Reusse: Chicago sports hits an all-time low with lousy teams, including self-destructing Bears

The emotions an outsider can feel attached to Chicago sports generally involve the championship heroics of Michael Jordan, the ferocious defense of the mid-’80s Bears, Steve Bartman snagging a foul fly ball at Wrigley Field, the White Sox charging through the postseason in 2005, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and three Stanley Cups for the Blackhawks, and the Cubs ending their 108-year World Series slump in 2016.

There is something else from far back that has stuck:

You’re making a night-time drive of some length, twisting the AM dial in search of a clear-channel station with (any) sports content. There’s a Chicago outlet and the DePaul Blue Demons have lost narrowly in a regional tournament.

Now it’s this week: No recollection what team beat ‘em, but the regional was in St. Louis, right?

You look it up: Wake Forest 73, DePaul 71, overtime. Round of 16, 1984, and it was in St. Louis.

It was the third loss in 30 games for DePaul. It was the last season and thus game for Ray Meyer, the same coach who had George Mikan at DePaul.

The Chicago reporter outside the Blue Demons’ locker room couldn’t handle it. He was choking up, even crying, as he told us, “We are waiting for Coach Meyer to come out for his post-game interview.’’

On that night, the choked-up reporter provided one emotional side I had found in frequent assignments in Chicago.

There was another side displayed in the early ‘80s, when the Vikings had won a game at the old version of Soldier Field. The Bears were now headed through the opening in the stands leading to their locker room.

A couple of gutless male fans, perhaps in their late 30s and too high above to be snared with a reach, were shouting vile insults toward the Bears below. One player was Noah Jackson, the huge offensive lineman, and he stared upward with a look that should’ve shivered the spines of those taunters.

Chicago, with its emotions laid bare, has been a favorite sports location to visit forever. And what’s going on there right now borders on the incomprehensible.

The sports franchises are stuck so solidly in the range from sub-mediocre to beyond-pathetic that even the Sky, 10th in the 12-team WNBA, and Fire FC, 15th in the MLS East, are awful.

Throw in the collapsed Bears, the ho-hum Cubs, the anybody-want-Zach LaVine Bulls, the also-ran Blackhawks, the historically horrendous White Sox and … well, we’re looking down on you, Chicago, up here in the Midwest sports paradise of Minnesota 2024.

Joe Cowley, Bulls beat writer and columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, has been in that market since the mid-’90s. He is known for strong opinions.

“Here’s the thing for me about Chicago,’’ Cowley said. “The fan base is more willing to show up and support mediocrity — or less — than other major sports markets. New York, Philadelphia, Boston, I’ve been to those cities regularly with the Bulls, and they don’t put up with it like the fans here.

“The Bulls, mediocre at best for a long time, and they are at the top of the NBA in attendance. How many show up, that depends on the opponent, but the tickets are sold. And the suites are full, which is what really matters to [owner] Jerry Reinsdorf.

“Even the White Sox … unbelievably terrible. But they trade Chris Sale to Boston, and we hear fans say, ‘Look how many players we have in Baseball America’s top 100 prospects now.’ So, after losing 121 games, they trade their next lefthanded star, Garrett Crochet, to Boston for four minor leaguers and it’s the same thing: ‘Look at our prospects.’

“How did that work out last time?’’

The Bears were the main topic on Chicago sports radio Tuesday, following an eighth straight loss, 30-12 to the Vikings here Monday night. Dan Bernstein, with The Score (670 AM), has been part of that for 30 years.

Bernstein was asked Tuesday which of these events could be the official meme for the 2024 Bears: Since-fired coach Matt Eberflus looking on cluelessly as the game clock runs to zero in a loss to Detroit, or lineman Doug Kramer sauntering into fullback formation with no hint to report to an official, thus nullifying a 1-yard TD plunge on Monday?

“Neither of those,’’ Bernstein said. “The meme that will live forever is cornerback Tyrique Stevenson taunting the opposing fans as Washington is already running a Hail Mary route to win the game.

“Nothing can ever top that.’’

That point must be conceded — a moment of absurdity that can be a symbol for the current state of major sports in Chicago.

“I’m fairly certain, as Chicago teams go as a whole, this is the nadir for the three decades that I’ve been here,’’ Bernstein said.

And here in the North Country, with a Bob Dylan movie about to hit the screens, the sports world is magnificent:

Vikings, 2-0 vs. Bears, 12-2 overall; Wild, a surprise with a sensation in Kirill Kaprizov; the Timberwolves, selling out on merit; the Lynx, WNBA finalists with Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith as free agents from the Sky; and our Loons, better than the Fire.

As for the Twins, yes, there was late season disappointment, but they did finish 41 games ahead of the White Sox.