McCaskeys endured, not adored

Memories of the Bears flow as another NFL season approaches.

One favorite is the sign that hung during the mid-1990s in the window of a tavern at the Chicago intersection of Elston Avenue and Irving Park Road.

"McCaskey (bleeps) forever," it blared, referring to then-Bears president Mike McCaskey.

Crude and cruel, for sure, though not necessarily an isolated sentiment.

This autumn will mark the 25th anniversary of when George Halas died and the McCaskeys took over the Bears.

I have thought a lot about our first family of football lately while reading about Pittsburgh's uncertain ownership situation.

Dan Rooney has run the Steelers since the 1988 death of his father, franchise patriarch Art Rooney Sr.

Now four younger Rooney brothers are considering selling shares in the Steelers to outside interests. The family would lose control of the club for the first time in 75 years.

Angst has ensued in Pittsburgh. The town appreciates the Rooneys and trusts them to do right by the club and the community.

The Steelers are every bit the institution there that the Bears are here. The big difference is the Steelers were more successful at football in recent decades than the Bears were.

So, what would the reaction be here if a family feud, tax considerations or some other complication jeopardized the McCaskeys' hold on the Bears?

A good guess is a celebration would commence. Pass the party hats and horns.

Owners of the Bears should be held in the same high esteem as the Rooneys are. Public outcry should accompany any potential ownership shift.

But it wouldn't.

If Bears fans had a choice, they would encourage the McCaskeys to sell the club. The sense is the NFL has become too big for this particular family to be operating this particular franchise.

That might or might not be fair, but it's the way it appears. The McCaskeys - from Papa Bear Halas' daughter Virginia down to her children and grandchildren - are endured more than adored around here.

It's almost as if Chicago waits, if not hopes, for the day the entire family takes the money and runs to a retirement home like Walter Payton in pursuit of pay dirt.

This is especially true as the Bears embark on another season expected to be a futile exercise.

Convenient villains are club president Ted Phillips, general manager Jerry Angelo, head coach Lovie Smith, Brian Urlacher, the quarterbacks, the offensive line -

But as my barber likes to say of my extraordinary good looks, it all starts at the top.

Like the Rooneys, the McCaskeys own one of sports' great brand names. Like Heinz Field, Soldier Field is a modern, revenue-generating stadium. Like the Steelers, the Bears are positioned to be good.

Yet the Rooneys built a franchise infrastructure that sustains on-field success, and the McCaskeys didn't. The Steelers are stable and dependable, while the Bears look like they're trying to plug this gap and bandage that wound.

As a result, there is so little buzz about the Bears this week that it's almost as if they relocated to East Kishnif.

That's an ownership problem threatening to create a memory more obscene than the one that hung over that tavern.

mimrem@dailyherald.com