"Chicago Bulls": history, traditions, composition

Chicago Bulls is the legendary American professional basketball team based in the city of Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls perform at the National Basketball Association in the Central Division of the Eastern League Conference. The Chicago Bulls team was founded on January 16, 1966 and plays their home games in the United Center arena, which they play with the Chicago Blackhawks from the National Hockey League. “Bulls” achieved their greatest success in the 90s of the last century. This time is known for the fact that the Bulls won 6 championship titles between 1991 and 1998. At the head of the invincible team were Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen and coach Phil Jackson who were brought into the NBA Hall of Fame.

The Bulls won 72 games during the 1995–1996 NBA season, which is the NBA’s absolute record, as they are the only team in history to win 70 games or more in one season. Many experts and analysts consider the 1996 team to be one of the greatest teams in NBA history. As of 2016, the value of Chicago Bulls is $ 2.3 billion with operating income for the 2015-2016 season of about $ 67 million. Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose have won the most valuable player award a total of six times.

Title

Dick Klein, the founder of the team, chose the Bulls name for the team in honor of the traditional meat packing industry in Chicago, and also because of the proximity in Chicago of the Bulls Stadium to Union Stock Yards. Klein considered names like “Matadors” or “Toreadors”, but rejected them, saying the famous phrase: “If you think I'm wrong, then remember that no team with three syllables in the name has ever had great success not counting the Montreal Canadiens. After discussing possible names with his family, Klein settled on the Bulls.

Emblem

The Chicago Bulls logo is the head of an angry red bull. The logo was developed by the famous American designer Dean Wessel and was adopted in 1966. At the beginning of the 70s, an alternative team logo was also used, on which there was still the same bull, but with a cloud on which it says "City of the Winds".

Exit to the parquet

“Bulls” is one of the first teams that became world famous not only because of their game, but also the style of reaching the floor before the match. Announcer Tommy Edwards was the first to use Sirius, On The Run, and other pre-game songs. When Edwards moved to Boston to work with CBS Radio, he was replaced by Ray Clay, and Clay still continued with traditional music. At one time, the song was The Imperial March from Star Wars. Almost all the lights in the stadium after the start of the song are turned off, and a spotlight illuminates each player who enters the court. After moving to the United Center, computer graphics were added at the stadium. The new image has a 3D effect of running bulls along the way breaking a bus with the emblem of the opposing team.

Black sneakers and socks

Bulls have an unofficial tradition of wearing black sneakers and socks (regardless of whether they play at home or away) during the playoffs. This tradition dates back to 1989, when the idea was proposed to wear shoes of the same color, showing the unity of the team. In 1996, they were the first to start wearing black sneakers and socks as a team. After that, many teams borrowed this tradition from the Bulls.

However, there were notable exceptions to this rule. In the 1995 playoffs against Orlando Magic, Michael Jordan made his debut in his signature Air Jordan XI, which was white. He was fined for not fulfilling their “color” policy. In 2009, to everyone’s surprise, the whole team came out in white sneakers and socks in the match against the Boston Celtics. After that, the tradition began to be broken frequently, and players put on either red or black sneakers in accordance with club colors.

Composition

At present, 15 players represent the Chicago Bulls. The composition of the team includes 2 point guards, 3 light forwards, 3 attacking defenders, 4 heavy forwards and 2 center. The head coach of the team is Fred Heuberg, and his assistants are Randy Brown, Henry, Mike Wilhelm, Pete Myers, Jim Boylen.

Here they are, "Bulls."