Fans of today demand more, and rightly so
Good is still good in sports but no longer good enough.
Last week's Bears chatter reminded me of a recent remark about the recession by billionaire Mort Zuckerman.
"My net worth is down to a level I never thought it would be up to," the media mogul cracked on MSNBC.
The point is that Zuckerman sounded more grateful for what he still has than greedy for what he lost.
That contrasts with local sports fans who sound greedier for what they lost than grateful for what they still have.
Like, Chicago's mood after the Bears' loss at Atlanta was enough to make you wonder whether they should bother to show up in Cincinnati today.
"The Bears have to crawl before they can run the ball" ... "Jay Cutler is just another Bear quarterback in the red zone" ... "The defense makes more mistakes in the clutch than baseball umpires make in the playoffs."
Edginess, impatience and intolerance pervade the Chicago sports environment.
It's about time, folks.
How many past seasons would the Bears' 3-2 record have been parade time through the Loop? Instead the mood around town has been that a smart bomb should level everything at Halas Hall except maybe Cutler.
Think about it: The Bears were in the 2007 Super Bowl and have been playoff contenders just about ever since.
Sorry, not good enough.
Despite unprecedented success this decade, White Sox and Cub fans grouse because their teams missed this season's playoffs.
Think about it: That's after the Sox won a World Series just four years ago and the Cubs qualified for the postseason two straight years for the first time in a century.
Sorry, not good enough.
Meanwhile, the Blackhawks and Bulls each made the playoffs last season but now a slumping goaltender and gimpy point guard create all sorts of civic unrest.
Think about it: That's after those franchises were abysmal for most of a decade but finally flash signs of emerging.
Sorry, not good enough.
Focus on the Cubs for a moment, even if it means reliving Milton Bradley.
The Cubs finished above .500 twice from 1973-1993. This season was their third straight above .500 and sixth in nine years.
Sorry, not good enough.
A decade ago the Bears reeled from the Dave Wannstedt era, neither of our baseball teams had won a postseason series in most of our lifetimes and sports winters embarked on an unseasonably cold spell.
Back then it would have been hard to imagine those five teams being up to the level they are down to right now.
But, sorry, still not good enough.
Why? Maybe because the cost of supporting teams soared so high that demands for a return on the sports dollar have, too.
So merely winning more than losing isn't sufficient. Nor is making an odd playoff or winning an isolated title.
If a team loses one week at Atlanta it better show up in every sense of the term the next week at Cincinnati ... or else face the chatter.
That's just the way it is and should be in the new millennium.
After all, a billionaire can make back lost money but championships are lost forever.
mimrem@dailyherald.com