They are ready to play in Soldier Field. Beach volleyball, that is.
Bulldozers moved a sand base into place last week for the heated grass field that remains on schedule for the Bears opener Sept. 29. Seats and steps also are being installed. Nearly 1,000 workers have gone from two shifts to one for the most part, indicating the on-time progress.
Prediction: Fans who endured the last 30 years in rickety old Soldier Field are going to like the new one regardless of whether it passes the architectural test of time. If it looks like a UFO landed on top of the peristyles, at least it’s different. And anything different from the dump it’s replacing is good.
A tour reveals two impressions: the unique asymmetrical configuration won’t be confused with cookie-cutter football stadiums, and the preservation of the old outer wall and columns allows more public access and appreciation than before. The city has bent over backward, not without provocation, to enhance the space as a war memorial.
Elaborate military tributes at the north and south ends will make it a more appropriate and accessible monument than it ever was before.
Mayor Richard M. Daley and David Doig, general superintendent of the Chicago Park District, are emphasizing a “stadium in a park” theme that could make citizens forget that the stadium benefits a private corporation, the Bears, more than the public.
“Many of these areas were not open to the public before,” said Tim LeFevour, general manager of Soldier Field. “People will be able to walk, ride bikes, jog through the columns and around the outside wall about 350 days a year. It will be a nice spot to eat lunch.”
The biggest seating area, the west upper grandstand, is much higher than the old place, but it doesn’t have quite the steep upper-deck slope of U.S. Cellular Field.
Off the club seats and skyboxes on the east side, a 47,000-square-foot area overlooking the lake will “rival any banquet facility in the city,” LeFevour predicted. “We can have 3,000 at a sit-down dinner.”
It is definitely a clash of old and modern, an offensive intrusion to some, no doubt. There will be complaints about ticket locations (not to mention price), but there are fans who still believe the Bears should be playing in Wrigley Field too.
It will take time to get used to the idea of pouring a new 10-pound stadium into an old 5-pound bag. For most fans, it probably will take about one quarter of the Monday night opener with the Packers.
Night at Ditka’s: New Bears quarterback Rex Grossman and his family celebrated at Mike Ditka’s restaurant after mini-camp and visited with the former coach.
“He reminds me a little of [Jim] McMahon,” Ditka said, without rancor. Ditka and McMahon had as many rough times as good ones.
“He’s very confident,” Ditka said. “He thinks he’s going to be able to play right away. He comes from a passing school, so he understands the passing game. That will help.”
Ditka played host to the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation fundraiser Wednesday night. Foundation workshops teach peer counseling skills to high school athletes.
Several former Bears–Mike Adamle, Bob Avellini, Ronnie Bull, Kevin Butler, Richard Dent, Tom Hicks, Eric Kumerow, Dennis Lick, Jim Morrissey and Ed Sprinkle–attended the dinner, where the Bears’ draft was a topic of conversation. The consensus: They still need an offensive tackle.
Ditka recalled that it wasn’t until the Bears drafted left tackle Jimbo Covert in 1983 that the offense jelled around McMahon and Walter Payton. Before Ditka, it wasn’t until Jim Finks traded up to draft Lick in 1976 and added Ted Albrecht in 1977 that the Bears had two tackles to escort Payton to the team’s first post-1963 playoff appearance.
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Offensive lines never receive too much credit and always get too much blame, but it’s more than coincidence that during the Bears’ 13-3 season in 2001, all five members of the offensive line–Blake Brockermeyer, Rex Tucker, Olin Kruetz, Chris Villarrial and James Williams–started all 16 games. During last year’s 4-12 season, only Williams started all 16, and Williams was so beat up the Bears cut him.
The current Bears’ tackle foursome of Mike Gandy, Marc Colombo, Bernard Robertson and Aaron Gibson does not generate confidence among the former Bears.
Dent opinion: Newest Bears assistant coach Dent, also a member of Covert’s draft class, sounded like a wise old coach when assessing his new student, No. 1 draft choice Michael Haynes. Dent got his first look at Haynes at the mini-camp.
“He looks aggressive with his hands, but I won’t know a thing about him until he puts on the pads,” Dent said.
Middle men: Even among the biggest men in football, it’s a small world.
Three years ago, defensive tackle Sam Adams played a huge role in the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl season. Paired with Tony Siragusa, the two 350-something-pound tackles clogged the middle of the defense and allowed linebacker Ray Lewis to roam free.
The following year the Bears signed 370-pound Ted Washington away from the Buffalo Bills, paired him with big Keith Traylor in front of linebacker Brian Urlacher and went 13-3. The Bills, meanwhile, slid from the No. 6 run defense to No. 26 without Washington.
Adams left the Ravens after the 2001 season, and the Ravens dropped from the No. 4 run defense to No. 13. Adams was picked up by the Oakland Raiders, who climbed from No. 22 against the run to No. 3 and reached the Super Bowl.
When Washington was hurt last season, the Bears slipped from the No. 2 run defense to No. 26.
This off-season the Bills signed Adams to replace Washington. Adams is staying in a home owned by Washington. A big home, no doubt.
Willis or won’t he: Donald Willis, the Kansas City Chiefs’ top backup at guard and center, is nicknamed “Snacks.” The 330(?)-pound Willis is coming off an Achilles’ tendon injury, and coach Dick Vermeil is increasingly concerned about Willis’ inability to lose weight or regain his health.
“When you combine an Achilles’ tendon problem with a fork problem, you’ve got two problems,” Vermeil said.
One of the best: St. Louis Rams public-relations director Rick Smith, one of the best ever, is retiring after 26 years in the NFL. He recalls how quickly the Rams turned around to win the 2000 Super Bowl after nine straight losing seasons.
“Kurt Warner fell out of the sky,” Smith said.
“We traded for Marshall Faulk, an incendiary competitor and one of the greatest players ever. Just like that we became a contender.”