One fan feels your Chicago sports pain.
Here’s a column I simply never thought I would write, at least not in this lifetime.
The topic: A Chicago baseball team has made it to the World Series.
I keep thinking about my relationship with the White Sox and how it has changed as I grew up. The first team I really loved was the ’77 White Sox. Richie Zisk, Oscar Gamble, Chet Lemon. The South Side Hitmen.
And then it was kind of slow going until the ’81 team, which had Carlton Fisk and Greg Luzinski. Then finally the ’83 team, which won the division by 20 games.
Then the ’84 Sox stunk. So, for alternate viewing I chose the Cubs. I was still a Sox fan, you see, but the Cubs were pretty fun in ’84. And in ’89 too.
Cubs and Sox. Oh, stop it. I make my own rules. You know this.
But then the Sox get the new park and the coolest uniforms in the game and– whoops!–it swings back. I loved the ’93 team with Bo Jackson, Frank Thomas and Robin Ventura.
So I have stayed pretty much a Sox fan, though there were some lean times where I couldn’t help but peek across town. The home-run chase of ’98, for example. But we all did that.
All in all, it’s the Sox that I root for first, and that makes this team very special. The entire organization is made up of people who have all played for the White Sox. Kenny Williams, the GM. Ozzie Guillen, the manager. I still remember the Lamar Hoyt trade in ’85 that brought him here. Tim Raines and Joey Cora, both members of the ’93 team. Harold Baines, the bench coach. Greg Walker, the hitting coach.
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Nope, no imports here. You simply don’t see that kind of loyalty in sports anymore. So whatever anyone says about Jerry Reinsdorf, there must be something in him that keeps these guys coming back. So maybe we should all lay off the bashing for a while.
And now I have to add one more thing: It’s not enough to just get there, guys.
You have to win it.
It won’t be easy. Houston’s rotation is as good as ours, but our bats are coming alive.
Make it the White Sox in five.
And if the Cubs make it to the World Series next year, look for a similar column about them.
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BAG BOY VENTS HIS SPLEEN EVERY FRIDAY IN REDEYE.
Edited by the sports staff of RedEye.