#wintrust arena

[doublescribble]

Angel Reese

[strle]

chasing that comp lit WNBA experience

[downisupandupisdown]

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) goes to the basket against the Connecticut Sun during the second half of a WNBA game at Wintrust Arena. Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports© Provided by Athlon Sports

[sagittarius-groove]

Ateez | The Fellowship: Beginning of the End Tour | January 18, 2022 | Chicago

[elizabethkitley]

If the Sky give the Fever covid after tonight i stg

chennedy's already out so

[dirtbag-linecook-kyloren]

I HAVE ANOTHER SETTING WITH PANORAMIC PICTURES OF THE INSIDE OMG

LITERALLY A SCENE SETTING WET DREAM

[elitehanitje]

Anthony Bowens is the future of Pride and a shining example of the power of being out & proud

When you think of professional wrestling, queer acceptance might not be the first thing that comes to mind. In reality, progress towards changing that perception is being made, in large part thanks to PRIDE’s Grand Marshal, Anthony Bowens, and his decision to be out and proud — in and out of the ring.

“I feel extremely welcomed. That was actually one of the drawing points of coming to All Elite Wrestling [AEW], back in 2020 when I was trying to choose between two companies,” Bowens recalls to PRIDE. “It was how welcoming the locker room was and how free the performers were, because AEW had the first ever trans woman to win a major national title named Nyla Rose, and they had Sonny Kiss, and both were just walking around being themselves and there was no issues. It was just we're all one big family, it didn't matter who you were. And I thought that was so impressive.”

Bowens says that this spirit of welcoming and acceptance is mirrored by his fellow performers, the management, and, of course, the fans. There was a time when being an out gay wrestler would have been an oxymoron, but the sea change is occurring and has never been more evident than in a truly stunning moment of solidarity shared by a crowd of wrestling fans. If you’d been at the AEW Dynamite show last June at Chicago's Wintrust Arena, you’d have seen (and heard nothing but) a sold-out crowd erupt into chants of “he’s gay” in support of Bowens.

While Bowens is the first to admit that pro wrestling still has a ways to go in terms of its queer acceptance, he can’t help but see positive signs everywhere he looks. “We have shows on the independent [promotions] like Effy's Big Gay Brunch that features all LGBTQ athletes, I think he runs it multiple times a year now; it used to be every WrestleMania weekend. And then also on AEW, I think that at one point one of our shows had I think seven or eight out LGBTQ athletes on the show. That doesn't happen anywhere else. And that certainly didn't happen when I first started,” he says.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE AND INTERVIEW

[darthagustd]

If any kpop company is listening.. STOP GOING TO ALLSTATE ARENA. IT SUCKS.

PLAY AT UNITED CENTER.

And if it's not a massive fanbase, we have Wintrust!

Chicago has so many stadiums and y'all continually choose the WORST ONE.

[know4life]

Sunday, February 26th, The Hon. Min. Louis #Farrakhan will deliver the #SD2023 Address titled, “The War Of Armageddon Has Begun” live at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. More info at www.noi.org/sd2023/

#SD2023 #Farrakhan Saviours' Day Gift 2023:

https://tnp.noi.org/sddonations?id=5355&name=Steven

[got7ent]

teamwang: JACKSON WANG MAGIC MAN WORLD TOUR 2023 in North America - Chicago

Are you ready for the magical journey

Chicago Wintrust arena at 8PM CDT Tonight

[doublescribble]

Kahleah Copper and Chelsea Gray

[wrestlingisfake]

Holy shit New Japan coming to Wintrust Arena!

[wordsbyrian]

I just passed soldier field, wintrust arena and wrigley field and the Chicago Sky is playing rn in the second at wintrust and I’m seeing a damn lighthouse

Simp

theyre torturing you on purpose bro

[theanticool]

Bellator has rebooked the light heavyweight title fight between Vadim Nemkov and Yoel Romero for Bellator 297 on June 16th. Co featuring on the card will be a bantamweight title fight between champion Sergio Pettis and current FW champ Patricio Pitbull! Looking like a great card.

[jimintomystery]

Just a li'l update about me: I caught COVID-19 a few days ago and I've been mostly laying around not wanting to do anything.

I'm certain I picked it up from going to see AEW at the Wintrust Arena on June 21. Which is kinda funny, since the last time I went to Wintrust without a mask on to see AEW, it was February 2020, and I didn't understand what we were dealing with yet but I kinda knew I was rolling the dice. Well, it took three years, but that building finally got me.

Anyway, I've had like four Covid shots so I expect I'll be fine. The main thing is a bad sore throat that won't go away, and a slight fever that does go away and then comes back when I least expect it. I've had flu worse than this so I can manage, but you can understand why I'm not in much of a mood to do any tumblrin' right now. I'll check in later.

[misterjt]

An Accounting of 2022

family ties

I got invited to no funerals this year. Those nearest and dearest to me were healthy. In a year packed with tragic deaths in the news, it feels important to acknowledge that the grim reaper did not come this way. 

My family, in general, had a stellar year. Team Toney remains booked and busy. My mom has opted to shift her career away from touring and more events closer to home and US-bound. 

Dom's dog, Duke, has become our regular houseguest, and we love it. He seems to love it, too. Has his visiting scratched the itch for us wanting our own pet or just enhanced that desire? 2023 will tell.

I worried about my grandmother's arthritis, for which her complaints (and concerning mishaps) increased over the year, but she is otherwise doing fine. And continues to defend herself against giving up her independence despite the desires of her children.

Get Sun

This year, travel was increasingly back on the table with work trips to Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and New York. Not quite back to my old and desired schedule of about once a month, but once a quarter—with colleagues also coming to LA several times—is a move in the right direction.

We also went to Greensboro, Minneapolis, Chicago, and San Luis Obispo, but more later.

Beyond that, though, I got out of the house! I saw live music for the first time in two years, with the Smoking Grooves festival on my birthday and a Hollywood Bowl show featuring Flying Lotus, Hiatus Kaiyote, and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. We will close out the year with The Roots at Disney Concert Hall.

Friends came to town to visit. There was lunch and brunch and birthday get-togethers. I was back to doing many things I did before the pandemic began. I even went to relatively packed movie houses (though I'm much more of a matinee person now than before). 

We outside! 

ENERGY

Included in being outside was being inside for basketball. If meaningful women's basketball was being played, you could make a pretty good bet in 2022 that we were there. Those trips to Greensboro and Minneapolis were for the NCAA Women's basketball tournament regionals and Final Four -- the first I have ever attended. It was an outstanding experience that I'm confident we will do when the locations and timing allow it.

We upgraded to courtside seats for the Los Angeles Sparks in 2022. Unexpectedly, that meant sitting a couple seats down from Leslie Jones. Jones is a brand new Sparks fan who was encouraged to attend by the ultimately short-tenured Liz Cambage. The comedian also became our basketball friend throughout the season. I sat next to Tacko Fall, Carmelo Anthony, Cedric Ceballos, and a WNBA player agent. We got thanked by Kenan Thompson for giving up our seats so that he and his little girls could sit next to Ms. Jones the day before he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Sparks had a dreadful season, but the upgrade was a delightful splurge that was well worth the cost.

We also made our way to Chicago for the WNBA All-Star game. It was the first time we'd gone to All-Star where the location was more of an attraction than the festivities. The game was tremendous, and WinTrust is an excellent arena but our touristy Saturday away from all that was outstanding.

Over Thanksgiving break, we made an impromptu trip up the coast to watch the Gamecocks play Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Despite all this travel, neither of us attended the University of South Carolina. Such is the pull of Dawn Staley and the program she's built.

It also reflects the importance of basketball—women's basketball, particularly—as a joy maker in our lives. Good things happen when we say yes to hoops.

BREAK MY SOUL

It feels weird to say it was a challenging year at work because so much of it was about progress and growth, but it was. I went through a couple months where Beyoncé's lead single from Renaissance was the mantra for the day. I felt him when Russell Westbrook came into a press conference early in the season like this. 

Part of what made the back half of the year hard was that I got promoted to VP in March. Title changes don't always mean new responsibilities and expectations, but, in this case, and at this Company, it very much did. At this point in my career, figuring out what it means and how to pivot is on my shoulders. No guidebook was coming. So I was uncomfortable, frustrated, and unsure for six months.

I still have those moments now but far less frequently. Something clicked in October. I shifted my approach, allowing me to find the path. I ended the year far more confident about where to go next than those days in August and September humming about people working my nerves.

I'm very proud of the work we accomplished this year and the value it provides. It's corny to say so, but I like what I do, who I do it with, and what we do it for. I have a very sober view of corporate work and the entertainment business, but I like this shit. Even when it's hard. It could be, especially when it's been hard, and I can see the fruits and growth of doing the hard things. 

About Damn Time

I quit Twitter. It's been nearly two months, and my brain is recalibrating. I'm a person who has focus. I no longer feel that twitch to scroll aimlessly. I have much more time than I thought I did. There's time for french lessons, letter writing, reading, walks, meditation, and planning.

There's also time for doing nothing. Like, for real, idle brain nothing.

Since probably 2017, I have felt the nudge to get off the bird app, but I was addicted to the dopamine rush. Musk buying the joint and following through on his trollish personality to make terrible choices was the push out the door I needed. 

I'm no longer seeking a replacement for the Twitter experience. I don't need it, and it's about damn time I realized that.

Thanks, 2022! It's been real! On to the next!