When people hear “South Side,” they think of the White Sox. The two are synonymous, like air and breathing. As a South Sider, I’ve been a White Sox fan since birth. I have sat in every part of the stadium. My brother and I have been chasing foul balls in the stands since childhood. We have watched the stadium change its name repeatedly, but we still call it Comiskey.
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Some of my favorite memories come from tailgating, where strangers welcome you into their gatherings, offer you a drink and talk baseball. Bridgeporters are kind, welcoming and resilient, but we’re no pushovers. That spirit reflects the White Sox fanbase: hardworking people who stick with their team through good and bad. Being a Sox fan isn’t about winning every game; it’s about loyalty, tradition and the community that is built around it.
That community extends beyond the ballpark into neighborhood bars and restaurants such as Turtle’s Bar, Maria’s, Bernice’s, Phil’s and Electric Funeral. These places are more than businesses. They’re gathering spots where friendships grow, losses are shared, wins are celebrated and every play in between is relived.
Moving the White Sox out of Bridgeport would be a disservice not only to the community that has supported the team for more than 100 years, but also to the fans who have never left their side. I don’t want a $20 beer at a yuppie bar where nobody knows my name or cares about the game. I want a $7 beer, a local bartender and a postgame conversation with people who understand what this team means to me.
I want the character and essence of Chicago’s South Side to remain part of White Sox baseball. A shiny new stadium with fewer seats and no iconic pinwheel cannot replace what generations have built. You can change the stadium’s name, seats, scoreboard and concessions, but you cannot manufacture the history, identity and community that surround this team.
The White Sox aren’t simply a team that plays in Bridgeport. They are part of the South Side’s identity, just as the South Side is part of theirs. Their home is more than a ballpark; it’s a neighborhood filled with traditions and memories.
The White Sox belong on the South Side. They belong in Bridgeport. They belong to the people who have stood by them through every high and low for more than 100 years.
— Allison Vazquez, Chicago
Ishbia’s strongman style
Ancient Athens once informed a foe, “The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.” Which is pretty much the message White Sox owner-in-waiting Justin Ishbia has delivered to the residents of Bridgeport.
Why should Ishbia move the Sox to a new stadium in the South Loop and stick Bridgeport with an Amtrak repair-and-service facility? Because he can. Why didn’t he show up at a recent public forum to lay out his reasons? Because he didn’t feel the need to.
Someone might have asked him how he intends to build a new stadium on a site smaller than the Sox’s present home. The only honest answer would be an admission of fewer seats and less parking.
That’s a message Ishbia would prefer to deliver by way of a fait accompli, strongman style.
— Douglas Bukowski, Berwyn
Bravo to the White Sox
Over three seasons, the White Sox gradually rose from the suffering of the 2024 season in which they had an all-time loss record of 41-121 to the 2026 standard of 84 victories. That is a remarkable swing to 43 more victories.
The Sox did this with a roster of youngsters who outperformed for their age and experience. Many parents say, “You must walk before you can run”; this is true of the Sox. The players played and ran hard, while the manager and coaches tried their best to put the players in a position to win, but they all were young and inexperienced when it came to playoff baseball. Good pitching wins games over good hitting in the playoffs. This season, they were devoid of above-average starting pitchers.
The Sox brought the fans into the games with their on-field and dugout antics. Mike Vasil became a household name for his wizardry and cheerleading, pregame dancing and eating of ice cream cones. The marketing department had wonderful promotions that helped fill the stadium. The hope of divine intervention from Pope Leo XIV was promising up to the very end.
For true Sox fans, the season was unforgettable, but it left us wanting more. One more Sam Antonacci hit by a pitch, Miguel Vargas homer or Sean Burke win, but fewer strikeouts by Colson Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami, less use of openers and more quality innings from our starters.
For the fair-weather fans who jumped on board, thank you and please stay and watch the Sox grow. With this great 2026 experience, we hope that they can take the next step in the playoffs and join the 2005 Sox as world champions.
— Cary Riske, Grayslake
Only one Super Bowl win
My sympathy goes out to the Ditka family, the Bears and their fans. I mourn the passing of “Iron Mike” Ditka. Unfortunately, sometimes we forget why the “exes” are exes. Like ex-girlfriends, ex-boyfriends and ex-spouses, sometimes our memories of the “good” times make us forget why they are the “exes.” Ditka ruined the mid-1980s Bears team, a team that should have won more than just Super Bowl XX. Ditka’s strengths were a double-edged sword; he always felt nobody knew better than Mike. Can you say Doug Flutie?
Ditka created considerable dissension on a team that was such a tight group of special football players by decisions such as acquiring Flutie.
While that special season of 1985 will always remain in my mind, and I thank Ditka and the players for that, the disappointment of the 1986 and 1987 seasons also remains with me. Thanks to Ditka for the memories of Super Bowl XX. I just wish the greatest football team ever won the other Super Bowls they should have.
I give Ditka credit for that season, but he also needed to take responsibility for their failures in the following years.
— Kevin J. Connelly, Orland Park
Ditka, Trump the same person
Anyone who mourns the death of Mike Ditka and despises the existence of Donald Trump is either an abject hypocrite or a sad innocent.
Ditka and Trump in all matters were absolutely the same man, just living in two separate bodies.
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— Bob Blanchard, Galena, Illinois
Best tribute to Da Coach
With all the things that have divided Chicagoans in recent years, it’s nice to see the “City of the Big Shoulders” unite to recognize the passing of Da Coach, Mike Ditka, who was not from Chicago but came to define Chicago at its finest: strength, toughness and the ability to come out on top.
And how ironic — or is it coincidental? — that by passing just nine days before what would have been his 87th birthday, Da Coach officially left us at age 86 after helping lead the Bears to their only Super Bowl victory in 1986! (Perhaps a repeat this year from the Bears would be a fitting tribute to perhaps America’s best-known Chicagoan.)
Farewell, Iron Mike!
— David Applegate, Huntley
Sandburg predicted Ditka
When Carl Sandburg described Chicago as the “City of the Broad Shoulders,” I’m guessing he had a futuristic dream involving Mike Ditka.
— Neil Gaffney, Chicago
Note to readers
With Halloween coming, we’d like you to share your most memorable experience related to the holiday, either as a child or as an adult. A costume that you’ve never forgotten? A trip to a haunted house that scared you silly? Neighbors who went above and beyond to make things fun for the kids? Send a letter, of no more than 400 words, by Friday, Oct. 23 to [email protected]. Be sure to include your full name and your city/town.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].