This whole Sox/Cubs deal
Growing up, I watched baseball occasionally in the summers with my dad, but we never declared any allegiance to one team. True, he tended to watch the Cubs more, but I have visual proof of my younger brother wearing Sox when he was a baby. So clearly it didn't matter. And since my childhood took place in the midst of all the Jordan heydey, I worshipped the Bulls instead.
Fast forward to 2005. By some stroke of fate, the White Sox found themselves on the road to winning the World Series. I became fascinated, interested. My history teacher that year happened to be a Sox fan, and I guess he wielded some influence over me - it also helped to know that true Sox fans existed. And so, the boys in black and white went all the way, and I became a Sox fan.
Most people would scoff and brand me as jumping on the bandwagon, a "fair weather" fan. And so I am. I jumped on the wagon, I cheered with everyone else on it. But so far I have yet to jump off it, even when the weather was "bad" like it was last season. In the past three years, the Sox have somehow managed to make me actually LIKE baseball.
The same couldn't be said for the rest of my family. My father and brother cemented themselves as Cubs loyalty, while my mother and youngest brother couldn't care less. They mock me now, tease me, taunt me (as have nearly 85% of the people I know). And now, as I sit here watching the final game of the first Sox/Cubs series this year, I realize something about this rivalry the Sox and the Cubs share.
And it's that I don't give a shit.
I take more pride in loving the Sox than hating the Cubs. And I'm not going to stoop to other people's level and waste my time finding reasons to hate on them. Yesterday a co-worker asked me how I was feeling about the "crappy Sox." I regret the things I said to him then, and if I could have said it differently, I would.
The Cubs are good this year, I acknowledge that. I acknowledge that in the same vein that I acknowledge that the Celtics were the best in the East this year, even though I hate them with a burning passion, knowing that everyone had tipped this year to be the Bulls' year. But the Sox are not "crappy." They are good. They are in the first place of their division, and have won a World Series in the last half-century (and yes, that IS a valid argument - if the Red Sox can win two World Series in four years, then don't count out the White Sox). They are also underappreciated, which is the part that pisses me off the most. Ozzie said it right when he said that the Cubs are loved because they've been total shit for 100 years now, while the Sox will never be appreciated enough even if they win another 10 World Series in the next 10 years.
So what's the point of my rambling and messy post?
I'm a Sox fan. Don't fuck with me. I stand behind them as my team, and you shitty arrogant Cubs fans can fuck off.
Fast forward to 2005. By some stroke of fate, the White Sox found themselves on the road to winning the World Series. I became fascinated, interested. My history teacher that year happened to be a Sox fan, and I guess he wielded some influence over me - it also helped to know that true Sox fans existed. And so, the boys in black and white went all the way, and I became a Sox fan.
Most people would scoff and brand me as jumping on the bandwagon, a "fair weather" fan. And so I am. I jumped on the wagon, I cheered with everyone else on it. But so far I have yet to jump off it, even when the weather was "bad" like it was last season. In the past three years, the Sox have somehow managed to make me actually LIKE baseball.
The same couldn't be said for the rest of my family. My father and brother cemented themselves as Cubs loyalty, while my mother and youngest brother couldn't care less. They mock me now, tease me, taunt me (as have nearly 85% of the people I know). And now, as I sit here watching the final game of the first Sox/Cubs series this year, I realize something about this rivalry the Sox and the Cubs share.
And it's that I don't give a shit.
I take more pride in loving the Sox than hating the Cubs. And I'm not going to stoop to other people's level and waste my time finding reasons to hate on them. Yesterday a co-worker asked me how I was feeling about the "crappy Sox." I regret the things I said to him then, and if I could have said it differently, I would.
The Cubs are good this year, I acknowledge that. I acknowledge that in the same vein that I acknowledge that the Celtics were the best in the East this year, even though I hate them with a burning passion, knowing that everyone had tipped this year to be the Bulls' year. But the Sox are not "crappy." They are good. They are in the first place of their division, and have won a World Series in the last half-century (and yes, that IS a valid argument - if the Red Sox can win two World Series in four years, then don't count out the White Sox). They are also underappreciated, which is the part that pisses me off the most. Ozzie said it right when he said that the Cubs are loved because they've been total shit for 100 years now, while the Sox will never be appreciated enough even if they win another 10 World Series in the next 10 years.
So what's the point of my rambling and messy post?
I'm a Sox fan. Don't fuck with me. I stand behind them as my team, and you shitty arrogant Cubs fans can fuck off.