On August 27 and 28, BTS held shows as part of their “ARIRANG” World Tour at Sol∂ιєr Field in Chicago. The entire city seemed to be covered in BTS and ARMY’s signature purple, while waves of fans from all over the place continued to pour in, turning the city into a true mega-festival.
As night fell, the deafening cheers and synchronized “jumps” of tens of thousands of fans seemed to shake the entire Sol∂ιєr Field. It showed that αмєяι¢αn fans’ enthusiasm for BTS has not faded at all despite the group’s three-year hiatus due to mandatory military service.
Notably, several days before the concert, the state of Illinois officially declared the two concert dates “BTS Day,” welcoming the group on a state-wide scale after 7 years and 3 months. The fact that Illinois — rather than California or New York — listened to fans’ wishes and declared “BTS Day” was seen as a symbolic testament that BTS’s influence has truly taken root and become part of local pop culture in the United States.
In return for the warm welcome from the local government and fans, BTS also showed unprecedented appreciation. On the first night, the legendary song “Hip Hop Phile” was υиєχρє¢тє∂ly played during the surprise song segment. Meanwhile, on Day 2, another incredible gift appeared right from the soundcheck.
According to fans who were there at Sol∂ιєr Field, the members υиєχρє¢тє∂ly brought custom-designed footballs to throw to fans, turning the already highly anticipated soundcheck into an unforgettable memory. The footballs the members used were Chicago Bears footballs — from one of the oldest and most famous teams in the NFL — custom-made with each member’s name and the words “BTS WORLD TOUR (ARIRANG) / August 27 & 28, 2026” printed on them.
Rather than keeping them for themselves, the members gave the footballs to fans, showing just how wholeheartedly they wanted to give soмєтнing back to their fans!
In particular, one of the moments that received the most attention was when Jimin threw a designated football to a young fan who was wearing “My Name is Jimin too.” Interestingly, during the first night’s show, the boy had also worn the same shirt and was featured in a video that quickly went viral on Instagram. Jimin even liked the video and left a comment underneath it. It seemed that during the Day 2 soundcheck, Jimin recognized the loyal young fan and decided to give him this special gift.
This moment during BTS’s soundcheck in Chicago today once again gave ARMY a strong sense of how close the group is to their fans. More than seven years after BTS first performed at Sol∂ιєr Field, their return to Chicago truly left an unforgettable mark on fans. On social media, fans could not help but gush:
- That lucky 7 army. Soo happy for them really but at the same time...
- OMG SOOOOO LUCKY LIKE TOMORROW AND HIP-HOP PHILE THEN FOOTBALL
- Omg, thats soo sweet. Like that's a football with their own names customized and they gave it to 7 lucky armys. Awww
- That’s such a thoughtful gesture from the stadium. a core memory for those lucky armys
- Such a special moment for fans. But I am just lol’ing a tiny bit, the arena made them memorabilia and they gave them away
- How no other stadium, especially gillette, locked in on doing this is truly beyond me. Wow... what a surprise
- Wdym. Why is Chicago getting special treatment like that are we fr
- Arlington stadium was so dc not even giving them a football like they irk me so bad the lack of welcome. They could’ve done soмєтнing huge with americas sweethearts
- WHY DOES CHICAGO GET FCKING EVERYTHING IM SHAKIBG FROM RAGE
