Matt Mentgen

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

@BleacherJeff Guy known for stupid comments says something stupid…shocker.

[Yogi @Houseofyogi]

Chicago lost the Bears this week. A team that's been in the city since 1921.

They didn't lose them to a bigger market or a better deal. The Bears decided they'd rather be a tenant in Indiana than deal with Illinois for one more year.

Think about how badly you have to run a place for that to be the smart move.

They lost them for two reasons.

The people running Illinois would rather villainize a builder than keep one. And they're bad at their jobs.

In 2021 the Bears spent $197M on the old Arlington Park racetrack.

Before they could break ground, Cook County valued the empty lot at $192M (Bears said $60M). They were salivating at the chance to extort a building that didn't even exist yet.

That fight dragged on for years.

The Bears were ready to put $2B into the stadium. All they wanted was a promise the county wouldn't reassess them into oblivion, plus $855M for infrastructure everyone uses. Roads, transit, utilities. A $3B project, two thirds of it private money pouring into Illinois.

Springfield had since 2021 to get this done. They dragged it to the final night of session, passed it through the Senate at 3:39AM, and the House went home without voting.

So now it's all gone.

The funniest part? This started because Cook County tried to grab the tax early. They knew a built stadium would pay $53M a year. Now they get under $4M on a vacant lot. No jobs, no buildout, no new anything.

Congrats on fighting for scraps and losing the whole prize.

Pritzker: they're "an $8.5B valued business" that doesn't need propping up.

But be smart for a second. Almost every NFL city throws in public money for a stadium. Not charity. The return is real. Tourism, hotels, restaurants, jobs, game days, property tax on a huge development. The math works.

Indiana did the math. While Illinois sat on it for years, Indiana passed a bill in months, put up $1B, and took the team.

And the Bears took a worse deal to get there. In Illinois they were going to own their stadium. In Indiana they rent it from the state. A team that wanted to build its own home gave up ownership just to escape Chicago.

Nobody won but Indiana. The Bears lost their stadium. Illinois lost the team, the $2B, and $53M a year in taxes.

Pritzker after they left: "I wasn't willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money to give it to a billionaire-owned family or team."

There it is. "Billionaire-owned."

That's how Democrats talk about any business right before they run it out of town. Call them a billionaire, act like you're saving working families, take a victory lap while the tax base drives across the state line.

Meanwhile they're running the whole state into the ground. And you already know how this ends. You're living in it.

Pensions are $143B in the hole, worst in the country and not close. You pay $6,285 a year in property taxes, double the $2,969 national average, for a city that's $1.15B in the red. The mayor called its finances "the point of no return."

When you run things this badly, you sell what's left.

They leased the parking meters for 75 years to Morgan Stanley and a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi. Took $1.15B and burned through it in two years. The investors already made it all back, with 58 years left to collect.

Sold the Skyway. Sold the downtown garages. Every asset that made money, gone for one check.

But a fixed property tax rate for a team that's been here 106 years? That's "propping up billionaires."

Companies are leaving. Boeing for Virginia. Caterpillar for Texas. Citadel for Miami. In 2023 alone Illinois lost 56,000 people and $6B in income to other states. The ones who left earned a third more than the ones who moved in.

Indiana didn't outbid anyone. AAA credit, 16 years straight. A $676M surplus. Fourth-lowest debt per person in the country. They just weren't a disaster.

Illinois could have collected $53M a year. It chose zero. Ignore all the bad management but make sure to stick it to those evil, pesky billionaires.

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

@SBN_Ricky Soldier Field is fine? Ruin the family legacy? Get comfortable renting? What in the world is this tweet 🤯🤯🤯

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

Clearly I’m about the only Bears fan to say this, but I have no issue admitting that I believe Christian Watson is a very good WR. Health is the biggest question but he’s damn good.

#bears #packers

[Caleb Williams @CALEBcsw]

Dream come true to be on the cover of Madden! See you Thursday in Chicago for the full reveal 😎

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

@chicagobars I think this is the last account I’d listen to for anything related to this situation

[Jacob Infante @jacobinfante24]

My favorite part of Madden is playing Franchise Mode and redrafting the entire NFL to build a whole 53-man team in my image.

Now, @PFSN365 allows you to redraft the entire NFL for FREE.

Introducing the NFL Ultimate Redraft Simulator, live now: https://t.co/4H7EN0P3ar

[Daemar @daemarrrr]

This guy acting tough on twitter is so funny to me bruh 😂

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

@TazimWajidWajed The guy with the lowest IQ on X has a stupid opinion? I’m shocked!

[Chicago Bears @ChicagoBears]

Oh yeah, we're SO back 🙂‍↕️

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

@TazimWajidWajed Someone the response was worse than not saying anything at all. Imagine defending a guy a who beat the shit out of a female. Maybe there’s something about @TazimWajidWajed we don’t know 🤔

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

Friction between teammates over the Dart/Trump thing? 👀

#giants

[Kephfas @Kephfas]

That time when Vince McMahon called his son Shane “the product of his semen.”

Shawn almost broke 😭😭😭

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

Has anyone needed to shut the fuck up more on this app than this girl?

[missy @messycarroll]

The woman said, and I quote, “you suck boooo👎” now they have merch dedicated to calling that woman a bitch.

They could have let this go by Sunday night. but PCA couldn’t possibly be in the wrong, so they’re tripling down on it and “actually what he said was good!” what losers

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

@312SportsChi @dan_bernstein @byjuliapoe This is the type of guest Dan has on his show? The downfall is real.

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

Officially closed my @FDSportsbook account. Feels GREAT knowing I never have to interact with that book or their piece of shit customer service ever again

#Frauds #Scamduel

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

@NHorton24 @FDSportsbook @FanDuel_Support Fuck them. I used the weak ass $10 bonus bet for a little in tonight’s game and as soon as it’s over I’m closing my account. I already withdrew my balance

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

Following up with the @FDSportsbook issue…they straight up lied to me when I spoke with @FanDuel_Support earlier today. Assuring me that Jalen Williams was under bet protection no matter what since he left in the 1st quarter. According to the live chat, that was a “mistake”.

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

@sean85522 @FanDuel_Support What a fucking joke

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

@FanDuel_Support just told me that Jalen Williams will qualify under the standard bet protect and refunds issues within 24 hours.

#fanduel

[Matt Mentgen @jeebs_187]

@sean85522 @FanDuel_Support I just checked and they gave me a bonus bet that was less than my stake on a straight bet that I had placed