CHICAGO — Like so many Cubs fans around the country, Ben Johnson also ran inside to watch Cubs baseball on WGN after school.
In Johnson’s highly-anticipated introductory press conference, he mentioned that he and his family go to a Cubs game once a year.
Speaking with ESPN 1000’s Carmen and Jurko after the press conference, the new Bears head coach unveiled that his Cubs fandom goes back to the 90s.
“I still remember growing up and coming home from school, my brother and I, he’s three years younger than me, we would always turn on WGN when we came home,” Johnson said. “And there’s Harry Caray, there’s Mark Grace, there’s Ryne Sandberg — it got into the Sammy Sosa years. We followed it almost every single day that it was on.”
Like other Cubs fans during the Lou Piniella era, Johnson’s younger brother put his name down for season tickets in 2007.
“It took about six to eight years but finally his name got to the top of it and he ended up getting four tickets,” Johnson said.
That began a yearly family tradition for the Johnson family with a trip to Chicago to see the Cubs.
“It was a great time for me and my family but we just fell in love with the city as well,” Johnson said.
His brother still has the tickets and Johnson said he lives in Manhattan and does well due to a degree from M.I.T.
Johnson made it clear Wednesday that his top priority is to win right away.
Free agency kicks off on March 12 as GM Ryan Poles will look to reshape some of the roster.