Chicago sports teams have long expected their fans to stay patient during rebuilds. But over time, this patience wears thin. When does “rebuilding” stop being an excuse for bad performance? 

For many fans, losing isn’t necessarily the issue. It’s the lack of a proper plan. 

“I just think fans want and deserve a fairly clear, transparent explanation as to what the goals are and what the process is going to be like,” said Fred Mitchell, an adjunct faculty member who teaches sports journalism at DePaul.

In Chicago, some fans feel transparency has been missing. When there’s no valid excuse for a team’s consistent failure, it can also create a defeated culture among fans. This can usually only be reversed by visible progress.

“If you’re constantly rebuilding and there’s constantly no progress, then you can’t really use that as an excuse anymore,” said Vincent Peña, an assistant professor who teaches journalism and sports communication at DePaul.  

Owner of both the Chicago Bulls and White Sox, Jerry Reinsdorf has faced criticism in recent years for a lack of spending and prolonged struggle. 

“The Cubs and Bears look pretty good, but the White Sox and the Bulls have been weak,” longtime Cubs fan Joel Rodriguez said. Both the Bulls and White Sox finished their last season below .500 and missed the playoffs. 

Rebuilds are not always strategic plans; sometimes teams use them to justify losing.

“The rebuild is an easy narrative, it’s an overused term,” Peña said. 

It’s common for fans to misidentify a bad team as a team that is rebuilding. Fans want to have faith in their team, as Bears fans did with former Coach Matt Eberflus and quarterback Justin Fields, Peña said.

“There was still hope with Matt Eberflus, and Justin Fields was bad, but we thought he could get better,” Peña said. 

That kind of optimism makes it hard for fans to distinguish between a team that is on rebuilding plan and a team that’s losing despite trying to stay competitive.

But not all losing teams are viewed the same, especially when a clear direction is being taken.

The Chicago Bears also experienced many seasons of poor quarterbacking and coaching. Then they acquired quarterback Caleb Williams and head coach Ben Johnson. These additions seemed to signal a clear change in the team’s plan. And with the Bears’ recent success, fans are rightfully confident going into next season.

The Chicago Blackhawks finished last in the Central Division this season, yet fans continue to stay patient with the team’s lack of production. This is largely due to the presence of Connor Bedard, the first pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. According to the NHL, Bedard had the most jersey sales in the regular season despite his team only winning 29 games. 

In these cases, losing can feel like a part of the process rather than an excuse, especially if fans keep coming to games.

“As long as fans keep coming out, teams are less inspired to do something radical to change the play on the field,” Mitchell said.  

Many fans begin to create informal expectations for how long rebuilds will last.

“A good organization can turn a team around in two or three years. If it’s a rough organization, eight, maybe even 10,” Rodriguez said. 

But the external pressure from the fans can be an important part of keeping sports teams moving in the right direction. Fans may stay optimistic in the first few years of a rebuild, but this patience wears thin. Especially if there’s no clear plan being presented.

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