How did you get into the Sox?

[Texsox]

I was the only Sox fan in my family, suffered through channel 44 and snowy pictures. I can't really remember ever not being a Sox fan, but I also have some great memories at Wrigley as a kid. Walking up the ramp, seeing the sunshine and ivy, Getting Ernie Bank's autograph. I could have easily gone to the dark side but, what cemented the relationship was getting my driver's license during the Southside Hit Men era. Flat out fun, winning or losing.

[GoodAsGould]

My whole family are all Cubs fans, my mom is from Iowa soo that side of the family is all cubbie lovers and my dad well he came from Pakistan and of course chose the Cubs. Than my older brother chose the Cubs. Well since im the middle child of my family I of course had to be different and which is probably the biggest reason im a whitesox fan. The funny thing is I prob know more about the Cubs and the NL than the rest of my family does.

 

If you ever watched Cubs games in the 90's I was the little brown kid wearing a whitesox hat and my little black bat ;p.... no matter who they were playing(My dad always got free cubs tickets from work)

[NorthSideSox72]

My grandfather, who died nine months almost to the day before I was born, was a Sox fan, lived much of his life in the Englewood neighborhood. I am told we are very similar in many ways, so I guess it figures. He moved the family out of Englewood to the NW side sometime in the mid-50's, when my father was about 10. He (my father) then became a Cubs fan, since taking the family to games at Wrigley was a lot closer and easier to get to. My grandfather was, as I understand it, a bit disappointed.

 

Years later, when I was little, our family went to a few Cubs games (late 70's or very early 80's), which were just no fun. Stands were empty, the team sucked, weather always seemed crappy, etc. Then, my father made the mistake of taking us to a Sox game, so that we could see the other side of town. We drove from Evanston to Comiskey via Cicero and then Halsted (instead of the expressway), so that we could see a cross-section of the city, which was fun in itself. The game was a nail-biter that the Sox won, we sat next to Moose Skowron, my Dad caught a foul ball, and we just had a blast. In his zeal to show his kids the city, my father created a Sox fan (and a black sheep), which I have been ever since.

 

Unfortunately, if this trend continues, my first born son will turn out to be a Cubs fan.

[WCSox]

Moved to the Chicago area in '82 got into baseball and was basically a casual fan of both the Sox and Cubs (my grandmother was a huge Cubs fan). After reading up on both teams in the '83 Opening Day preview in the Trib's sports section, I decided that I couldn't root for both. The Sox won because, LOL, I thought that their uniforms looked cooler than the other team's. Of course, that was the Winnin' Ugly year and I was hooked after that.

[Chisoxfn]

WGN and my love of Chicago ever since I was a kid is probably why. I used to watch Sox and Cubs game on the television when I was young, developed into a Bulls fan and a Bears fan and well the rest was history. My love of the city came from visiting it a couple times as a wee lad (my mom is from the southside and we still have family in the burbs).

 

I still say its the only big city I could ever even consider living in.

[Queen Prawn]

Through birth - my mom is a huge Sox fan as was her father. When I was a kid, the best thing in the world in the summer was to grab a popsicle and settle in for the game.

[tonyho7476]

My grandmother and father were big fans. My grandma used to take my dad to games all the time, and always on his birthday. And when I got old enough, grandma couldn't take me, so grandpa used to take me and my dad. So it started with grandma, to my dad, and to me.

 

And my grandma was literally alive the whole time the Sox didn't win. She was born shortly after they won the WS in 1917, and died months before they won it again in 2005.

[Queen Prawn]

And my grandma was literally alive the whole time the Sox didn't win. She was born shortly after they won the WS in 1917, and died months before they won it again in 2005.

 

Similar situation about my grampa. He was born in 1917 and died in 1993.

[southsider2k5]

3rd generation Sox fan.

[RibbieRubarb]

They served me Beer when I was 12!!!

 

 

 

Seriously, 3rd generation Sox fan...simple.

Edited January 17, 2007 by RibbieRubarb

[Jeff Liefer]

I'm pretty sure I took my first piss in a White Sox bathroom between innings as a toddler...I barely remember Old Comiskey, but the first memories I have are Sox memories...born and raised.

[southsider2k5]

I'm pretty sure I took my first piss in a White Sox bathroom between innings as a toddler...I barely remember Old Comiskey, but the first memories I have are Sox memories...born and raised.

 

The troughs are pretty memorable...

[Chisoxfn]

I'm pretty sure I took my first piss in a White Sox bathroom between innings as a toddler...I barely remember Old Comiskey, but the first memories I have are Sox memories...born and raised.

At least you didn't get locked in the pisser, like Liefer did when he was with the Brewers org

 

That said I always liked watching Liefer take BP, he was "country strong" as Hawk would say.

[GreatScott82]

Yep i was born into it thank goodness! My father was a Sox fan and his father was a Sox fan as he was born and raised on the southside.

[BMac Attack]

I love this thread. The stories really back up that whole perception of the Sox as that "neighborhood team" with a lot more soul (the unassuming, blue-collar South Side kind) than a lot of other clubs. Makes me miss home!

[knightni]

I was always afraid of the bathrooms at Old Comiskey.

 

Reminded me of an indoor street alley.

[mmmmmbeeer]

I was also born a Sox fan, 3rd generation on my dad's side raised in the SW burbs. My Uncle was the one that really took me to the most games, but small talk with that side of the family usually involved the White Sox. I remember when JR was going to move the Sox to Florida. My dad was a nervous wreck about the whole deal, just pissed. He stayed up the night the legislature voted for funding like right before midnight, came and woke me up out of a dead sleep to let me know that they were staying. He was so excited, good stuff.

 

My mom's parents were sCrUB fans so there was always a fun rivalry there. My grandma would always bet me and my brother and sister a $1 on the crosstown classic. I watched many a sCrUB game at their house. Afternoon games when they had Jody, Ryne, and them. So it seems that they were trying to turn me to the dark side, but never succeeded.

 

My two sons are already brainwashed, especially my 5 year old. He'd walk around the little league parks last year, pimping his T-Ball uniform, and yelling "boo cubs" to any kid wearing a little league Cubs uni, regardless of their age. He'll see someone in public wearing a sCrUBs hat or shirt and he'll whisper, "hey daddy, look, choke cubs hat". And of course, most importantly, he's quick to give props to anyone he sees wearing Sox gear, which is rather seldom (Tulsa, now Atlanta).