Monday, December 10, 2012

Round 1 of the Curbed Cup: Sloop vs. Wloop

Wloop just sounds silly...but we had to do it.

Anyway, as many of you know the 2012 Curbed Cup is just getting underway.  The Uptown neighborhood has won the last two years.  In 2010 the South Loop finished second.  This year Uptown was not included in the bracket.  What does that mean?  It's time to bring the cup home to the South Loop!

We garnered the cherished number one seed this year and our first round opponent is our "rival" and "alter ego" the West Loop.  Anyway, head to this link and vote for whatever neighborhood you would like (we would suggest the Sloop).

Finally, this match-up seems like a perfect segue to a recent message board post where a poster named Naya asked a similar question about where to move -- the South Loop or the West Loop?  

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

west loop = south loop without ghetto bums and more resturants and les nimby's

MarkChicago said...

so...NOT equal to the west loop?

"without ghetto bums". Obviously you haven't been down to Monroe & Ashland near the Alcoholics Anon meetings halfway house or hung out around Skinner Park during peak bball season.

Anonymous said...

i have but it is nowhere near the south loop. Sloop is rampant in grafiti, bums/gangs and crime

Anonymous said...

West loop has more dining options along a 1/4-mile stretch of Randoplh Street than the sloop has from motor row to printers row. This is an easy choice for curbed voters. The "proximity to the lake" argument only carries the sloop so far; and, unfortunately, in Chicago the lake is really only an outlet for half the year (tops).

Anonymous said...

Monroe and Ashland is nothing compared to Canal Street from 18th street to Roosevelt. Such a sad sight now that bums are hanging all over the bus stop on SE corner of Canal and Roosevelt, which gets a lot of non-sloop visitors because of the Whole Foods.

Anonymous said...

Whats wrong with Alcoholics Anonymous meetings? There are plenty of those in the sloop as well....mostly attended by well to do people.

I dont necessarily disagree with you, but maybe you should do some research before spouting off sheer ignorance, Mark.

Anonymous said...

im sorry but i have lived in south loop for the past 7 months and I cannot wait to leave. there are two bars, two resturants, and 9000 bums and criminals.

Anonymous said...

mark your comments are just about the dumbest thing I have read in a long time.

idiot

Anonymous said...

You'll have to excuse MarkChicago, he fell off the shortbus....

LOL

Anonymous said...

Before we start touting our access to the lakefront path as an asset, heed the warnings from CPD of strong arm muggings along the south shore path in the Trib today.

MarkChicago said...

"mostly attended by well to do people". Yes, most at AA are smoking pipes and reading through monocles until the pocket watch strikes 7.

Flawless use of "LOL". Laugh at your own jokes they said, you will be a great comedian they said.

Anonymous said...

Police involved shooting, in broad daylight, in the middle of the intersection at 34th and Indiana yesterday afternoon. Just south of motor row and one-block from the only Starbucks south of Roosevelt in the entire south loop area.

FitGuy said...

there is a starbucks south of roosevelt on wabash, dumby

Anonymous said...

$20 says MarkChicago is a 40-something "bachelor" with a weight problem

God I love being right

Anonymous said...

Mark,

You have no basis for your argument on AA. I doubt you have any experience in the matter.

"Well to do people" could translate into people who can afford to drop 60k for two months in rehab, etc. Based on your comments, you are probably nowhere near that, or at least cant comprehend it.

It's people like YOU that hold the sloop back. Why would people who can afford to live or invest down here choose to be surrounded by a bunch of ignorant, bigoted morons? I moved here from NY, i used to live in an extremely wealthy neighborhood, and even that neighborhood still had bums, crime, racial diversity, and (gasp) AA MEETINGS AND HALFWAY HOUSES. Did the community complain about it? No, they just sucked it up because they knew that this is the way it is when you LIVE IN A CITY.

Seriously, go back to Missouri, Iowa, or wherever you are from and take your stupidity with you. Once that happens, then this neighborhood will take off.

Anonymous said...

The Starbucks on Wabash is AT Roosevelt, NOT south of Roosevelt.

Anonymous said...

Amen, Anon 12:34. I also moved from NYC to the Sloop last year and I have to say that this crowd is impossible to please.

I like the Sloop. I like the restaurants, bars, etc here. I like the easy access to museums, the lake, short commute to the Loop for work, easy access to all highways and public transportation options. It has a lot of the things I liked about New York but with three times the amount of space for my money.

I get so frustrated reading all of the comments on this blog complaining about the restaurants and businesses that they don't like and how they wish the Sloop were more like Licoln Park or Wicker Park, etc. We make this neighbor what we want it to be. If we support the businesses that are here now, more will want to come. If we bash anything new that comes along, why would a small business owner want to take a chance with our neighborhood?

I challenge everyone who hates the Sloop to either get out there and truly take advantage of everything this neighborhood has to offer (which is a lot if you look for it), move out or just be quiet. We all live here. Why not start taking some pride in it?

Mark A.

DogsRgreat said...

anon @ 12:34. You scream of bigotry but in the same breath you spout of "go back to Iowa/etc"

I am assuming you are just an emotional person.

Anonymous said...

So who won, wloop or sloop?

MarkChicago said...

Apologist Anons have really taken over this thread. It's the classic debate that you must embrace vagrants & thugs to fit into the urban club. Take your fixed gear and play chicken with a Metra train.

I made a few comments about thugs (a legitimate concern) and was attacked with open-minded, worldly insults about obesity, mental disability, and being from Iowa.

Anon @12:34 said...

Yea Mark, there's a place for people who want to embrace the urban lifestyle without any of the downside...its called the SUBURBS.

And id be curious to know what your definition of "thugs and vagrants" would be? I have a feeling it is tied to one's appearance versus the content of their character.

I'll admit that I contradicted myself when I said go back to Iowa, and i can see that as part of the beauty of engaging in debates like this, but seriously, if you cant handle seeing the good, bad & ugly, then maybe you should reconsider living in a major city.



MarkChicago said...

@Anon
We get it, you are tolerant of everything. And you sure will go to lengths to convince yourself of your own virtues.

I live in the real world and don't have the luxury of having a heart-to-heart with every streetwalker. Therefore, yes, appearance is one factor among many. To look past it is real ignorance.