South side pride has been in my blood since birth (that's me as a baby decked out in Sox gear). Yet for the past 21 years, I have been a Chicago White Sox fan living on the north side of Chicago.
If you know anything about Chicago, its baseball team rivalry is up there with things Chicagoans will defend until they die — deep dish pizza, the Bears and Chicago style hotdogs among other things. And the north-siders love their "cursed Cubbies" the most through every loss.
I will commend the Cubs for how well they are doing in the playoffs; after 104 years of falling short, you fans deserve it. But why am I a die-hard Sox fan living in Cubs territory? The simple answer: my dad grew up on the south side of the city. The longer answer lies in my history with the White Sox.
As a baby, my family owned season tickets to watch the Sox play at Comiskey Park. I would cry every time they scored a home run and the blasts of fireworks lit up behind the spiral lollipop-looking lights in the outfield.
As a preteen, I was on TV biting the spoon from my frozen lemonade while watching the Sox play in the heat of Chicago summers. I got to watch my favorite player of all time, Jermaine Dye, win the World Series in 2005.
As an adult I got to go to a Sox game with my dad and brother before I left to study abroad, and even though they lost it was invaluable bonding time with my family before I left home for 5 months.
All my life, I've been surrounded by Cubs fans. I was the only one wearing grey and black on baseball t-shirt day in middle school, and I'm one of very few that will make the trek to White Sox Park from Evanston to catch a game.
Yes, the red-white-and-blue is a little more fun to dress up, and yes Wrigleyville is more fun than 35th and Sox, and yes it would be easy for me to be like my classmates and root for the Cubs and join the bandwagon that is their amazing 2015 season, but that's not what I'm looking for in baseball.
It's the bags of peanuts, cheering my team on with my family, winning a World Series and driving to my grandparents' house on the south side to taking the L to Comiskey Park (and yes it will always be Comiskey Park) as a kid that makes me proud to be a Sox fan.
We have killer pitchers (yes Sale and Samardzija)...just gotta work on consistent hitting and getting rid of LaRoche, cause his batting average just kills us...
I applaud the Cubs on their 2015 season and for the sake of æBack to the Future" being right, I hope you with the World Series.
