Benny the Bull Disrespect, United Center Atmosphere, Staying Aggressive, and Other Bulls Bullets

We have some pressing news to start with: Denver Nuggets mascot Rocky is reportedly the NBA’s highest-paid mascot.

That’s right, he’s making $625k a year to be nowhere near the NBA’s best mascot. What a travesty.

  • According to the Sports Business Journal, (h/t CBS4) Rocky and Harry the Hawk ($600k) sit ahead of Benny the Bull as the top-grossing mascots in the NBA. I know, THIRD!??? The Benny the Bull disrespect is crazy! If Arturas Karnisovas and Billy Donovan can be awarded contract extensions, Jerry Reinsdrof can pony up and hand Benny a new fat contract. He puts his furry body on the line every night to dump popcorn on innocent bystanders! He also makes by far the best TikToks in the game. Not to mention, he’s probably the best 3-point shooter in the organization! This franchise just continues to disappoint.
  • No matter the team, Chicagoans always show out in the playoffs.
  • https://twitter.com/670TheScore/status/1663919995053547528?s=20

  • Exhibit A: Game 3 of the Bucks-Bulls series in 2021-22. Sitting in the United Center for what was the team’s first home playoff game since 2016-17, the excitement was genuinely palpable. Billy Goat was packed with far-too-optimistic fans before the game, and my skin was later covered in goosebumps during the iconic starting lineup call. Even as the Bucks proceeded to stomp on the Bulls like they were the “I” in the Pixar logo, my ears rang after almost every basket. This city will always give a sh*t, and it’s so disappointing we can’t always say the same about the folks running the teams.
  • Seriously, though, I’m not sure folks truly understand how great the atmosphere can be when the team is clicking at the United Center. My fiancee is a major Milwaukee Bucks fan, which means we go to a handful of games at the Fiserv Forum each season. While I give that crowd their props for getting rowdy, even she expressed sheer amazement at the UC’s response when Milwaukee was kicking the Bulls’ teeth in last year. She turned to me and openly admitted, “the Bucks’ home crowd needs to step it up.”
  • Somebody send Jake Fischer’s latest article for Yahoo Sports to the Bulls.
  • Even if “continuity” was the right move for the Bulls, I think they’ve so far approached it in the wrong way. Keeping a core together doesn’t mean sitting on your hands for three-straight transactional periods. The NBA is always changing, and the Bulls need to make sure they are changing with it. As Fischer indicates, the Nuggets have been a prime example of this. While the Murray-Jokic-Porter Jr. core has remained intact, we’ve seen a lot of movement around the margins. Whether it be adding Bruce Brown or trading for Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, they’ve continued to upgrade the supporting cast. What have the Bulls done? Add players like Tristan Thompson, Goran Dragic, and Andre Drummond.
  • The Nuggets have consistently surveyed what holes need to be filled around their stars and have promptly acted. The Bulls admitted that they needed to add shooting and rim protection at the end of the 2021-22 season, yet they proceeded to aggressively pursue neither. At the end of the day, it all goes back to the idea of choosing a lane and staying aggressive. It’s what we talked about at the trade deadline. You can’t take your foot off the gas in the middle of the street. Karnisovas either has to constantly seek out upgrades in a win-now lane, or make a U-Turn and revert course.
  • Speaking of continuity, guess who could be on the brink of a new contract?
  • A Chicago native as the 2024 No. 1 pick!? NBA IS DEF RIGGING THIS THING! LET’S GOOO!!!
  • This is unreal.
  • A look at the official draft board!
  • This would be fun.
  • written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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