Those of us in the Chicago area know one thing when it comes to our professional sports teams: You gotta have hope.
Hope that eventually, the local franchises will awaken from their slumber. Hope that they will make the right moves. Hope that they will produce a winning season from time to time.
So here at the Daily Herald, we decided to rank our local heroes based on what we’re calling The Hope Index.
We list our pro teams, in order, from best to worst — with 10 being an absolute certainty and 0 being a near abandonment of faith — by how much hope we have that they will soon contend for a championship.
We’re giving them three seasons, and they don’t have to win a title, just come close.
You know, give us hope.
Bears
Hope Index: 8
Credit general manager Ryan Poles for such a high ranking. Last week’s drafting of Caleb Williams means — we hope — that the Bears finally have a quarterback who can lead them back to the Super Bowl. Multiple Super Bowls even.
But it’s not just Williams and fellow first-round pick Rome Odunze. Poles has built a high-powered offense to match with a strong defense. They still have some holes on the roster, but this is a better group than they’ve had since, oh, say, 2006, when they lost Super Bowl XLI to Indianapolis.
And the belief is that Williams will be a better QB than Rex Grossman ever was.
This ranking does not mean they should use public funds for a new Bears stadium. Just the opposite. If the Bears have enough money to contribute $2.3 billion to the cost of their $4.7 billion stadium project, maybe they should just build a $2.3 billion stadium. It would still be spectacular.
Cubs
Hope Index: 7
I wanted to put the Cubs higher, but recent bullpen problems stopped me. Maybe if the Cubs had made one more off-season signing, they might be higher.
Still, the Cubs hitters have been very good so far, and the starting pitching has been impressive and should get a boost when ace Justin Steele returns from injury. This could be a playoff team this year, and it could go deep in the playoffs with a couple of key trade-deadline moves.
One more reason to like the Cubs’ future: they have the second-ranked farm system in baseball, according to mlb.com. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Owen Caissie and Matt Shaw could do for the 2026 Cubs what Javy Baez, Willson Contreras and Anthony Rizzo did in 2016.
Blackhawks
Hope Index: 6
The Blackhawks were one of the worst teams in the NHL this season, and yet they’re near the top of our Hope Index. But remember, we’re talking about a three-year window here.
Connor Bedard is a big reason for this rating, but help seems to be on the way, as well. The Blackhawks have drafted good young talent, such as recently signed center Frank Nazar, and they have another high draft pick coming to them this summer.
They also have room to improve through free agency. If general manager Kyle Davidson can continue to make some savvy moves, there’s reason for … what’s that word again?
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