CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 (edited) Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined when I moved to California in 1980 that I would be witness to the Sox winning the pennant after 46 yrs of starvation. I went to the game with my lifelong buddy Murph (whitesoxmurph) whom I grew up with on Chicago's southwest side, myself at 72nd and Wood , Murph at 73rd and Wood and his son Cooper (yes that is his real name). I met Jason our Soxtalk leader and Hi8is, and whitesoxmanger during BP down by the right field foulpole. Everyone was pumped about being there and Hi8is ,though a native Californian, had his face painted in silver and black. Shortly after the National Anthem the rain came. It was a steady but fairly light rain and there was never a doubt that the game would go on as scheduled. We had great seats in Section 123. Field level between the netting behind the plate and the White Sox dugout. Behind us and to our left we could see Kenny Williams in the White Sox skybox. The rain continued off and on as the drama unfolded in front of us. Soon enough the Sox had a 2-1 lead. In the fifth I took Cooper to buy some crackerjack and I bought some peanuts and a beer. As Coop tossed crackerjack in the air and tried to catch it in his mouth (he's around 8 yrs. old) I chatted with 2 very nice Angels fans who just happened to be women. Ok we were all having a smoke. The Angels scored 2 runs while I was away and when I returned I chastised Murph for not being able to hold the lead. I vowed not to leave my seat again till the last out. My nicotine habit would have to wait. I asked Murph who had the Sox brought in to replace Jose Contreras and I was surprised to learn he was still in the game. Soon enough Joe the Hero belted one out to tie the game at 3 apiece. The 2003 All-Star game White Sox cap which I bought in June on my Chicago visit shielded my head from the raindrops. Oddly enough the one Sox game I saw while in Chicago was a game in which Jose Contreras got the crap beat out of him by the Arizona Diamondbacks. I had decorated my hat with 3 pins. 2 of the pins commemorated the tragedies of 9/11 and the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. I wear these to remind me to keep the game in its proper prospective. The 3rd pin was the 1991 Chicago Bulls NBA Championship pin. Just like the Bulls in 91 these 2005 White Sox split the 1st two games in Chicago and headed to the west coast. The Bulls swept the Lakers in L.A. to win their 1st Championship. I was hoping for the Sox to sweep the Angels in Anaheim. Jose Contreras buckled down and was giving up nothing else. Joe the Hero got his 3rd RBI of the evening ,chopping a 2 strike pitch up the middle. Paulie Konerko waited for a struggling Frankie Rodriquez ,who couldn't locate his curveball, to throw him a fastball and he got it. Paulie crushed a fat one to right narrowly missing a homerun. After Contreras set down the Angels in the 8th. Murph and I looked up at Kenny Williams. We caught his eye and held up 3 fingers. 3 more outs and we have the Pennant. He held up 3 fingers back to us. We could see that he was anxious. White Sox fans were chanting "Let's Go White Sox" as they had been doing all game. The White Sox were leading 6-3. The 9th inning arrives. 2 fingers. 1 finger. The White Sox win the Pennant ! The White Sox win the Pennant ! Sox fans congregate over the Sox dugout. We see Chris Myers of ESPN interviewing Scott Podsednik and we chant "Scotty, Scotty, Scotty". AJ Pierzinski is next and we chant "AJ, AJ, AJ". He pumps his fist in unison with the chants. The whole team poses with the American League Championship Trophy. Fans and players chant "Ozzie , Ozzie, Ozzie." The chants continue "4 more , 4 more 4 more " ! I would like to stay but Murph is a dad and Cooper needs his rest. I realize here is a father and son witnessing something that took 46 years to accomplish. I think of my Dad back in Oak Lawn and my children. The tears of past fathers and sons in heaven , tears over past failures, have fallen upon us all evening. The rain is all but gone now. "4 more , 4 more , 4 more " and it will be gone forever. Edited October 17, 2005 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLsouthsider Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Awesome, man. I know my great grandpa (Papa) and my grandpa are looking down and smiling on all of this, like so many Sox fans before us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bones Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Great post! And I think I speak for every Sox fan when I say thanks for representing the Sox out west. The same goes out to everyone on this site. Thanks for representing the Sox everywhere from Australia to England to Puerto Rico to Canada to the North, South, East, and West of the U.S and everywhere else on this planet. White Sox fans are truly the best in all of sports and we have been through some tough times but we got something great going on right now and something greater on the horizon. Let's all enjoy this together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshPR Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 I say post names of your fellow friends or family who past away and waited a lifetime to see this happen or to see it again and never made it. I'll start a thread. If the Mods think it's not a good idea than please delete it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misplaced_Sox Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Hey Im also from Oak Lawn COOL Im in charlotte nc now Great story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 My grandfather was born in 1918 and was a Sox fan. He helped make my dad a Sox fan as well. They watched the 1959 World Series together. My grandfather passed away in early 1977 when I was about 3 years old. I never knew him well enough to really know him, but I'm sure he would be thrilled about the Sox going back to the WS if he were alive today. I carry on the torch as a Sox fan today because of them. I'm probably more fanatical about it than either of them are/were. If I ever have a kid someday, I hope that they love baseball and the Sox as much as I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 QUOTE(The Bones @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 12:35 AM) Great post! And I think I speak for every Sox fan when I say thanks for representing the Sox out west. The same goes out to everyone on this site. Thanks for representing the Sox everywhere from Australia to England to Puerto Rico to Canada to the North, South, East, and West of the U.S and everywhere else on this planet. White Sox fans are truly the best in all of sports and we have been through some tough times but we got something great going on right now and something greater on the horizon. Let's all enjoy this together. Thanks from time to time I like to pretend I'm a sportswriter. I'm no Jay Mariotti but just wanted to get my thoughts out there. Sox fans are # 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitesoxfan56 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined when I moved to California in 1980 that I would be witness to the Sox winning the pennant after 46 yrs of starvation. I went to the game with my lifelong buddy Murph (whitesoxmurph) whom I grew up with on Chicago's southwest side, myself at 72nd and Wood , Murph at 73rd and Wood and his son Cooper (yes that is his real name). I met Jason our Soxtalk leader and Hi8is, and whitesoxmanger during BP down by the right field foulpole. Everyone was pumped about being there and Hi8is ,though a native Californian, had his face painted in silver and black. Shortly after the National Anthem the rain came. It was a steady but fairly light rain and there was never a doubt that the game would go on as scheduled. We had great seats in Section 123. Field level between the netting behind the plate and the White Sox dugout. Behind us and to our left we could see Kenny Williams in the White Sox skybox. The rain continued off and on as the drama unfolded in front of us. Soon enough the Sox had a 2-1 lead. In the fifth I took Cooper to buy some crackerjack and I bought some peanuts and a beer. As Coop tossed crackerjack in the air and tried to catch it in his mouth (he's around 8 yrs. old) I chatted with 2 very nice Angels fans who just happened to be women. Ok we were all having a smoke. The Angels scored 2 runs while I was away and when I returned I chastised Murph for not being able to hold the lead. I vowed not to leave my seat again till the last out. My nicotine habit would have to wait. I asked Murph who had the Sox brought in to replace Jose Contreras and I was surprised to learn he was still in the game. Soon enough Joe the Hero belted one out to tie the game at 3 apiece. The 2003 All-Star game White Sox cap which I bought in June on my Chicago visit shielded my head from the raindrops. Oddly enough the one Sox game I saw while in Chicago was a game in which Jose Contreras got the crap beat out of him by the Arizona Diamondbacks. I had decorated my hat with 3 pins. 2 of the pins commemorated the tragedies of 9/11 and the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. I wear these to remind me to keep the game in its proper prospective. The 3rd pin was the 1991 Chicago Bulls NBA Championship pin. Just like the Bulls in 91 these 2005 White Sox split the 1st two games in Chicago and headed to the west coast. The Bulls swept the Lakers in L.A. to win their 1st Championship. I was hoping for the Sox to sweep the Angels in Anaheim. Jose Contreras buckled down and was giving up nothing else. Joe the Hero got his 3rd RBI of the evening ,chopping a 2 strike pitch up the middle. Paulie Konerko waited for a struggling Frankie Rodriquez ,who couldn't locate his curveball, to throw him a fastball and he got it. Paulie crushed a fat one to right narrowly missing a homerun. After Contreras set down the Angels in the 8th. Murph and I looked up at Kenny Williams. We caught his eye and held up 3 fingers. 3 more outs and we have the Pennant. He held up 3 fingers back to us. We could see that he was anxious. White Sox fans were chanting "Let's Go White Sox" as they had been doing all game. The White Sox were leading 6-3. The 9th inning arrives. 2 fingers. 1 finger. The White Sox win the Pennant ! The White Sox win the Pennant ! Sox fans congregate over the Sox dugout. We see Chris Myers of ESPN interviewing Scott Podsednik and we chant "Scotty, Scotty, Scotty". AJ Pierzinski is next and we chant "AJ, AJ, AJ". He pumps his fist in unison with the chants. The whole team poses with the American League Championship Trophy. Fans and players chant "Ozzie , Ozzie, Ozzie." The chants continue "4 more , 4 more 4 more " ! I would like to stay but Murph is a dad and Cooper needs his rest. I realize here is a father and son witnessing something that took 46 years to accomplish. I think of my Dad back in Oak Lawn and my children. The tears of past fathers and sons in heaven , tears over past failures, have fallen upon us all evening. The rain is all but gone now. "4 more , 4 more , 4 more " and it will be gone forever. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If this isnt the post of the year, I dont know what is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redandwhite Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 QUOTE(JoshPR @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 02:02 AM) I say post names of your fellow friends or family who past away and waited a lifetime to see this happen or to see it again and never made it. I'll start a thread. If the Mods think it's not a good idea than please delete it <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Oops, meant to post this here. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=41515 It was pinned, but I guess it got taken down for some reason. Check it out, it's pretty cool so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Human Borch Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 QUOTE(redandwhite @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 08:04 PM) Oops, meant to post this here. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=41515 It was pinned, but I guess it got taken down for some reason. Check it out, it's pretty cool so far. The "Win it for..." thread is great. Its awesome to see all these White Sox fans come together after suffering so long. Lets hope we can win this thing!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hi8is Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 great post ron as you were walking out of the white sox mob, i was trying to get your attention, you litteraly walked right below me i was trying to get your attention but you were visably in awe and shaken =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 QUOTE(CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 02:26 AM) The tears of past fathers and sons in heaven , tears over past failures, have fallen upon us all evening. The rain is all but gone now. "4 more , 4 more , 4 more " and it will be gone forever. This line gave me goosebumps just invisioning it. Hell of a post. Sox fans have been waiting 88 years for this...I don't know what would happen if I had to wait 3 more weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliSoxFanViaSWside Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 QUOTE(hi8is @ Oct 17, 2005 -> 09:49 PM) great post ron as you were walking out of the white sox mob, i was trying to get your attention, you litteraly walked right below me i was trying to get your attention but you were visably in awe and shaken =D Thanks T, as I was leaving more Sox fans were being held back by Angels security and I'm yelling "Let them through, Let them through. This happens once in 46 yrs. let them enjoy it. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Be Good Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Thanks for sharing your awesome experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigEdWalsh Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 A really nice post!! Thanks for posting and for being there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxmurph Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Great post Ron. I can't tell you how much fun I had at that game and to be able to share that with my son and one of my oldest friends was awesome. During the game I recieved a call from my sister and niece in Tinley Park saying that they had just seen Cooper on the "Sox Fan Cam" my sister said she was wondering if I was at the game and then Cooper was there on TV. I wish I could have stayed longer, but as you said I had to get Coop home. I doubt if I'll be able to find tickets for the Series, but if I do I'm going. I think of my Grandfather, who worked for the Sox in the 60's and 70's and I know he must be Smiling watching this going on from up above, probably taking a long pull on a cold Pabst. Go Sox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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