CHICAGO – The Chicago Bears home opener is less than 24 hours away, and the city is hoping for the best season since 1985.
Before players can take the field, however, there’s a whirlwind of work to be done.
Soldier Field is a place where legends still live and also a place where new names are set to star. As Chicago bears down for hopefully the best football season in decades, it’s all hands on deck to get things ready, and WGN’s Brónagh Tumulty lent a hand Saturday afternoon, stepping up as MVP.
Thankfully for Chicago and Brónagh, the “Most Valuable Painter” position involves a wand, not a helmet.
Assistant Groundskeeper Dakota Rogers showed Bronagh the ropes, and while Rogers is relatively new to Chicago, he’s been doing this for quite some time. His grandfather was the initial green thumb of the family.
“Definitely. Mowing lawns when I was a kid, he’d pay me $20 bucks to go pick up [items], hop on the lawnmower and give him a hand,” Rogers said.
Now, Rogers is responsible for getting the rookies in line.
“I got very fortunate and learned from some very good guys in the industry, and had a path that was kind of paved for me, I guess you could say,” Rogers said.
Others, meanwhile, have been paving paths for much longer.
“I’ve been here since 1998,” Assistant Groundskeeper Kurt Hoffmann said.
From first downs to touchdowns, the boundaries painted on the field can make or break a game.
“Do you ever feel like, ‘That line looks a little bit wobbly. I have to fix that,'” Tumulty asked.
“Quite often,” Hoffmann laughed.
On that note, fans on Sunday should avoid looking closely at the “G” in Chicago, painted by Brónagh herself.
For each game, it’s a three-day paint job.
“Probably about 70 gallons of white paint. So that’s 35 gallons and we have to cut it in half,” Hoffmann said.
Crews then have to turn around and repaint the field for Chicago Fire FC soccer matches.
It’s back-breaking work, even on a sunny September day, more so when it snows.
“Snow, it’s a bad four-letter word around here. It’s the worst,” Hoffmann said.
“Yeah, it gets cold. You know that,” said Head Groundskeeper John Nolan, who’s been here for 36 years. “There’s good days [though].”
Nolan is happy to delegate a bit now to Rogers and Hoffmann, who put their heart and soul into the preparations.
“It’s a rewarding feeling knowing how much work, you know, we’re the guys that know how much work went into it,” Rogers said. “So when you actually get that final shot, you see it, you know that millions of people are going to enjoy the product that you put out there. It’s definitely a rewarding feeling at the end of the day.”
Nolan said he’ll probably only stay a few more years. When asked if he’ll miss getting the field ready, he had this to say.
“Oh sure, some days, but not always,” Nolan said with a laugh. “Just when it’s snowing, I’m going to stay inside.”