Maybe it’s the burden of living up to the Jordan era, though the 1990s are growing increasingly distant to today’s stars. Maybe it’s the ghost and lingering taint of Jerry Krause, the former Bulls GM who was ridiculed by Jordan, Scottie Pippen and others for his attitude toward players in spite of all the winning — though Krause is long gone, too.
Maybe there’s some innate jealousy or leeriness around Rose, the local kid who will remain this team’s “centerpiece,” as Forman calls him, no matter how many big names join him in Chicago. Maybe it’s Thibodeau’s defensive bent and the work that entails.
Maybe it’s the sense that the Bulls are content with an old-school approach to team building, where complementary parts, clearly defined roles and chemistry presumably make up for marquee wattage and individual, even advanced stats. Or maybe it really is the wind chill.
Ask around, New York-style anything isn’t welcome in Chicago.
Natives will tell you New Yorkers can keep their floppy pizza slices, choke on their kraut-covered hot dogs and keep their pushy fake purse vendors to themselves. Why would Chicagoans feel differently about New York-style seating on new CTA trains — a wide aisle between two rows of center-facing seats and hand straps for standing riders?
CTA brass, of course, would rather leave New York out of it. They describe the new seating layout as “bowling-aisle-style” — which must mean passengers sit in the gutters. Call the new seat configuration whatever you want, it looks too similar to New York subway trains to avoid comparison.
