The Day that changed Archaelology forever.

    On October 4, 1997, the museum world converged upon the Sotheby's auction house in New York City to bud on a most unusual object-a dinosaur skeleton. But this was no ordinary dinosaur skeleton(though to be fair, dinosaur skeletons aren't exactly ordinary things to begin with). No, this specimen was the most intact fossil of Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found. And it was about to change the world of archaeology forever.

     After being discovered in the Badlands in 1990, this particular skeleton was cleaned, examined, and preserved for several years, until the time came for the specimen to be transferred. There were several different parties interested in acquiring this skeleton, which by this point was named Sue after the rancher who had discovered the skeleton. And so, the auction began.  As the bidders rolled into Sotheby's, they were handed this program:

     Several museums had stated their interest in acquiring Sue, but one institution that had hidden any speculation was the Field Museum, from right here in Chicago.  The bidding started.  Bids were put out on behalf of museums in North Carolina, South Dakota, and even a cultural center in Florida.  But there was one other museum that truly craved the skeleton: the Smithsonian.  Eventually, it became a bidding war between the North Carolina museum, the Floridian cultural center, and a private bidder serving as proxy for an anonymous bidder(the Field Museum).  The North Carolina museum stopped bidding.  Then the Floridians bowed out.  And then finally, the private bidder had won the T-Rex for the whopping price of $8.3 Million, which was quickly revealed to be from the coffers of the Field.  This auction changed the landscape of archaeology forever.  All of a sudden fossil-hunting out west became the late-20th Century answer to 49ers panning for gold.

     As for Sue and her new home, she went on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in 2000, and has held court for more than 21 Million visitors over the past 13 years.  As bold as it might have been, the Field's win-at-all-costs attitude over Sue proved to be a dark harbinger of the future, as by 2013 the museum was facing massive budget deficits due to rampant expansion and acquisitions without commensurate fundraising, a trend which in many ways was kicked off by the 1997 bidding war over Sue.

Al Capone's Empty Room

     The year is 1986.  Al Capone has been dead for 39 years.  Prohibition has been over and done with for 53 years.  But Big Al is about to pull one last trick from the grave. 

     In that year, the Lexington Hotel in Chicago was being renovated, as was the case with many hotels in that period of time.  When the contractors found their way into the basement of the Lexington, they discovered a shooting range.  Additionally, they found an immense network of tunnels connecting numerous taverns and brothels.  Clearly this was no ordinary hotel basement.  Instead, this was a hideout of truly grandiose proportions.  In fact, this hideout belonged to none other than Al Capone. Capone's hideout had been in a different hotel in the city, but in July 1928 he moved his operation to the Lexington.  When he was arrested, Capone went away, but rumors of his treasure did not.

     Coming back to 1986, when the rooms underneath the Lexington were unearthed, who knew what could have been in them?  Enter Geraldo Rivera.  Geraldo was on the upswing of his career when he caught wind of the find over at the Lexington.  So, being the crack reporter that he was, he hopped on the next plane to Chicago and decided to have a look-see at the vault for himself.  What he saw certainly looked promising.  So promising in fact, that he decided to have a live TV special to unveil it.  The hype was incredible.  Arrangements were made to have a medical examiner on the scene in case any bodies were unearthed.  The IRS even sent over some agents to properly collect any monies that would be discovered in the vault. It was even rumored that Jimmy Hoffa might have been in there!(hey, you never know)  So after all of this build-up, and after a two-hour nationally syndicated special, the big moment came.  Geraldo blew the vault open, and what did he find?  Treasure, bodies, unfiled tax returns, the very meaning of life itself?  Actually, how about none of the above.  In fact, if you answered "An old stop sign and some empty bottles of gin", you would be correct.  Here's Geraldo's take on the whole affair:

     It was embarrassing.  It was humiliating.  People are still making jokes about it 28 years later.  But it was also the highest-rated syndicated special in the history of television.  And to this day, it is still the highest-rated syndicated special ever.  And Geraldo Rivera is still going strong(and in some cases, a little too strong).  Not too bad for a failed television special.

The Introduction: Fight Song Week Day 5

     Okay folks, let's be honest.  It had to end this way.  It was ALWAYS going to end this way.  With the Chicago Bulls and an English bloke by the name of Alan Parsons...


     In the final decade of the 20th Century, the city of Chicago had many things going for it.  A new expansion to the Adler Planetarium, the transformation of Navy Pier from abandoned hulk to THE tourist trap of the Midwest, and the creation of the Museum Campus(just to name a few).  But the ONE thing that put Chicago on the map in the 90s?  Well that's easy.  But rather than tell you, how about I just play you a video to introduce them much better than anyone else ever could.

     That's right, 1990s Chicago was ruled by Michael Jordan & Co.  This opening theme just served to enhance their mystique.  The track used is called "Sirius".  It was originally released by the British group The Alan Parsons Project way back in 1982.  Later on in the 80s, the song was incorporated into the team's new intro music.  The introduction came to define the Bulls dynasty like nothing else.  The theme is still used to this day during player introductions(but lets be honest, it's nothing like it was in the 90s)

The North Side Anthems: Fight Song Week Day 4

     In 1984, the Cubs were burning up the National League, and well on their way to their first postseason berth since 1945.  And all summer long, the city of Chicago was singing along to the catchy tunes of Steve Goodman:

     Goodman, a well-known folk singer and a lifelong Cubs fan, wrote the song at the request of WGN, who wanted a more upbeat tune for the games.  Goodman came through, and the song became a staple of Wrigley Field for the entire 1984 season.  Tragically, Steve Goodman passed away due to Leukemia 4 days before the Cubs clinched a spot in the postseason.  Afterwards, the song continued to be well-known and liked and used as part of the Cubs' broadcasts.  In 1987, the song was eventually retired in favor of "Here Come The Cubs" by the Beach Boys.  However, in 2007, the song enjoyed a modern resurgence, and is now played after every Cubs win at Wrigley Field.


     Speaking of Cubs Anthems that rose to prominence in 2007, Eddie Vedder was attending a Cubs Fantasy camp when Ernie Banks approached him and asked him to write a song about the team.  Vedder, being a lifelong Cubs fan, was only too happy to comply.  This is what he came up with:

     In September of 2008, the song was made available for purchase on Pearl Jam's website.  This only served to raise the fervor surrounding the song and the Cubs' playoff chase to a fever pitch.  In the summer of 2013, Pearl Jam played a show at Wrigley Field, and at one point in the show, Eddie Vedder invited Ernie Banks onstage to lead the crowd in the song.  Ultimately, the Cubs are still waiting to go all the way, but when they do, they'll have a song to sing when they get there.

The South Side Anthems: Fight Song Week Day 3

     In 1959, the Chicago White Sox made it back to the World Series for the first time since the infamous 1919 Series.  After Richard J. Daley made everybody think the Soviets were invading, the team got to work getting ready for the World Series.  All that time, they were being spurred on by this little ditty:

     Earlier that year, Al Trace(a former Sox minor leaguer) wrote the lyrics, and was looking for someone to record it.  Enter Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers, a country-comedy duo who were famed for releasing the jingles for the Roto-Rooter and Green Giant.  The song was a hit at the time, but was eventually forgotten until June 2005.  At that point, one of the employees of the Sox dusted off an old record of the song and decided to play it during a game.  The act went over without a hitch, so now the song has made a return to prominence on the South Side.


     Ever since the 1990s, the White Sox have had a distinctive way of welcoming their players into the game:

     Released by the band AC/DC in 1990, Thunderstruck quickly caught on for all kinds of sporting events, as evidenced by the video above, as well as the fact that it was used by numerous other sports teams throughout the country.


     When the White Sox made it back to the World Series in 2005 for the first time since 1959, they did so with yet another song in tow.  However, whereas the last one had been specially composed for the team, their '05 song was one of the most iconic 80s songs ever:

     The whole thing started out when some of the 2005 White Sox heard this song playing in a bar in Baltimore and liked the sound of it.  As the season wound on, the team was looking for a rally song, and this seemed to fit the bill.  After rolling through the playoffs and capturing their first World Series title since 1917, they went so far as to invite Steve Perry to their victory rally, where some of the players sang the song a capella with Perry.

You can like us on Facebook. Yes, that's right, YOU!

     For those of you who are somewhat newer arrivals to our blog-based journey through Chicago, you may not be aware of the fact that this blog has a Facebook page.   This is where you'll find posts that are put there after I publish them, as well as pictures from various past blog entries.  If you want to talk about things or suggest new ideas, this is the place for that as well.  The address of the page is:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-365/426431247425717

     So go to the page, like it, and make sure to tell your friends to like it as well.  And make sure to check back here later tonight, when I continue Fight Song Week with a little help from Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers...

Bearing Down for Victory!: Fight Song Week Day 2

     In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Chicago Bears(led by the one and only George Halas) stomped the Washington Redskins to the tune of 73-0(yes, I realize that score sounds like something the Superfans would dream up, but I swear to you all that it actually happened). The Bears were on top, and they had announced their presence in a big way. Around this same time, somebody happened upon the long-disused nickname for the University of Chicago's football team, and figured it would fit well with the Bears. And so, the Monsters of The Midway entered the 1941 season with a good amount of swagger, a newfound respect from the rest of the fans, and to top it all off, a brand spanking new fight song:

     Composed by Al Hoffman in the wake of the historic victory by the Bears, the song made another milestone. Through the writing of this tune, the Bears became the first NHL franchise to have a fight song, which certainly made a difference in the spirit level of their fans. In 1993, Bill Archer and The Big Bear Band recorded a new version of the song, which is the one still played today after every Bears victory.