Even though the baseball season ended in disappointment for both the Cubs and the White Sox, Chicago sports are still going strong in the fall season with the start of both the Blackhawks’ and Bulls’ seasons and the continuation of the Bears’ season as well. However, across the board, the Chicago teams are struggling to contend with the best of their respective leagues.

First, the outlier: the Bulls. The Bulls have had a great start to the season, going 4-0 through the first four games and placing themselves on top in the Eastern Conference. The offseason proved to be a success for the Bulls, as the acquisitions of key rotation pieces DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, and Ayo Dosunmu have proven to reinvigorate a Bulls squad in need of support. The defensive improvement has been clear, as the play of Ball and Caruso especially in this regard have led the Bulls to compete in every game so far.

Unfortunately, shortcomings are plentiful besides that bright spot, as both the Bears and Blackhawks have had tumultuous seasons thus far. The Bears have continued to let down optimistic fans, as even Justin Fields could not carry the offensive weight under a Matt Nagy gameplan, turning the ball over five times to Tampa Bay in a brutal 38-3 loss. This means that the Bears are now below .500 and will have to finish the season strong against some of the NFL’s best teams in order to contend for a postseason berth.

The Blackhawks have set a record during their first six games for failing to ever have the lead, which says a lot about where they are right now. Despite acquisitions of Vezina-winning goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and defenseman Seth Jones, the Hawks are (to borrow a phrase from Lakes math teacher Mr. Phelan) on the struggle bus. There is heavy pressure on head coach Jeremy Colliton’s employment right now, and if things don’t turn around fast at the United Center, it might lead to his firing.

Overall, Chicago’s sports franchises are looking forward to optimistic futures, but there are currently issues putting those plans into action, leading to disappointment for many fans. However, we can always chant “Let’s play basketball!” at those Bears and Hawks games as long as the Bulls can keep up their resurgence.