2016 World Series -- NOT predictions;REAL feelings

[CyAcosta41]

Baseball fandom is of course intensely personal -- I live and die White Sox, but also consider myself to be a fanatical devotee of the sport itself and professional baseball generally. Grew up in the 60s where for most serious fans, you were a Sox fan, a Cubs fan, but rarely if ever both.

 

Here's my mindset entering the Series. Let's hear yours.

 

*Sox are a major disappointment at the moment, so who actually wins is of very limited importance.

 

*HONESTLY happy for my many friends and family who have suffered FOREVER. I can be happy for them as people without rooting for THEIR team. I'm certainly NOT.

 

*Could never root for them, but grudgingly respect many in the org -- particularly, Bryant, Rizzo, Zobrist, Hendricks, Maddon, and Epstein (NOT -- Arrieta, Contreras, and Chapman). Hope the Sox learn some hard lessons.

 

*Privately, MOST Cubs fans annoy the heck out of me, particularly their "premature coronation" (WIN the Series, then chirp).

 

*Media love for the plight of the long time Cubs fan is disgusting, yet revealing. See some parallels to politics -- better story because it's about possible happy ending for socioeconomically successful white people. Sox sure didn't get the "world just changed" treatment.

 

*Here, in the safety of this relatively anonymous outpost, I'll admit that I HOPE the Cubs lose in an epic and devastating way. You've got to the Series, Cubs fans; you've won nothing yet. I LOVE having bragging rights even if 2005 is retreating farther and farther into my rearview mirror.

[iamshack]

Baseball fandom is of course intensely personal -- I live and die White Sox, but also consider myself to be a fanatical devotee of the sport itself and professional baseball generally. Grew up in the 60s where for most serious fans, you were a Sox fan, a Cubs fan, but rarely if ever both.

 

Here's my mindset entering the Series. Let's hear yours.

 

*Sox are a major disappointment at the moment, so who actually wins is of very limited importance.

 

*HONESTLY happy for my many friends and family who have suffered FOREVER. I can be happy for them as people without rooting for THEIR team. I'm certainly NOT.

 

*Could never root for them, but grudgingly respect many in the org -- particularly, Bryant, Rizzo, Zobrist, Hendricks, Maddon, and Epstein (NOT -- Arrieta, Contreras, and Chapman). Hope the Sox learn some hard lessons.

 

*Privately, MOST Cubs fans annoy the heck out of me, particularly their "premature coronation" (WIN the Series, then chirp).

 

*Media love for the plight of the long time Cubs fan is disgusting, yet revealing. See some parallels to politics -- better story because it's about possible happy ending for socioeconomically successful white people. Sox sure didn't get the "world just changed" treatment.

 

*Here, in the safety of this relatively anonymous outpost, I'll admit that I HOPE the Cubs lose in an epic and devastating way. You've got to the Series, Cubs fans; you've won nothing yet. I LOVE having bragging rights even if 2005 is retreating farther and farther into my rearview mirror.

I dunno...I seem to remember a little bit of that. I think I still have some papers with the headline "Believe It" or something to that effect. There was a similar storyline, albeit on a smaller scale, most likely due to the White Sox being a storied franchise despite being the red-headed stepchild in Chicago. Of course, back in 2005, the Cubs were creeping pretty close to their lowest point, while the Sox had been pretty competitive for a number of years. However, I do agree in re: the successful white people part...obviously the White Sox have a more diverse fanbase, but even still, you mostly heard the stories of long-suffering white people (the minorities simply had not suffered long enough, apparently).

[CyAcosta41]

I dunno...I seem to remember a little bit of that. I think I still have some papers with the headline "Believe It" or something to that effect. There was a similar storyline, albeit on a smaller scale, most likely due to the White Sox being a storied franchise despite being the red-headed stepchild in Chicago. Of course, back in 2005, the Cubs were creeping pretty close to their lowest point, while the Sox had been pretty competitive for a number of years. However, I do agree in re: the successful white people part...obviously the White Sox have a more diverse fanbase, but even still, you mostly heard the stories of long-suffering white people (the minorities simply had not suffered long enough, apparently).

 

Shack ...

 

The political part of the post was a side-issue ... wasn't truly necessary ... more of a proverbial "things that make you go 'hmm'" kind of thing. Interesting to me that the Cubs are getting national story after story, prematurely, for just making the World Series. White entitlement seems to play a part in the intensity of the media coverage and the perception of this being such a darn good feel-good story. And that's coming from someone who has lived my life as a charter member of white entitlement club.

 

When it comes down to it, the purist in me is annoyed by the premature coronation parts of the Cubs rise. Win it, then chirp (and try to stay bell-curve classy in your chirping if and when you do win it).

 

Perhaps it's because I spent a few years living in Boston in the 1980s and enjoying a kind of instant kinship with the Red Sox fans of that era -- devout and knowledgeable fans, not yet insufferably full of themselves and their team. We all know what happened after they won, not once, but twice.

 

From Jim Caples:

 

Enough already. Get over yourselves, Red Sox fans. Better yet, follow the lead of White Sox fans. Their team went 88 years without winning a World Series. They went 46 years without even playing in one. Yet when they finally won in 2005, they had the decency to keep their celebration to themselves.

 

And if their fine example isn't enough, then maybe this will be enough to sober you up:

 

You're acting like Yankees fans.

 

Cubs fans have been insufferable for years without a World Series title. I dread seeing how bad they're going to get if they win one with the very real possibility of winning a few. I'd much rather see the Indians blow them out this year and perhaps next time they knock at the door there will be a bit more humility.

[Quin]

They traded for the wife beater.

 

Here's to them losing.

[Dick Allen]

In the grand scheme of things, the "suffering" that occurs because the sports team you follow doesn't win a championship really isn't a big deal. And in the grand scheme of things, a Cubs WS title to a Cubs hater like me isn't that big of a deal. That said, here's to another 108 years.

[southsider2k5]

Baseball fandom is of course intensely personal -- I live and die White Sox, but also consider myself to be a fanatical devotee of the sport itself and professional baseball generally. Grew up in the 60s where for most serious fans, you were a Sox fan, a Cubs fan, but rarely if ever both.

 

Here's my mindset entering the Series. Let's hear yours.

 

*Sox are a major disappointment at the moment, so who actually wins is of very limited importance.

 

*HONESTLY happy for my many friends and family who have suffered FOREVER. I can be happy for them as people without rooting for THEIR team. I'm certainly NOT.

 

*Could never root for them, but grudgingly respect many in the org -- particularly, Bryant, Rizzo, Zobrist, Hendricks, Maddon, and Epstein (NOT -- Arrieta, Contreras, and Chapman). Hope the Sox learn some hard lessons.

 

*Privately, MOST Cubs fans annoy the heck out of me, particularly their "premature coronation" (WIN the Series, then chirp).

 

*Media love for the plight of the long time Cubs fan is disgusting, yet revealing. See some parallels to politics -- better story because it's about possible happy ending for socioeconomically successful white people. Sox sure didn't get the "world just changed" treatment.

 

*Here, in the safety of this relatively anonymous outpost, I'll admit that I HOPE the Cubs lose in an epic and devastating way. You've got to the Series, Cubs fans; you've won nothing yet. I LOVE having bragging rights even if 2005 is retreating farther and farther into my rearview mirror.

 

It is different though. The Cubs have a bigger and more wide spread fan base. Both locally and nationally. The White Sox were an intensely local story, and not nearly as wide ranging.

[greg775]

Feelings?

Happy for the old ladies who've rooted for the Cubs forever. There are a lot of 'em. As far as the games, my feelings are what they always are. Can't root for the Cubs to win but if they do, so be it. It's kind of funny when they fail. It's actually very funny.

 

Hope the Sox get their act together. We need a player like Zobrist not Zobrist wannabees like LaRoche and Lawrie and Melky. Eaton might ultimately be the type of grinder who leads us to greatness.

[SCCWS]

Feelings?

Happy for the old ladies who've rooted for the Cubs forever. There are a lot of 'em. As far as the games, my feelings are what they always are. Can't root for the Cubs to win but if they do, so be it. It's kind of funny when they fail. It's actually very funny.

 

Hope the Sox get their act together. We need a player like Zobrist not Zobrist wannabees like LaRoche and Lawrie and Melky. Eaton might ultimately be the type of grinder who leads us to greatness.

I was hoping Q was getting traded to Boston at the deadline and Hahn would get Brock Holt thrown in with some prospects. He had a down year due to some injuries but he is a pretty solid player who plays 5 or 6 positions and a real hard-nosed player.