I love sports, especially basketball. Chicago is the #1 American city. NYC (I live 15 miles outside NYC) is a immigrant, global city. I consider Chicago the heart of America... it's the midwest and people are much more simple and laid back. One night I began thinking... is it just coincidence that Chicago sport franchises were the Bulls and the Bears. Also, don't forget the Cubs. The bulls got their name in 1946 The bears got their name in 1922 The cubs got their name in 1902 I found this link to historical bull/bear markets but am very curious to know if the teams got their names based on market conditions. Wouldn't that be wonderful market sentiment. Jesse Livermore would've supported the Bears title. http://seekingalpha.com/article/99902-historical-bull-and-bear-markets-for-the-dow-1900-present Bulls won 6 championships Bears won 1 superbowl (9 total championships) Cubs won 2 Major league titles
I've wondered the same, so your post prompted some research: Origin of the Bears name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Chicago_Bears First years in Chicago The Staley's moved to Chicago from Decatur, IL in 1921. Halas, who was given the team and $5000 by Staley to keep the name Staleys for another year, made the move. In the 1921 season, the Chicago Staleys finished first in the league and captured their first league championship. In 1922, Halas changed the team name to the Bears to reflect baseball's Chicago Cubs, the team's host at Wrigley Field. Over the next few years, the Bears were ranked among the elite teams in the NFL, but could never capture an NFL Championship because the league did not have a playoff system. Origin of the Bulls name: http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/behind_the_name.html Why Bulls? The Chicago Bulls Encyclopedia has the explanation: The name denoted strength and power, and it tied in to the cityâs meatpacking tradition and the Chicago Amphitheaterâs (first home court of the Bulls) proximity to the famed Chicago Stockyards. The one-syllable directness of the Bulls was also in line with Chicagoâs other team nicknamesâBears, (White) Sox, Cubs, and (Black) Hawks. âWe were the meat capital of the world,â said Klein at the time. âAt first, I was thinking of names like Matadors (funny how that worked out given todayâs Matadors) or Toreadors, but if you think about it, no team with as many as three syllables in its nickname has ever had much success except for the Canadians. I was sitting around the house, kicking these names around with my wife and three sons, when my little son Mark said, âDad, thatâs a bunch of bull!â I said, âThatâs it! Weâll call them the Bulls!â And thatâs how the team got its nickname.â