Suxtober

much to the chagrin of this bonafide northsider and diehard cubs fan, the white sox have won the world series. while i have pouted around my apartment for a few days, the white sox victory has ultimately given me pause to be wary of some cubs fans, too.

a few comments about this unfortunate series of events:

while an admittedly dramatic correlation, i can't help but compare this overnight white sox fan phenomenon to the rapid influx, then decline, of patriotism after 9/11. in the weeks of the aftermath of the worst attack on u.s. soil, americans everywhere dug old glory out of the closet where it had been collecting dust since god only knows when and hung it proudly on their porches, automobiles, and from their apartment windows. retail stores sold t-shirts displaying flags, and pertinant quotations from respected (?) past national leaders, then donated part of the profits to help the cause. fast food chains, gas stations, and flower shops, instead of advertising the weekly specials or hours of operation, posted "God Bless America" and "United We Stand" on their marquees. bumper stickers stating similar sentiments were readily available in junk stores, and at least every third car on the road, be it a bmw or pickup truck, had one of these messages displayed askew on its rear windows/doors/etc. and then, a few months later, the flags slowly came down, specials reappeared on marquees, and t-shirts were donated to good will or packed to lay in wait until the fourth of july. the bumper stickers remained, though i believe that was more laziness than anything else -- too much effort to scrape the thing off.

while the city-wide argument is that this is good for the city of chicago, and we should have all been cheering for "the chicago team," i couldn't help but cheer for the astros. i also couldn't help but wear my d.lee cubs t-shirt out last saturday night. in fact, i remember quite distinctly a few years back, as the cubs were in the playoffs, the southside refrained from showing any support in the general north-side direction. now, as i walk around my neighborhood, i can't help but shake my head: the 7-11 on the corner of n.clark and wrightwood is selling white sox cookies. tarascas has a computer generated photograph of a margarita with a white sox emblem seemingly "floating" inside it. on the L platforms fancy enough to have digital transit information marquees, along with the time, date, and estimated arrival of the next train, have "Go Sox!" added to the mix. alleged cubs fans have, all of sudden, donned white sox t-shirts and caps. i could go on, and on, and on. . .

i'm trying to figure out where this fandom has suddenly come from, and why. why certain events cause people to bandwagon jump and claim something they have no right to: whether it be fandom, or patriotism. if you're only going to support a team or a country or any other institution only when it feels like it's popular or appropriate to do so, in my opinion, don't bother.

don't get me wrong, certainly, the sox do deserve their congratulations, their parade, and their grant park celebration for a job well done. i just didn't really expect anyone to show up. because, just as surely, we all observed throughout the duration of the regular season, that the white sox, while undisputably the team with the best record in baseball, continued to fail to sell out u.s. cellular field.

similarly, i will admit to paying well over face value for cubs tickets on ebay even as the season began to wind down and the cubs chances at a post-season were beyond dismal. just as i have sworn and cursed at the box offices for the past few seasons because i was unable to swing out to wrigley on a whim to take in a game. so what draws the crowds? is it the neighborhoods? is it the tradition? is it the idea we have about what cubs fans or sox fans are supposed to be like, and choose the group we would like to see ourselves as part of accordingly? many of us, too, will argue we were raised cheering for a certain team, and that is the team we stand by today.

it's easy to pick out the bandwagon jumpers, too. afterall, if you were a true white sox fan, i would expect your black shirt to be faded from wash and wear; i would expect the brim on your cap to be bent well into shape. but those of you who have smuggly meandered to strange cargo and purchased a shiny new cap and t-shirt. . . i can pick you out as clear as day as you're walking down the street. you are only fooling yourself, and next season, more than likely, you will donate those items to goodwill, and pull out your own faded and worn baseball attire: primarily it will be blue and red.

but, now you've found yourself in quite the debacle: you aren't a cubs fan because you love cubs baseball. you're a cubs fan because you think being a cubs fan is the "popular thing" to be. and, if there's anything i can't stand more than all-so-sudden white sox fans, it's cubs "fans" that force me to attend half as many games at twice the price.

my point, and i do have one, is this: be loyal. pick a team, and stick with them, unwaveringly. if you're going to be a cubs fan, be a diehard cubs fan. same goes for sox fans. and patriotism.

xo,

kellieannie