Bear Digest

No pontification from Ben Johnson but Bears fans are feeling blessed

The White Sox-Cubs rivalry led to a feud over the baseball allegiances of Chicago's first pope, but Bears fans and their coach feel the "rumblings" he's on their side.
Gene Chamberlain|
Ben Johnson says there are "rumblings" the new pope from Chicago is a Bears fan.
Ben Johnson says there are "rumblings" the new pope from Chicago is a Bears fan. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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In Chicago, it doesn't even require the Cubs and White Sox to be playing against each other for fans of the teams to be slinging barbs at each other over social media or otherwise.

The first U.S. pope, Leo XIV, being from Chicago definitely presented the opportunity for this heated discussion to climb to another level, though clearly most of it lighthearted.

The Cubs get the blame for triggering this when they first incorrectly and rashly posted Pope Leo XIV was a Cubs fan.

The Cubs have an official chaplain, Rev. Burke Masters of suburban Hinsdale, and he told ABC7: "I want to invite Pope Leo to come celebrate Mass at Wrigley Field."

However, intrepid reporting led to an interview from his brother.

"He was never, ever a Cubs fan," the pope's brother, John, told WGN. "So I don't know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan."

This is just as well as the Sox can use prayers more these days.

All of that is well and good but in Chicago there is always one sports certainty.

There are Cubs fans and there are White Sox fans, but everyone is a Chicago Bears fan.

The fans from the city's most popular team got in their own special social media welcome and celebration over the new pope being from Chicago.

Many of them were geared towards hopes the long Lombardi Trophy drought might finally be over—with a push from prayer.

There was no white smoke or even orange and navy smoke coming from the Halas Hall smokestacks as a result of the papal announcement but Bears coach Ben Johnson was asked at practice on Friday during rookie camp if the pope is a Bears fan, as well.

"I've heard rumblings, but that hasn't been discussed too much firsthand," Johnson said.

Maybe not by the Bears themselves, but leave it to the fans. There were plenty of those who took it a step further when they heard the new pope was from Chicago.

Some thought there already had been a Chicago pontiff.

If there's going to be mass with the pope in Chicago it should be at Soldier Field. With the smallest seating capacity in the NFL, it is still much larger than both Wrigley Field and The Rate.

Actually, Pope John Paul II celebrated a huge mass in Grant Park in the late 1970s. They haven't used the park much lately for celebrations after the Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and Cubs stopped winning titles last decade, but they could always hold one there again. The other thing it's most known for is Lollapalooza.

Pontiffpalooza?

Now that the pope is from Chicago, it must be assumed the Bears might even finally have a chance in the Packers series.

It seemed Caleb Williams was even hoping for a little Divine intervention.

There are such things as Illinois Packers fans, though. There is a place for them when all is said and done.

Chicago is also undivided on the Bulls, or should be.

Now that there is a Chicago pope, Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland is going to need to realize he can't go around saying LeBron is better than MJ , the way he did after the draft and while at Michigan.

There could be eternal repercussions for that sort of blasphemy.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.