and i'm glad you agree that this team is still a joke. however, before JR, the sox were at least as popular as the cubs throughout history.
finishing 2nd or 3rd (out of 5 teams!) in the low rent AL central is nothing to hang your hat on. especially now that 8 teams make the playoffs, not 2.
in the past 15 years the sox have averaged 83.7 wins and finished below .500 five times.
in the 15 years 1953 to 1967 the sox averaged 89.5 wins and never finished below .500. no, they never won a championship but at least a sox fan could wear his hat proudly around town.