or Boston where everything seems to revolve around the teams? If the latter, what areas or neighborhoods would you describe as the most SPORTS CRAZY where all the bats and resteraunts seem to be jammed back with fans?

Just curious...

Lincoln Park and Lakeview come first to mind. You have a younger demographic, a lot of bars, and a lot of sports fans. Other than the area directly around Wrigley, I don't know if they "shut down" but the bars can get pretty crowded depending on the game and what's at stake.

[Avengerfire]

Lake View. (Cubs) No question. No other neighborhood in the city comes anywhere close to the high level of activity of it.

[long101]

Cubs are up there with one of the most popular baseball teams in the MLB, Sox obviously not as much but still have a good following in Chicago, Bears sell out every game, Bulls have had the best dynasty of all time, and currently the Hawks are the best team in the NHL and they once again have a huge fan base as they did a few years back. If this doesnt make us a huge sports city I dont know what does.

[Swandaddy]

The thing about here though is that there are SO MANY TEAMS to go around, so it makes for a completely different vibe than smaller sports cities like Pgh/StL/etc which are for the most part one trick ponies, with occasional flutterings of popularity when the other teams win (perfect example the St. Louis Rams in the Kurt Warner heyday vs today's Rams).

The Cubs Bears Bulls Hawks and Sox are all immensely popular, and then you add in the transplant population so every other bar in LP/Lakeview is a which-college-did-u-go-to-bar. So it feels like a sports potpourri. For example, a couple of years ago the Bears had a home game against some nobody team but the Steelers were playing a big game and I was wearing my Steelers jersey and some random person got confused and asked me if the Bears were playing the Steelers. Which I thought was kinda cool.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by MN55

Are there any areas/neighborhoods where the entire place completely shuts down for Bears or Cubs games in Chicago?

. Contrast this with Pittsburgh or Boston where during a Steelers or Red Sox game EVERYBODY is going crazy. Even when they're not playing, most people are talking about the teams. Go into a grocery store in Pittsburgh during the middle of a Steelers game and you'll literally be the only one there.

Anyways, I'm wondering if Chicago is more like the Twin Cities (or say Atlanta or Seattle) where sports are followed, but they aren't insane? Or is it more like Pittsburgh or Philly or Boston where everything seems to revolve around the teams? If the latter, what areas or neighborhoods would you describe as the most SPORTS CRAZY where all the bats and resteraunts seem to be jammed back with fans?

Just curious...

You're right about Pgh when it comes to the Steelers, but trust me, only when they are winning. I attended to Cubs games about 5 years ago when they had no chance of making the playoffs, and it was still a sellout. Likewise when I was at Fenway. Cubs and Sox fans are the best IMHO.

If I was young and could afford it, I'd live near Wrigley. What a great atmosphere.

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Lake View. (Cubs) No question. No other neighborhood in the city comes anywhere close to the high level of activity of it.

It's always struck me as odd that Lake View should be home to both Boystown and Cubs-related crap. It's like a blight in an otherwise pristine forest of hip gay culture.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by coldwine

It's always struck me as odd that Lake View should be home to both Boystown and Cubs-related crap. It's like a blight in an otherwise pristine forest of hip gay culture.

Well others would feel that "boystown" is the blight.

Lake View and Wrigley Field existed long before the gays were in the neighborhood.

[Copanut]

OMG, I was having a great time in gay neighborhood!!!