Bulls parade through the streets

[knightni]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines

 

Bulls' wild ride kicks off

 

By K.C. Johnson

Tribune staff reporter

 

October 10, 2006, 11:04 PM CDT

 

 

When the double-decker bus carrying the entire Bulls roster hit a farmers' market near the corner of Adams and Dearborn on Tuesday afternoon, a patron fired a turnip at Benny the Bull.

 

That's when it became even clearer that anything could happen on this wild ride.

 

Players already had endured some indifference or surprise along Madison Street, ducking to avoid low-hanging tree branches, the "L" tracks near Lake Street and the below-average October temperatures.

 

"They say you never know what to expect, but I never expected this," center Ben Wallace said, smiling. "I'm kind of cold right now."

 

Forty years ago, then-scout/director of marketing Jerry Colangelo rented a flatbed truck and a live bull and cruised down Michigan Avenue in an effort to promote the expansion-era Bulls.

 

Tuesday afternoon, a team with high expectations spent 90 minutes cruising the streets, waving to fans and soaking up the cheers. After all, anything could happen this season on the Bulls' wild ride.

 

"This is a pretty cool idea," guard Ben Gordon said. "It's something different. Hopefully, we can be doing this again in June."

 

Indeed, the tour evoked memories of the White Sox World Series victory parade, minus the million or so fans. Some fans' exuberance might have been comparable though. Once downtown pedestrians began figuring out what was transpiring, the reaction became heartier and heartier.

 

"I feel like the president of Argentina," Andres Nocioni said.

 

One passenger opened his car door as the driver sped up to cruise alongside the bus on LaSalle Street.

 

"Where's Ben at?" the passenger shouted. "Where's Ben?"

 

This time he was talking about Wallace, not Gordon or the mascot. Wallace, who knows something about victory parades, smiled and waved.

 

The event, officially titled "Paint the Town Red," came on the eve of the exhibition opener at the United Center against the Wizards.

 

"Every NBA team is asked to do a preseason event to herald the arrival of the season," explained Steve Schanwald, the Bulls' executive vice president of business operations. "We considered going to malls or to CTA platforms.

 

"But we decided putting them on a bus where people can see them all at once is the best way to touch the most people. We feel we accomplished our goal."

 

Now it's up to the Bulls' players to do the same.

 

"We have high expectations," Nocioni said. "It's nice to see the fans, and hopefully we can keep them cheering all season long."

Edited October 11, 2006 by knightni