The Chicago Bulls Honored Derrick Rose With An Amazing Halftime Ceremony And Then Didn't Retire His Number
If there’s one thing Chicago knows how to do, it’s how to over-promise and under-deliver.
Derrick Rose Night at the United Center was set up to be a once-in-a-lifetime moment. The city’s favorite son.
The youngest MVP in NBA history. A Simeon kid who took the Bulls from the depths of mediocrity to Eastern Conference contenders. The prodigal son returning home to be showered with love by the people who adore him.
(This video of him in highschool is still fucking insane to watch almost 20 years later)
And bot oh boy, did they roll out the red carpet tonight: first the "MVP" chants
then Joakim Noah giving a heartfelt speech that made grown men cry, and a crowd so electric it reminded us just how crazy the United Center can be when there's actually something on the floor to give a shit about-
Rose himself was emotional, thanking the city for shaping him and teaching him what it means to be great. It was beautiful. It was everything you’d expect for a man who is Chicago basketball.
But then, in true Bulls fashion, they hit us with the ultimate dick tease: “We’ll retire his jersey…next season.”
Excuse me? Next season? You’re telling me you orchestrated this whole spectacle- on a night where every fan was ready to watch No. 1 rise to the rafters- and then decided, nah, let’s punt this one to 2026?
After we did Derrick Rose weekend in Chicago-
his pop up "flower" shop in the Gold Coast that had people camping out overnight on Thursday-
Seriously, who does this?
Only Chicago sports. I swear.
(Sidebar - the people who will come out and defend this, like they do ever time Chicago sports ownership poops their pants like this, will forever be comical. Like broken dogs. "What's the big deal, they'll just do it all again next season?")
This is Derrick Rose we’re talking about. A man whose career was tragically shortened because Tom Thibodeau ran him into the ground like he was a 2010 Ford Focus with 200,000 miles.
This is a player who gave everything to the Bulls, only to have his knees betray him.
He should’ve been one of the greatest to ever do it. Forget the Hall of Fame- if Rose had stayed healthy, we’d be discussing him in the same conversation as Jordan, not just giving him a pity banner next year.
Laugh all you want at that statement. But watch this video first before you call me an idiot-
But OF COURSE the Bulls couldn’t even get this right.
They had one job- retire the man’s jersey on his night.
Instead, they gave us a halftime show with just enough pomp and circumstance to make us feel something, then yanked the rug out from under us.
And don’t give me this “logistics” excuse or “it wasn’t the right time” nonsense.
They literally declared January 4th “Derrick Rose Day” in Chicago.
The Knicks were in town. Tom Thibodeau was sitting courtside.
This was the perfect moment. What are they waiting for, a solar eclipse?
The truth is, Derrick Rose deserved better from the Bulls, just like he deserved better from the league and from his own body.
The guy was Chicago basketball in the 2010s.
He was hope personified. Every kid on the South Side wanted to be him. Every Bulls fan lived and died by his game. For that 4-5 year stretch every single Bulls game was must watch. He didn’t just win an MVP- he carried a franchise, and a city, on his back.
The Bulls owe him more than a cheap promise to raise his jersey “later.” They owe him the respect of recognizing his greatness when it matters most, on a night meant to celebrate his legacy, not dangle it like a carrot for next year.
So, here’s to Derrick Rose, the People’s Champ, the hometown hero who deserved so much more than what he got. The Bulls might’ve botched his night, but the fans will always remember who he was- the beating heart of Chicago, the city's MVP forever.
p.s. - still one of the best videos anybody has ever made and uploaded to youtube
p.s. - this is so cool that he was out on the floor with his kids pre-shoot around
and that he stopped by his old high school to talk to the kids
p.p.s. - still one of the greatest videos of all time