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The Chicago Bulls won't be forced on their dreaded 'Circus Trip' anymore
Every November, when things get a little chilly in Chicago, the hometown Bulls take off to warmer parts of the continental United States. Typically, the team heads out West to compete against a series of Western Conference opponents.
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Typically, in spite of some good-to-great NBA teams in Chicago over the last few decades, the Bulls lose a healthy portion of the games scheduled. Typically, the team and its fans dread the trip.
And, every year, the trip is forced upon the club and its Chicago Blackhawks co-tenant in the United Center by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, who take over the 22-year old stadium for a fortnight. The resulting turn around the league, for the Bulls, is called “The Circus Trip,” and they’ve gone 23-78 on it since Michael Jordan retired from the team in Feb. 1998.
Alas, the trip is no more. Although, one season too soon. From Chris Kue at the Chicago Tribune:
But the Tribune has learned that when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ends its run at the UC later this month, it won’t be returning to the arena. In addition, when the teams are forced to take another two-week break in February for Disney on Ice, that will be the final time it will result in the Hawks and Bulls hitting the road for an extended period as that show will be condensed to a one-week run beginning in 2018.
The Circus and Ice Show trips have been a staple for the teams for decades and date back to when they occupied the Chicago Stadium. But when the present contracts expired, changes were made.
It’s a sign of the times that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will, presumably, moving to more intimate confines than the 22,000-plus seat strong United Center, and that Disney on Ice will be dimmed to once week per year. With the presence of consistent stadium-ready musical acts also dwindling, these sorts of Enormodomes are relying more and more on indoor sports to keep the punters moving through the turnstiles.
And with those teams chafing at the idea of having to take off for a combined month at a time for a pair of events, one can understand why the United Center would want to keep the Bulls and Blackhawks (who routinely sell out contests) happy.
The Bulls begin this year’s trip on Tuesday with a trip to Portland, before taking on the Jazz, Clippers, Lakers, Nuggets and 76ers in a jaunt that will last until it returns home to the United Center on Nov. 30 to play those Lakers again. In February, the Disney Trip will last from Feb. 1 through Valentine’s Day, as the Bulls compete against the Thunder, Rockets, Kings, Warriors, Suns and Timberwolves.
This will be a welcome respite for the team, who failed to win a single Circus Trip contest from Dec. 3 1997 through Nov. 24 2004. For a gig that’s already too transient in nature to be considered typical, asking athletes to perform at their best while on a two-week road trip just begs for substandard play. This is especially cruel to Bulls fans that work and live in other NBA cities, ones that pay top dollar to see their team drag their way into town for the lone night of the season while not at their best.
Thankfully, for the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, the circus will soon leave town.
(Just be happy I made it this long without using that line.)
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
