Good job by the crowd!!!

[azbearsfan]

They had the clown packers false starting all over the place!!!!!!!!

 

 

[bowlingtwig]

They had the clown packers false starting all over the place!!!!!!!!

I thought that was Peppers. He had them shitting themselves.

[GrizzlyBear]

Yeah it was always on the side of Peppers, At least from what I saw.

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

I try.

[Connorbear]

Yeah it was always on the side of Peppers, At least from what I saw.

I was there and I have heard the crowd alot louder. It was Peppers. He caused multiple penalties tonight.

 

Peace

[balta1701-A]

I was there and I have heard the crowd alot louder. It was Peppers. He caused multiple penalties tonight.

 

Peace

But...there was a reason that there was a surge of them when the Pack were trapped inside the 10.

[bowlingtwig]

But...there was a reason that there was a surge of them when the Pack were trapped inside the 10.

Hell yeah, that was great work by the crowd. Rodgers said after the game that is was so loud that he was screaming to get the play in.

[madlithuanian]

So true! The place erupted after Hester's return!

 

Hell, I erupted at home!

 

They had the clown packers false starting all over the place!!!!!!!!

 

[madlithuanian]

It did sound loud for hester though!

 

I was there and I have heard the crowd alot louder. It was Peppers. He caused multiple penalties tonight.

 

Peace

 

[Connorbear]

Playoff games are much, much louder.

 

Peace

[madlithuanian]

I'd certianly hope so!

 

Playoff games are much, much louder.

 

Peace

 

[Controlled Chaos]

Speaking of crowd...any one hear about the Nick Collins altercation. Sounds like more Milton Bradley crap to me. I don't see how any fan can get away with calling someone the N word with people all around them. People don't stand for that. You may have 1 racist asshole in the bunch, but there would be 20 others around him that wouldn't stand for it and we'd be hearing from them. It just seems that the N word is the ultimate defense, because if thats what sets you off you're excused for your behavior and players know that.

 

Now if this guy really spit on him and used a racial slur, I'd be all for Collins knocking him out. I'm just not convinced and there needs to be more that just Collins word here. Why only Collins? The majority of the team is black. Why didn't the fan say anything to any other player? Hell the majority of the league is black...if you're a racist, why the hell you watching?

 

 

[flea]

So true! The place erupted after Hester's return!

 

Hell, I erupted at home!

 

 

I erupted silently LOL

 

well it was 4.30am with all asleep

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

Connor- I don't know, man. We've both been STH's for awhile and that was the loudest since that Tampa game in '07 or '08 where some players fought. I don't remember it being that loud for the divisional game vs Seattle or for the NFC vs NO either. The way I look at it- it should be louder in fall because clapping hands, skin on skin, is louder than gloves on gloves.

 

BTW- why the hell did the McCaskey's renovate the place in '03 and make it the smallest capacity in football? I'd take 10-15k more people yelling.

[LT2_3]

BTW- why the hell did the McCaskey's renovate the place in '03 and make it the smallest capacity in football? I'd take 10-15k more people yelling.

 

Really? You don't know the history of Soldier Field? Here you go.....

 

On September 29, 2003, the much maligned "new stadium at" Soldier Field will open with fanfare when the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. Love the new stadium or hate it-and there are plenty of denizens in each of those camps-Chicago will have its first new football venue in its history. Those that feel the stadium looks strange should know the story behind its creation is equally eccentric.

Soldier Field was built in 1924 as a public, multipurpose sports venue, and was originally named Municipal Grant Park Stadium. Soon thereafter, its name was changed to honor American military personnel that fought in World War I. The building played host to a wide variety of sporting events from its construction until 2001. Those events included the 1927 Dempsey-Tunney boxing match, ski-jump competitions, religious festivals, concerts, world cup soccer, and 41 college football all-star games.

 

The Chicago Bears began playing their games full-time at Wrigley Field (then known as Cubs Park) in 1921, and continued to play there for 49 years. In 1970, the National Football League ruled that all teams must play in stadiums that seated more than 50,000 fans, and the Bears were forced to find a new home. After losing a bid to move to Northwestern University's Dyche Stadium, the Bears' new den became Soldier Field on September 19, 1971.

To Bears' owner George Halas, Soldier Field was never intended to be a permanent home. 47 years had taken its toll on the structure, and no significant renovations were done for the team before it moved in. Additionally, the stadium was designed for a plethora of different events but was not perfect for professional football.

 

Though it was not lamented during the era of aging and multipurpose baseball/football stadiums, Soldier Field's "sightlines" were poor. Because the stadium's seating areas rose at a low pitch, fans were taken farther away from the action as the seats rose. This configuration also contributed to crowd noise leaving the stadium. These problems would linger throughout the organization's search for a new home.

During the 1970s, after Halas announced the team would look into building a stadium in suburban Arlington Heights, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley stated the team would need to change their name to the "Arlington Heights Bears," should they move to the suburbs. In his book Chicago's Cubs, author Jonathan Alter captured the discussion:

 

"I think that's fine, George. You're a businessman. Do what you have to do. By the way, our lawyers say you can't take the name Chicago with you out there. We'd have to take you to court. That could take years. I wonder how many people will come out to see The Arlington Heights Bears? I wonder how excited the network people will be about broadcasting The Arlington Heights Bears? You're a fine businessman, George. You make the call."

 

In 1978, the team and the Chicago Park District, which owned and operated Soldier Field, reached an agreement. In exchange for a 20-year lease from the Bears, Soldier Field would be renovated over the course of the following three seasons. Individual seats replaced benches, the stadium was reconfigured into a bowl from a horseshoe, and new skyboxes, press boxes, concession areas and restrooms were constructed. These renovations were completed prior to the 1982 season. Although the stadium was much more functional than it was prior to these upgrades, terms of the lease agreement would haunt the team and drive it along its path to finding an alternative to the then-55 year old building.

 

Stadium peace lasted from the completion of Soldier Field renovations through the Bears' remarkable 1985 Super Bowl run. Just a few years after the new lease was signed, however, a new motivator for a redesigned Bears stadium came into play. That force was the almighty dollar. During the late 1980's, teams that built skyboxes and negotiated leases which allowed them to share concession, parking and advertising revenues found financial windfalls, while teams that did not fell short. The Bears' lease with the Chicago Park District gave them only a portion of the revenues from concessions, and none from parking or signage within the stadium. As other teams maximized these revenue streams, those without begged for renegotiations of leases or for new stadiums.

Thus began a full 13 years of stadium talk in Chicago. In 1986, Chicago business organizations proposed building a new Bears stadium south of Soldier Field, and in late 1989, Chicago heard its first utterance of the word "McDome."

 

McDome was a proposal for a new domed Bears stadium, similar in style to those built in Indianapolis, Minnesota and Detroit. (One of these stadiums is now vacant, the other two have very unhappy tenants and visitors). The dome was proposed to the Illinois Legislature as a part of the McCormick Place expansion plan. Bears President Michael McCaskey aligned with Governor Jim Edgar on the proposal, but the plan was rejected by the Illinois Legislature in late 1990. Although it's safe to say the vast majority of Bears fans were relieved to learn the team would not be playing indoors, McCaskey was disappointed, and for the first time indicated that the organization would consider all alternatives, including relocation, to acquire a new stadium.

 

1991-1994 was quiet on the new stadium/relocation front, although Daley did propose further renovations, including installation of a jumbo video scoreboard, in 1992. In exchange, the team would need to sign a lease extension. The proposed renovations were pulled off the table by Daley after the firing of Mike Ditka on January 5, 1993.

 

In 1995, the Bears organization, led by McCaskey, came out firing. McCaskey announced that the team planned on beginning the 2000 season in a new stadium at any cost. "If time slips away on this, we'll have to consider other alternatives," McCaskey said as he imposed a deadline at the end of 1995 to come to resolution on the issue. The team president didn't wait long to make his first announcement. Early that year, the Bears purchased options on land in suburban Hoffman Estates and Aurora, and proposed that a $285 million open-air stadium be constructed. That figure would require $185 million in public funds; the issue would never be brought to the legislature for a vote.

 

In a more striking development, McCaskey announced in September of that year that he and a group of Northwest Indiana developers had come to an agreement to build an entertainment complex called "Planet Park," which would include a new Bears stadium, in Gary, IN. A month later, Daley responded to the Bears with an offer to spend $156 million to completely renovate Soldier Field. The construction would be completed during the offseason in 1998, would drop the field 18 feet and create an upper deck, add skyboxes, a scoreboard and an exclusive restaurant. While McCaskey called the proposal a "more thorough plan than we expected," he also stated that he "didn't think renovating Soldier Field will be the answer."

 

McCaskey missed his self-imposed deadline at the end of 1995 for having a new stadium plan in place. In December he dismissed Daley's stadium proposal, asked Edgar to reconsider the McDome plan, and kept the Gary site as his trump card. Speaking of the Gary plan, the developers had asked the team to sign a letter of intent on the deal by mid-February 1996 prior to them placing a Lake County, IN tax increase on that year's ballot.

On February 2, 1996, the Lake County Council rejected the plan, and "Planet Park" was dead.

 

Perhaps the most grandiose plan for a Bears stadium was proposed in September, 1996, when Daley unveiled a $395 million proposal to refurbish the existing stadium and equip it with a retractable roof. The translucent roof would cover the north end zone seats and could be closed in 10 minutes. Although Daley's latest plan would satisfy Edgar's desire for a multipurpose facility and the Bears' want for an open air-stadium, it was ultimately rejected for not addressing the field's other flaws, such as sightlines.

 

In 1998, Daley suggested that the Bears share Comiskey Park with the White Sox. Concurrently, the team was working on another project. During that year, McCaskey signed an agreement with Alan Busse on an option to purchase 69 acres of his land near Elk Grove Village, IL. The move would prove to be McCaskey's swan song on the stadium matter.

 

The team president's plan was to build a 68,000 seat outdoor stadium north of the village, and the majority of citizens in the community were outraged. Several town meetings were held to voice the people's opposition to the plan, and officials in the village planned to place a referendum on the issue on the April, 1999 ballot. The referendum never was necessary, as the team pulled the plug on its latest project in January 1999. Little did anyone know that the political landscape for a new Bears stadium was about to change dramatically.

 

January and February 1999 would prove to generate the most Bears news since the 1985 Super Bowl season. Head Coach Dave Wannstedt was dismissed on December 28th, and a flurry of new coaching prospects visited Halas Hall during the first three weeks of January. On the 22nd, McCaskey called a news conference to announce former Bear LB coach Dave McGinnis had accepted the Bears' head coaching position before he offered the job to him. On February 2nd, Walter Payton disclosed that he had a liver disease that would eventually take his life, and on February 10th, Virginia McCaskey announced that she was replacing her son Michael as CEO with team VP Ted Phillips.

 

Phillips, long designated the "point man" by Michael McCaskey on stadium issues, would finally get the stadium job done, most thought. In March, the new team president signed a five-year lease extension at Soldier Field, and declared that the Bears should always play within Chicago's city limits. Such talk was refreshing to the city, considering McCaskey's penchant for referring to the option of "relocation" over the previous five years. In May 1999, talk began to surface that the City of Chicago and the Bears were discussing a plan to raze all but Soldier Field's columns, and build an entirely new stadium within. In August 2000, word had it that a $500 million renovation plan was close.

 

And on November 22, 2000, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Bears formally unveiled their plan for the new stadium at Soldier Field. The $587 million plan would build the new 61,500 seat stadium within the shell of the old venue, preserving the historic colonnades and exterior walls. Included in the plan were the creation of parkland surrounding the stadium, a new parking garage to the north, and numerous modern amenities within. More importantly for the team, the new facility would generate much more income, with the organization finally getting the majority of revenue from advertising, parking, concessions, and luxury box leases. The proposal quickly gained legislative approval in December 2000, and despite numerous lawsuits, construction began immediately following the team's playoff loss in January 2002.

 

Amid scathing criticism of the stadium's appearance, the new structure will open on September 29, 2003 as the Bears host the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.

 

As long as the new stadium will stand on the shore of Lake Michigan, its detractors will call it the "mistake by the lake." Those who make use of the stadium to watch their favorite football team play will be overjoyed at the modern amenities which Chicago lacked through the 20th century. From Halas and Richard Daley Sr., through Ted Phillips and Daley Jr., and after the many, many days when it seemed it would never get done, on September 29th, Chicago will have its 21st century icon at last.

 

http://www.bearshistory.com/lore/soldierfieldhistory.aspx

[Connorbear]

Connor- I don't know, man. We've both been STH's for awhile and that was the loudest since that Tampa game in '07 or '08 where some players fought. I don't remember it being that loud for the divisional game vs Seattle or for the NFC vs NO either. The way I look at it- it should be louder in fall because clapping hands, skin on skin, is louder than gloves on gloves.

 

BTW- why the hell did the McCaskey's renovate the place in '03 and make it the smallest capacity in football? I'd take 10-15k more people yelling.

I thinkl we lost 5k seats in the renovation. Did you ever go to the old Soldier Field? It was a complete dump and did not contain crowd noise. I am glad they renovated but think it could have been better. Personally, I would have built a new stadium in the parking lot south of Soldier and turned Soldier into a park tearing out all the seating and leaving the outer rim. You could have brought the ground level up to the columnades and put in underground parking.

 

Peace

[jason]

Speaking of crowd...any one hear about the Nick Collins altercation. Sounds like more Milton Bradley crap to me. I don't see how any fan can get away with calling someone the N word with people all around them. People don't stand for that. You may have 1 racist asshole in the bunch, but there would be 20 others around him that wouldn't stand for it and we'd be hearing from them. It just seems that the N word is the ultimate defense, because if thats what sets you off you're excused for your behavior and players know that.

 

Now if this guy really spit on him and used a racial slur, I'd be all for Collins knocking him out. I'm just not convinced and there needs to be more that just Collins word here. Why only Collins? The majority of the team is black. Why didn't the fan say anything to any other player? Hell the majority of the league is black...if you're a racist, why the hell you watching?

 

I read about that and completely agree with you. The likelihood of someone dropping the N-bomb on an NFL player is extremely minimal considering the probability of a beatdown. The likelihood of saying it to Nick Collins is even less probable considering his propensity for violent outbursts. The likelihood of someone yelling it when other fans and/or players are around is almost nil. I'd say Collins is making things up to cover for his actions and poor self-control.

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

Never said I didn't know the history. I just think they could've found a way to get it up to 71k or even more seats. This new stadium doesn't hold crowd noise that well either.

[madlithuanian]

Since Daley's stepping down, you want the job!? Love that plan!

 

I thinkl we lost 5k seats in the renovation. Did you ever go to the old Soldier Field? It was a complete dump and did not contain crowd noise. I am glad they renovated but think it could have been better. Personally, I would have built a new stadium in the parking lot south of Soldier and turned Soldier into a park tearing out all the seating and leaving the outer rim. You could have brought the ground level up to the columnades and put in underground parking.

 

Peace

 

[LT2_3]

Never said I didn't know the history. I just think they could've found a way to get it up to 71k or even more seats. This new stadium doesn't hold crowd noise that well either.

 

Wow. You guys are really good at spending other peoples money. If the renovation had cost any more than it did, then it probably wouldn't have gotten done without more money from the state. As it is, the current deal stretches the city's ability to pay for both US Comiscular field AND the Soldier field renovation with the hotel restaurant tax before both stadiums have to be replaced again.

 

I'm not opposed to any of the ideas that you guys have come up with, but the bottom line is that this was a huge compromise between the City, State, and Bears just to get a deal done. If it were to cost any more, I think we'd be rooting for the Schaumburg Bears.