Sox in the City
Being a Cubs fan is usually pretty difficult, but with the White Sox making the World Series, it's been -- to use a phrase I loathe -- ratcheted up a notch. I've been asked at least a dozen times during the playoffs if I'm rooting for the White Sox. The short answer: No.
The long answer: As a kid, I grew up hating the Sox, mostly because that's what you did if you were a fan of one team over the other. Also, my dad is a lifelong Sox fan; that surely had something to do with it. As time went on and I moved away from the area, my hatred turned into apathy, and that's essentially where I now stand. I don't hate the Sox, and while I read about them in the paper and watch the occasional game, I don't care how they do.
However, while I do not actively wish for their demise, I will never root for them. I just can't, especially with the daily reminder of how they accomplished what the Cubs always fail to do (with '03 being the most recent agonizing example). I can sort of hope they do well so that fans like my dad can enjoy the ride, but I won't cheer for them. Ever.
It's interesting that they're playing Houston in the Series, because I do actively dislike the Astros. While Roy Oswalt is an amazing pitcher, he's also a punk. During a game vs. the Cubs in '04, he threw at Michael Barrett so deliberately, nailing him flush in the back, that it would've been funny if it weren't so infuriating. Then he walked off the mound with this smug look on his face that I'll never forget.
So, even if I hated the Sox, which I don't, I wouldn't be able to root for the Astros, whom I do. (Though I may root for the Sox to knock out Oswalt.) Basically, I'll just watch and hope for some good baseball, which is what I generally end up doing every year anyway.
The long answer: As a kid, I grew up hating the Sox, mostly because that's what you did if you were a fan of one team over the other. Also, my dad is a lifelong Sox fan; that surely had something to do with it. As time went on and I moved away from the area, my hatred turned into apathy, and that's essentially where I now stand. I don't hate the Sox, and while I read about them in the paper and watch the occasional game, I don't care how they do.
However, while I do not actively wish for their demise, I will never root for them. I just can't, especially with the daily reminder of how they accomplished what the Cubs always fail to do (with '03 being the most recent agonizing example). I can sort of hope they do well so that fans like my dad can enjoy the ride, but I won't cheer for them. Ever.
It's interesting that they're playing Houston in the Series, because I do actively dislike the Astros. While Roy Oswalt is an amazing pitcher, he's also a punk. During a game vs. the Cubs in '04, he threw at Michael Barrett so deliberately, nailing him flush in the back, that it would've been funny if it weren't so infuriating. Then he walked off the mound with this smug look on his face that I'll never forget.
So, even if I hated the Sox, which I don't, I wouldn't be able to root for the Astros, whom I do. (Though I may root for the Sox to knock out Oswalt.) Basically, I'll just watch and hope for some good baseball, which is what I generally end up doing every year anyway.
posted by MH at
11:41 AM
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