Michael Jordan-Era Chicago Bulls Banners Damaged By Rock Tour Audio Ink Radio

Michael Jordan-Era Chicago Bulls Banners Damaged By Rock Tour

2025-03-14

Rock band Disturbed performed in Chicago on Saturday, March 8, and unfortunately, the show resulted in damage to the legendary Bulls banners. – Author: Cat Badra, Photo via Anne Erickson

The guys of Disturbed are on a massive tour, featuring support from Three Days Grace and Sevendust. The trek is hitting various arenas across North America, and many of the dates are sold out.

As always, Disturbed’s show is heavy on the pyrotechnics. Having a show packed with pyro is a rite of passage for many hard rock and metal bands, and Disturbed are certainly successful enough to afford to tour with a lot of fire and effects.

Unfortunately, the band’s show on Saturday, March 8, caused significant damage to the legendary Chicago Bulls championship banners that have been hanging from the rafters for decades. Adding injury to insult, this was a hometown concert for Disturbed, since the guys hail from the Windy City.

Disturbed Tour Causes Damage to Legendary Chicago Bulls Banners

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune published on Thursday, March 13, the heat from the pyro damaged and warped the bottom halves of the Chicago Bulls’ six NBA championship banners from the 1990s. Following the show, the banners have been taken down from the arena for repairs. Fans won’t be able to see the banners for the rest of the NBA season, either, since they will not be on display until next season.

What makes these banners so special is that the Chicago Bills won them during their famed Michael Jordan run in the 1980s and 1990s, which is considered to be one of the greatest NBA runs in the history of the league.

The venue released a statement on the incident, stating, “United Center is currently working with the Bulls to explore options to repair these banners. While the banners will not be in place for the remainder of this season, we do anticipate them being back in place next season.”

It’s possible the damage happened during one of the opening band’s sets, but the “Sound of Silence” rockers are famous for having lots of pyro, so some believe it was during the Disturbed set.

Disturbed’s Band Members Are Chicago Sports Fans

Not only are Disturbed hometown boys, but they’re also big fans and supporters of Chicago sports. Drummer Mike Wengren actually performed in both a Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks jersey during the show. Given their love for Chicago and all things Chicago sports, it’s safe to say that Disturbed didn’t mean any harm to the venue.

It’s also interesting that this is the first time these banners have reportedly been damaged, since it’s common for bands to come through the venue with pyro all the time. It really seems like this would have happened before, but there’s something about this show’s pyro that just traveled too high and got too close to those banners.

Disturbed are on the road in honor of the 25th anniversary of their multiplatinum album, “The Sickness,” which is a fan favorite. The North American tour wraps up with a May 17 concert in Las Vegas.

The Chicago Bulls’ next game is Saturday, March 15, against the Houston Rockets in Texas.

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Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.