Who Is The 4th Spot On Chicago's Sports Mount Rushmore?
Nothing like a good ole fashioned Mount Rushmore to get the juices flowing on a Sunday. And people were fired up yesterday and it's still going. I feel like there is definitely a consensus around the top 3. Kane has ascended into that echelon. Patrick Kane has all the hardware. Scoring title, Conn Smythe, three Stanley Cups. And, like the other guys on the list, he's just fucking sweet. He's a killer as a competitor, but has the element of cool that makes him a cultural icon as well. Kaner, when it's all said and done, will be the Blackhawks all-time leading scorer(probably needs max 5 more full seasons to pass Mikita) and will be the greatest American-born hockey player ever. He's on the mountain. The 4th spot...I really don't know. You can make an argument for a dozen or more guys. I just threw names out there in the tweet above, but Sammy Sosa, Halas, Urlacher, among others could be in the conversation. I decided to go with the People. The Stoolies. The most responses I got were for Pippen, Ernie Banks, Frank Thomas, and Ditka. Some thought it was an easy choice
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That was Ernie Banks' 500th HR. He's got the stats. He has two MVPs. He's an icon in the city. He just…never won a thing. And I know that people get all bent out of shape about winning, especially in baseball, certainly not Ernie Banks' fault, but it's a knock against him. Or an asterisk. When you're talking about the best of the best in the history of the city not having a single "big" moment to point at kind of hurts. Mt Rushmore's aren't simply about stats. It's about legacy and legend. Banks is most known for being the face of the lovable losers. That doesn't disqualify him, but it prevents him from being a lock in my eyes.
Pippen has all the rings and is one of the top players in league history, but he was always second fiddle.
Ditka…Ditka got it done as a player, coach, and cultural icon. Nobody dresses up as Ernie Banks for halloween except for Ronnie Woo Woo.
I really don't know who to put in that spot. I think gun to my head I pick Ernie Banks, but it's hard because I also never saw him play. It is just grainy footage and stories from your dad. I put it to the people
Ditka with a SLIGHT edge over Banks at the time of this blog and I think if Frank Thomas weren't an option more people would vote for Mr Cub just because they want a baseball guy to complete the foursome. And if our foursome is Payton, Jordan, Kane, and Banks that is probably the greatest Mt Rushmore any city could put together. I am sure Boston will say Brady, Bird, Orr, and Ted Williams, but I'll still take our crew with MJ. GOATS of the GOAT