Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson went on 104.3 The Score Wednesday to pitch keeping the Chicago Bears in the city… And it did not go well.
During the interview, he discussed one of the biggest complaints fans have had about Soldier Field for years: getting in and out of the stadium on game day. In an effort to highlight the issue, Johnson shared a personal story that quickly went viral for all the wrong reasons…
“Getting in and out of Soldier Field is an absolute nightmare,” Johnson said on air. “Let me tell you how bad it is. Bears vs. Packers; I’m at the game; we’re losing. I decide to leave to beat the traffic. Before I get out of the footprint, the Bears had come back to win.”
Sit with that for a second… The mayor of Chicago, making a live radio pitch to keep the Bears in the city, voluntarily told a sports radio audience that he bailed on a Bears-Packers game. And missed the comeback.
It gets even worse
GettyBears QB Caleb Williams
Now it’s unclear exactly which Bears-Packers game at Soldier Field Johnson is referring to, but if it was the Wild Card playoff game on January 10, 2026 where Caleb Williams led the Chicago Bears to one of the most memorable wins in recent franchise history, he walked out on maybe the biggest Bears moment in decades.
The reaction on social media was exactly what you’d expect.
“Leaving to ‘beat traffic’ means you were never a fan to begin with,” one user wrote. “Leaving a Bears/Packers game early is grounds for impeachment,” said another.
Radio host Matt Spiegel didn’t hold back either, calling Johnson’s broader effort to keep the team on the lakefront “emptily bloviating into the freaking wind.”
Spiegel also pointed out that Johnson and the city haven’t spoken to the Bears organization since April. That detail says more than the traffic story.
Others pointed out the irony of Johnson attempting to sell Chicago as the Bears’ future home while simultaneously describing Soldier Field’s game day experience as “an absolute nightmare.”
The Bears aren’t waiting around
GettyBears Head Coach Ben Johnson
To make matters worse, that viral moment arrives at a critical time in the Chicago Bears’ ongoing stadium search.
Cause here’s the thing: The Bears have been clear with the NFL, city officials, and state leaders: they’re leaving Chicago. The only question is whether they end up in Arlington Heights or Hammond, Indiana.
At an NFL meeting in Orlando last month, the team reiterated that those are the only two viable options under consideration, with a decision expected sometime this spring or summer…
That reality has left city leaders scrambling to make a final push to keep the franchise in Chicago. Johnson has been among the most vocal advocates for a lakefront stadium proposal, but his latest radio appearance may be remembered less for his pitch and more for the story that followed.
Cause if the mayor’s goal was to convince people that Soldier Field remains the ideal home for the Bears, admitting that he once left a Bears-Packers game early because of the traffic probably wasn’t the best message to send.
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