The Bears were nothing short of disappointing this season. So it should come as no surprise that the Windy City was not among the top 10, or even the top 20, best cities for football fans, according to a new WalletHub report.
The personal finance website on Monday released its list of the Best and Worst Cities for Football Fans, and Chicago ranked 32nd overall and 26th among large cities with populations of 300,000 or more. Chicago dropped 14 spots since last year, when it was No. 18. Bright side? We’re not last. Meanwhile, rival Green Bay topped the list. *tongue-out*
WalletHub analyzed 244 U.S. cities with at least one college or pro football team based on 17 key metrics, including elements such as the number of NFL championships and total NFL stadium capacity. Because Chicago has an NFL team but no major college football teams, the metrics were based on all things Bears.
The good news is Chicago ranked second overall for the total number of NFL championships. This means that although the Bears have not tasted victory for some time, the teams’ 1986 Super Bowl victory against New England is still paying dividends. YAY nostalgia!
The bad news is Chicago is ranked among the worst-performing NFL teams for the 2016-17 season (3-13, in case you forgot), has the highest average ticket price for an NFL game and has one of the least accessible NFL stadiums.
Clearly WalletHub forgot to give Chicago points for Bears fans’ commitment to enduring sleet, snow and frigid temps at Soldier Field or their kickass tailgating. Surely that would have bumped us up a few spots.
Best Cities for Football Fans
More Top Picks Best Walking Shoes For Underpronation Of The Foot
Green Bay
Pittsburgh
New York
Dallas
Boston
Seattle
Philadelphia
Indianapolis
Glendale, Ariz.
Minneapolis
*32. Chicago
*43. DeKalb (home of Northern Illinois University)
*80. Normal (home of Illinois State University)
*104. Champaign (home of the University of Illinois)
*122. Macomb (home of Western Illinois University)
*123. Evanston (home of Northwestern University)
*127. Charleston (home of Eastern Illinois University)
*155. Carbondale (home of Southern Illinois University)
With Super Bowl LI happening Sunday, people all over the country are likely prepping their party food and fluffing their couch’s throw pillows in anticipation. So here’s a by-the-numbers break down of all things Super Bowl 2017, according to WalletHub.
>> $4,800: Average price of a Super Bowl LI ticket.
>> $5 million: Average cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad.
>> 110 percent: Increase in the average cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad in the past decade.
>> 1.23 billion: Number of chicken wings that will be eaten.
>> 14,500 tons: Weight of chips that will be eaten, along with 8 million pounds of guacamole.
More Top Picks Jump Rope
>> 51.7 million: Cases of beer that will be sold on Super Bowl Sunday.
>> 9: Super Bowl appearances for the New England Patriots; they have won two. The Atlanta Falcons have reached two Super Bowls but have not won one.