Chicago style baseball fans
Comments (8)What are fans like in other cities? Do Dodger fans hate the Angels? Giant fans hate the A’s? Maybe so, but I’m not so sure it isn’t just for appearances. Met fans hate the Yankees and vice-versa? Of course they do. And I’m all for it!
Here in Chi-Town I’ll bet we have it all. When you’re a little fan, say younger than the teen years you root for your guys come hell or high water. But after that reality sets in. I’m laying off the youngsters and the naive, you know chicks that don’t care but root for (or against) the team their boyfriend does, etc. Old time Cub fans only hated the Cubs. They ignored the ChiSox. When the Northsiders were winning it was all good, yet they waited for the bottom to drop out. On the other side of town it was a little different but not much. White Sox fans were a little pessimistic too, and also hated their team, but spread it around more. They hated ALL other teams.
Then came these strange, gentler, new-age fans. Some of them actually root for both teams! That was rarer than the Do-Do bird, or rarer even than Dick Butkus eats his steak. Now it’s more common, and I think those people actually DO root for both teams. Sheesh, what’s this world coming to? I suppose that’s okay if you just want to chill, have a hot dog and a beer and watch a game, but then why not just go over to Eckhart Park and not pay the ticket price?
The worst of the bunch are the “fans” that root for out of town teams like the Yanks or Bosox or Cards and they lived here all their lives! I can understand the transplants cuz they’re still loyal to hometown, but gimme a break baby, rooting for the Redlips, cuz they finally can won? Or the Yanks cuz they have more money than OPEC to pay for a team? Or for the Brewers cuz they encourage you to pee your pants?
Let’s get back to good old-fashioned fandom. You know what I mean. I like the Sox or Cubs, so I either hate or ignore the team on the other side of town. That kind of fan. That’s what I’m talking about. So Go Sox! Yankees, Bosox, Indians, etc? They all can take a bite outta my @$$! The Cubs? Who cares?
Are the White Sox and Cubs World Serious?
Comments (1)It’s April and fans are still optimistic. Both Chicago teams have winning records, as a matter of fact, they have identical records. Can they both reach the playoffs? Yes. Can they both reach the World Series? Yes. A lot has to happen, but look at how good teams do it
The recipe for winning hasn’t changed over the the years. The intangibles help, but except for good luck they’re overrated. Good cubhouse chemistry, rah-rah guys, intense personalities, are all good, if you win. The same intagibles are considered a cancer in the clubhouse if you lose. Good pitching, good defense, timely hitting and avoiding or playing through key injuries add up to championships.
Do the Cubbies have the ingredients? Starting pitching, middle relief and their new closer all look solid. Some of the pitchers are in new roles and aren’t proven. Yet. Time will tell. Defense is a little shaky at times, but can be very impressive at other times. D-Lee is great, Fukudome is solid too. Pinella is good at making a defensive move if a guy doesn’t cut it, so it might seem like someone isn’t clicking early on, but he’ll get it right in the end, guaranteed. The hitters don’t have to pound the ball like they are now, but if D-Lee is consistent, if A. Ramirez stays interested the whole year, and if Soriano goes on the DL for a long time, letting a less selfish guy play, the lineup is strong. And again, trust in Sweet Lou to get it right on offense too.
How about the Chi-Sox? Do they have what it takes? Kenny Williams did another good job in the off season. Pitching? The starters are good, and have the potential to be one of the best. Kenny’s signings of Octavio Dotel and Linebrink are excellent. And Jenks is Jenks. The infield D is one of, if not the best in the A.L.The outfield is solid too. Hitting is timely so far and the big boppers are not even rolling yet.
So let’s get World Serious, and order those World Series tickets now! And then sit back, enjoy the season and wait for the Sox-Cubs battle. We can watch the Sox sip champagne at the end of the series.