​It’s the kind of photo that, years from now, might decorate a hundred Chicago sports bars: Cubs, Bulls and Bears, all coming together like some kind of Windy City Avengers. There’s the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong in the midst of a likely MVP season; two on-the-rise Bulls in Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis; and in the middle of it all, the guy who carries the hopes and dreams of an entire city on his shoulders. chicago’s in good hands. pic.twitter.com/68UsDyjasS— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 4, 2026At the start of his third season, Caleb Williams stands on the doorstep of glory. He’s already given Chicago Bears fans the kind of hope they haven’t had in decades. And if he’s able to keep the reigning NFC North champion Bears on their current trajectory, well — immortality awaits. Nobody loves a hometown hero quite like Chicago. These are exciting days in Chicago, the kind of days when you know you’re at the start of something special. Crow-Armstrong should soon steal his way to the first 40-40 season in Cubs history and, with it, the National League MVP. Both the Cubs and White Sox are currently in postseason position. The Bulls, particularly Wilson, have potential. The Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard is one of the most exciting players in hockey. Heck, even the pope is a Chicago sports fan. But with all due respect to the other franchises, the Bears control the conversation, and it’s on Williams to run the Bears. “The entire city of Chicago is behind Caleb Williams in a way that I’ve never seen us get behind a Bears quarterback,” says Kevin Kaduk, author of the Bears By 7 newsletter. “It’s just a different feeling of confidence when he goes out there and works with Ben Johnson. What’s also cool is that he’s out and about around town. … When he goes to Wrigley Field to watch (PCA), he sits in the stands, not a luxury box.”Granted, the bar for Williams when he arrived was on the floor. At this point in their Bears tenure, previous quarterbacks Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky were already hopeless. Indeed, since the fabled ’85 Bears won Super Bowl XX, Chicago has started an astounding 45 quarterbacks, virtually none of whom left any lasting impression. Don’t believe me? See how many you can name in Bears By 7’s quiz. (We’ll spot you Jim McMahon and Jim Harbaugh.)When Chicago selected Williams with the first pick in the 2024 draft thanks to the generosity of the Carolina Panthers — the Bears’ Week 1 opponent, coincidentally enough — no analysts questioned Williams’ innate talent. Most, though, rightly questioned the Bears’ ability to unlock that talent for the good of the team. That proved a valid fear; although Williams himself set multiple rookie records, the Bears as a whole finished the 2024 season at 5-12, costing Matt Eberflus his job. Chicago snagged Johnson from division rival Detroit, and the results were immediate: a six-win improvement, a division championship, the franchise’s first playoff victory since 2010 … and that intoxica