It's Like That, and That's the Way It Is: That "Other" Side of Town

(Judging from the text, I can guess that this sign is from the 2005 postseason.)

My best friend (who does not follow baseball at all) made a thought-provoking observation two years ago as I complained about the Cubs while watching baseball in his basement.

He had recently been studying sociology in college, and he, in nothing more than an effort to get on my nerves, compared the Cubs-White Sox rivalry to racism.

"Chris, it seems that you hating the Cubs is an awful lot like racism, seeing as how you hate the Cubs just because they're the Cubs," he said in an annoyingly lofty voice.

While I was punching him repeatedly in the shoulder, I was nevertheless thinking about his contention.

Was my hatred of the Cubs completely unfounded and unnecessary? After all, they played in different leagues and both teams played in Chicago, the city I heartily professed to love; why shouldn't I be happy for the Cubs' successes?

After all, I didn't want to engage in "sports racism."

Well, two years later, the Cubs and White Sox are in first place in their respective divisions. Lo and behold, it's not the second day of the season; it's actually late in May, and many journalists are at least entertaining thoughts of both teams making the playoffs. Some are even playfully entertaining thoughts of another Crosstown World Series.

Would I like to see a Cubs-White Sox World Series? I've been waiting for it since I was a little kid. No amount of money would be able to hold me back from getting a ticket. So I should want the Cubs to succeed, right?

So says conventional wisdom. But, in a game like baseball and a town like Chicago, that phrase does not exist in the mind of fans.

A Chicago Fan....?

Down at Bradley University in Peoria, I've found myself at a baseball crossroads.  Situated halfway down Interstate 55 between Chicago and St. Louis, Cubs fans routinely clash with Cardinals backers. However, being a university, the melting pot of sports fans brings in supporters from all over the country.

At least there, the Cards fans have my back in hating the Cubs. 

But I've met Cubs fans who have become friends of mine, and after discovering that Cubs fans are people too, I made a declaration this spring that I would be happy for the Cubs. I wouldn't hate them like I always had; in fact, I would actually support them. In essence, I would become that which I had always deplored: "a Chicago fan."

However, like a Batman villain who "reforms" (as Richard Roeper described it), I couldn't keep up the charade.

The Cubs still get on my nerves with their hero worship of the slap-hitting Kosuke Fukudome and the hopping and overrated Alfonso Soriano. Wrigley Field is a bad ballpark that draws a bad crowd, and I even hate the Cubs announcers (even Bob Brenly, just because.)

No matter what I do, I just can't seem to like the Cubs.

All in fun

From time to time, I struggle to explain away my friend's reasoning; am I no better than anyone else with prejudices? But then I realize: it's baseball.  More than that, it's sports.

Spurs fans will always hate the Lakers. Bulls fans still carry a hatred of the Pistons after the "Bad Boy" era of the 1980s. Cubs fans can't like the Cards, and vice versa. Let's not even mention college teams (I hate everyone in the Big Ten except Illinois and Northwestern, by the way.) There will always be rivalries in sports, especially baseball, and that's what makes the game what it is.

While not everyone feels the way I do, I know plenty of Cubs fans who feel a good amount of vitriol towards the White Sox, if for nothing else than the fact that we take a lot of pleasure in finding different ways to remind them of our recent World Series triumph. That's a good thing: fan rivalries make sports exciting.

When the time comes this summer, the colors of both teams will be flying in earnest as the White Sox and Cubs lock it up once again. It's a beautiful thing as Chicago turns it's attention to the city's oldest sports rivalry; as Sox radio broadcaster Ed Farmer said, "Cubs and Sox; it doesn't get any better than this."

Look for me outside Wrigley on Waveland Avenue for the Saturday afternoon game, with my lawn chair and radio. It's one of the only things I enjoy about "that other side of town."

Until next time, keep waving the Pennant.