By Doug Sullivan
Special to Inside
Forty-six years is a long time to wait for anything. Even the 40-year-old virgin didn't have to wait that long for his magic moment.
But finally, the moment (at least for some) has arrived: a World Series will be played in Chicago in 2005. However, unfortunately for most North Siders, it's not the Cubs who will be participating, but rather that blue-collar cousin to the South—the Chicago White Sox.
Not all those north of the Loop are tasting sour grapes, however. Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), whose ward includes Wrigley Field, actually wore a White Sox hat to the most recent City Council meeting despite his lifelong allegiance to the Cubs. "The North Side is 100 percent behind the White Sox," said Tunney. "What's good for the Sox is good for the City."
This year's appearance in the World Series will be the first for the White Sox since 1959. The Cubs have not appeared in the Fall Classic since 1945. Last year, seemingly, the Boston Red Sox proved that decades-long curses can be shrugged off, winning their first World Series since 1918. Both Chicago teams have longer droughts.
This season, the White Sox have brilliantly executed "smart ball," Manager Ozzie Guillen's closely-related cousin to the style of play frequently termed "small ball" in which a team relies less on home runs to score and more on getting men on base, sacrificing, playing solid defense and pitching well.
The Cubs organization offered a gracious reaction to their crosstown rival's success: "We congratulate the White Sox players, front office and ownership on a championship season and wish them the best of luck in the World Series. This is an exciting time for their fans and the city of Chicago," said Sharon Pannozzo of Media Relations.
The ratio of Cub fans to Sox fans in Chicago is hardly even. Sports radio talk show host Dan McNeil of ESPN-1000 recently claimed that Cub fans outnumber Sox fans four to one. While Mayor Richard M. Daley is a Sox fan, Billy Corgan, John Cusack and Gov. Rod Blagojevich are Cub fans.
And so on.
North Side residents' reactions ranged from outright contempt to pride in a Windy City team. George Ellis, editor and co-founder of The Heckler, a satirical Cubs-themed newspaper, said, "As a Cubs fan, I care now as much as most Sox fans cared before last week: not at all." Ellis does not feel the Sox's success will put pressure on the Cubs organization for next year. "We live on the North Side, where the only planning for next year involves expanding the bleachers—and deciding how much to raise ticket prices. That said, there shouldn't be too many fan defections to the Sox next season, unless they relocate U. S. Cellular across the street from John Barleycorn's."
Ellis does plan for an increased interest in his publication, however. "The Heckler readership will double, but not because of the Sox. We just happen to be expanding our bleacher section as well."
Another Cub fan, Mike G. from Wrigleyville, was as green with envy as the ivy covering Wrigley Field's wall. "It'll be torture enough having to watch the Sox in the World Series. A morphine injection from Dr. Kevorkian will be necessary if they are there with
the Cardinals!"
But other North Siders, even those professing loyalty to their neighborhood team, are happy for a Chicago team achieving success. Gregg Jaffe of Old Town expressed a desire for unified support of the White Sox. "Although my first loyalties lie with the Cubs, I have always rooted for the Sox as well. Minus the six, mostly irrelevant, games played during the season, they are in no direct competition. So, in 2005: 'Go, Sox!' Let's root for Chicago first, then worry about what color jersey
we wear."
Rob Christiansen of Wrigleyville was less emotionally invested. "If I was a bona fide Cubs fan I might have rooted against the White Sox. But I'm just a typical bandwagon Cubs fan from New York leftover from [the Cubs playoff appearance in] 2003."
If anything definitive can be said about Chicagoans' reaction to the White Sox's appearance in the World Series, it may be this—the level of interest in late-season baseball will certainly be heightened. Usually by this time fans are storing away their blue Cubs hats or black Sox hats for the winter. But this week, for the first time in 46 years, everyone who wants to support the White Sox—whether a lifelong fan or a bandwagon rider from the past two weeks—can keep championship hopes alive until that final inning of October. |
