Friday, March 11, 2011

Let the Crosstown Rivalry Begin

While it is only Spring Training, I figured I would get the Cubs Sox chatter started with their first meeting of the year down in Arizona upon us.  I have heard numerous criticisms that this blog has been a Sox love fest thus far and I went back and looked at what I have written to date about the Sox, and realized, that yes, I had not posted anything all that negative about the White Sox other than ripping Guillen for dragging out the Bobby Jenks crap.  Well, as much as it pains me to say it, the reason for the lack of negativity towards the south side is simply because things seem to be all good right now.  Peavy is pitching great, along with the rest of the starters thus far and everything appears to be going to plan.  I wish that was not the case, I wish the Sox chances of returning to the playoffs this year were slim but to put it simply, it is what it is.

Today, at 2PM central time the Cubs and Sox will meet for the first time this year. I know it does not mean anything, but I know if the Sox beat the Cubs, I will get atleast 5 text messages from friends of mine who are Sox fans giving me the business.  That is just how Sox fans are.  Simple as that. Obnoxious. I honestly do not know where all the rage comes from, but it exists and I do not know why.  To be totally honest, I think it makes for a much more fun and enraging summer to have such a strong dislike between two teams fans.  In New York, the Mets are an afterthought.  In LA, there is no hate between Dodgers and Angels fans.  The question has to be asked, "Why is their so much animosity between these two fan bases?"  Sox fans will say because Cubs fans are stupid fans and they only go to Wrigley because of the park and getting drunk.  My rebuttal to that would be, Wrigley was empty last year from July to the end of the season, the tickets might have been sold, but there was no one in the park.  I do not really know where that stigma came from because I can remember being able to go to a Cubs game any time I wanted before 2003.  The park was never full to capacity during any week day 1:20 games. Only time it was full was on Saturday and Sunday weekend games because it should be.  This is America and its baseball. Cubs fans will say that Sox fans do not support their team like they should, and to that I would almost have to agree to a certain extent.  The Sox were in the race last year up until the last week of the season and you could still walk up and get a pretty decent seat any time in August and September. Why they do not fill the park is pretty confusing to me.  I would give the Cell the edge in everything except atmosphere over Wrigley.  Better food, amenities, parking, pretty much everything.  I really do not get why that place is never full.   It should be full based on the Sox ability to be competitive almost every year over the course of the last decade. 

I would have to say what pisses me off the most is being called a stupid baseball fan because I am a Cubs fan.  My argument would be that the Cubs and Sox have the same amount of fans who lack a lot of baseball knowledge.  It is so absurd to me for anyone to say that and to generalize a large group of people like that because you see people getting drunk in the bleachers.  I find it funny how Sox fans turn a blind eye to all the drunken indiscretions that have occurr at the Cell.  From fights in the upper deck, to people attacking opposing teams' coaches, the list goes on and on.  I have had numerous conversations with Sox fans where I was just dumbfounded by what they were saying. I remember last year having a discussion about how the Sox could have traded Beckham for Adrian Gonzalez.  10 out of 10 said they would not trade Beckham for Gonzalez.  If that is not baseball dumb then I do not know what it is.  The point is, Sox fans can be just as dumb as Cubs fans. And to characterize people as dumb when it comes to their baseball knowledge as a fan base is absurd because sometimes we are all stupid. 

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