Dwyane Wade, Bulls Praise Cubs' Team Chemistry, Swagger
By Cody Westerlund--
(CBS) A day after the Cubs clinched a berth in the World Series opposite the Indians, Bulls guard Dwyane Wade on Sunday was still pondering what wager he'd make with Cavaliers star and good friend LeBron James regarding their respective hometown baseball teams squaring off for a championship.
Wade was also doing some reflecting , saying "this is what sports is about" when recalling the championship droughts for each side -- 108 years for the Cubs and 68 years for the Indians.
"Pride in your city," Wade said. "Cleveland has obviously had droughts in sports and then (James) went back there to change that drought from the standpoint of basketball, and they accomplished that. And now Cleveland is trying to do the same, and they got to a World Series, which has been a drought for them. So excitement there for them. It's there for the pride of their city. And excitement there for Chicago, the same thing. Obviously you guys have wrote about it, it's great. They're two franchises that have been struggling to get to the World Series and this is what sports is about. It's cool.''
As the Bulls ready for their season opener Thursday against the Celtics, the talk of the town is all Cubs. Wade understands that and has been following the Cubs closely since signing with the Bulls in early July. He's already made an appearance at Wrigley Field earlier in the postseason, and he plans to go to Game 3 on Friday "if I can get some seats," he said.
"It's huge for the city," Wade said. "It's been a long, long, long time, and just obviously I felt the buzz when I got back to the city, and everyone thinking that this was the Cubs' year. And they've been obviously playing amazing, so it's great. It's great to be in Chicago at this time with the Cubs being as successful as they are so far, and so it's good to be here and it's good to be a sports fan at this time in Chicago, so it's good.''
Wade and Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg -- a Cubs fan since childhood -- both thought big-picture lessons could be drawn from the Cubs.
"Whenever a team wins, it's all about winning," Wade said. "That team has figured out a way, even during this series when it looked like their back was against the wall, they came out swinging. They stuck together. It looks like they have a great time together. And that's what it's all about. You have to support each other. No matter who's on the basketball court for us, who's on the bench, it's all about supporting each other and really caring about the other guy. When you start caring about the other person, you don't want to let that other person down on the court. You become a better team because of that."
The Bulls' 2015-'16 season unraveled in part because of friction in the locker room. If this Bulls squad can mirror the fun-loving Cubs in any manner, it'd be a starting point for a better season.
"I've talked about how together that team is, how much of confidence, how much of a swagger they play with," Hoiberg said. "It's just a fun team that looks like it has unbelievable chemistry. They all get along. They play every game. It's a team that I think you can learn from with what they're doing and the backing that they have from the city."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and coversthe Bulls. He's also the co-host of the @LockedOnBulls podcast, which you can subscribe to on iTunes and Stitcher. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
