Go GO!

1918? 1917! Take that, Redstockings, Bo Sox – Manny being Manny, Big Papi, Bloody Sock, Caveman Jesus and all the rest. The Whitestockings, Southsiders, South Side Hit Men, Go Go White Sox, even the Black Sox if you go back far enough, they have now done this much: they have dethroned the World Champion Red Sox. Good guys wear black this year, finally, the Hitless Wonders are back and El Duque -– remember him? -– brought a broom, and darn right, as far as I’m concerned.

I’ll repeat what I’ve said: I do not understand why Cub fans are now supposed to hate the White Sox. The two teams are not rivals, other than 6 times a year, and someday in October. While it’s true that loyalty only runs deep enough for one team, it does not follow that you must therefore root against the other. There is no logical inconsistency, no taboo, no inappropriateness in this sentiment: go White Sox.

If Cub fans are envious, I can understand that. I’m envious. If White Sox fans have a chip on their shoulder for being a media afterthought even when their team is good, despite being the remaining proud among the blue collared and broad-shouldered in the City Of Broad Shoulders, the City That Works, I can understand that. It’s a good point. But what does any of that have to do with the teams themselves?

This White Sox team is likeable. Or at least, I like them. I did not like them when I watched them pelt Sergio Mitre on a Friday afternoon in June at Comiskey, but after that weekend, I wished them my best. Now that they’ve knocked off my second-least favorite team on their own home field, I’m darn near giddy about them.

My dislike for the Red Sox is not new, if you must know; it goes back years. I always thought that the Red Sox looked at the Yankees and said If you can’t beat ‘em, but even then they just weren’t as good at playing the Yankees’ own mercenary game, making them doubly bad. Still not as bad as the Yankees, but awful dislikable in my estimation. When those two played, people called it a rivalry, which was wrong since a rivalry features both sides winning, but all the while I wished they could both lose.

So, I’m quite pleased that it was the White Sox who got to squish them. I wish it could have been the Cubs, but it’s better than the Yankees, and still a triumph in resounding fashion by a team and for a city who has waited long enough for something like this. I will not try to claim being a fan of the White Sox, or imply that I can share in any of the emotions of White Sox fans, but I’m happy for them -- and I hope some year it will be our turn.