YASNY Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Here's my story. My dad grew up as the son of a poor sharecropper in western KY. His dad died when my dad was 13 and Dad took on the responsibilty of bringing home the bacon. He joined the army at age 17 and served in the Korean War. After leaving the army, he had a couple of older brothers living in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. He moved up there to find work and his brother got him on as a carpenter which he did until he retired. He wasn't even really aware of baseball till this time, but living in the area he got caught up in the excitement of Luis, Nellie and the '59 Sox. I was born in '57, so the Sox were always a part of my 'formative years'. I remember going to my first Sox game at 5 or 6 years of age after watching them on black and white TV. I walked up the lower deck ramp along the right field line at Comiskey Park and watched that wonderful green "Baseball Palace of the World" open up before my eyes and I've been hooked ever since. I remember that moment like it was yesterday. It's December, the winter meetings are history. Things are slow. So I ask, what's your story? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2nd_city_saint787 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 FRANK.THOMAS. Growing up as a fat kid who loved baseball he was my idol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Dec 9, 2012 -> 11:45 PM) FRANK.THOMAS. Growing up as a fat kid who loved baseball he was my idol. Frank is responsible for a lot of Sox fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2nd_city_saint787 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 QUOTE (YASNY @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 01:48 AM) Frank is responsible for a lot of Sox fans. I was the only player on my little league team to get a game ball and the coach wrote on the ball "The Big Heart" and that further solidified him being my favorite player and I watched every game I could from then on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiliIrishHammock24 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 No idea. My entire family is Cubs fans, my dad used to dress me up in Cubs gear as a child. I guess it was probably because my dad always got free tickets from work as I grew up (still does), and Sox tickets came much more often than Cubs, so we went to a ton of Sox games. Magglio and Frank drew me in I would guess. But I actually hated baseball until I was about 11, and loved it around 2003 I'd say. My friends all played baseball growing up, I played soccer. So they used to make fun of me all the time for playing soccer and being a "grass fairy", so I would in turn try and make fun of them for liking baseball, out of spite. Eventually I couldn't hold back my love for baseball, and became a big Sox fan probably around '03. That's when I was actually looking up scores every day, researching players, buying jerseys, asking for White Sox gifts for my birthday and christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkfan Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Hawk and one dog. And Ron karkovic. Also, cubs suck....and Dave Martinez. Not a great story,but I loved watching them when I was a kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky Mark Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Grew up in a mixed family of Sox and Cubs fans. Once I was old enough to understand the game I quickly realized that Cubs fans were mostly made up of individuals who weren't actually very devoted fans and they rarely knew their team, whereas the Sox fans actually followed their team and weren't fans just for the sake of being fans. Other factors include: My family could afford to attend Sox games Sox had a lot of children friendly programs Frank Thomas was easy to love Sammy Sosa was very dislikable player (as he rose to power as a Cub) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSpalehoseCWS Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 My dad and Frank Thomas. My dad used to tell me about the '59 team when I was younger and Fox, Aparicio and Pierce. Big Hurt just was amazing in my eyes. When I was a kid, my dad would throw me balls to hit in our front yard and I used to pretend I was Thomas, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 Keep 'em coming. Thanks to those that have participated already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Dad was a Sox fan because Grandpa was. He grew up with the '59 team. We used to watch games on TV at home when we could get the station to come in on the antenna - otherwise it was the radio. I went to my first game at 9 because it was a Saturday night church bus trip - the pastor got doused in beer while in the Upper Deck of Old Comiskey. I got hooked the next year at 10 because it was during the September pennant race of 1983 and they won the game dramatically. Harold Baines was my favorite player because he won that game. When he got traded to Texas in '89, I became a Fisk fan. Now, I take my dad to games instead of when he used to take me. Some day, I hope to take my future kid - whenever that day comes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeNukeEm Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Family thing. My grandfather grew up with the White Sox, my dad grew up with the White Sox, I grew up with the White Sox and my kids will grow up with the White Sox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joxer_Daly Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 This was my answer to a similar question when I first joined the forum back in the summer: QUOTE (Joxer_Daly @ Jul 10, 2012 -> 01:27 PM) Good question. Why does an Irish guy that has only followed baseball for a few months and has never even been to the States develop an allegiance to the Sox? As Quinarvy hits on above, I was curious if there were any MLB teams with any Irish connections over the years. A pal of mine that lived in Chicago for a few years directed me towards the White Sox (I don't know too much about the extent of this connection, but intend to explore the earlier history of the team as part of my overall Soxification!!!). He also portrayed our city rivals as yuppies with delusions of grandeur, so that edged my allegiance ever-closer to the Southsiders. Surprisingly, this guy is Sox fan himself! Also, these points aside, even before developing my interest in baseball, the name Chicago White Sox would've carried some sort of iconic or romantic resonance to my mind - possibly for as simple a reason as the featuring of the character of Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, for example - without quite knowing why. So, it's a random combination of (i) some sort of Irish connection, (ii) my pal being a fan, (iii) us being the good guys with our city rivals being up themselves, and (iv) some prior positive identification with the name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba Philips Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 QUOTE (Joxer_Daly @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 03:00 AM) This was my answer to a similar question when I first joined the forum back in the summer: My dad was a Sox fan my mom's family were Cubs fans. I have 2 older sister who cared less about baseball while my older brother didn't care about sports I developed a fascination with baseball although I would not see a major league game Comiskey until I was 13. In the mid fifties I wafirst s struck by the outlandish nicknames like jungle Jim Rivera who made shoe string catches on fly balls hit anywhere near him. I had no idea what that actually looked like but it was Bob Elsons description so it had to be true. Listening to a game on the radio allowed the fan to use his imagination. There wasn't any replays you had to pay attention. That was baseball. I knew my players from my baseball cards ,from the paper and magazines. If anyone is interested in my game the sox played the yankees in 1962 Maris and Mantle were in the outfield that day a thirteen year old's kid's dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) Grew up in South Chicago, fell in love watching the sox and Thomas (along with others) back in 92. Went to my first game in 93. Lost to the Royals, but overall had a great time with my father, his best friend and son in my first game. (Joey Cora was pretty good that game too) Having said that, Ken Griffey Jr. was the reason why I started playing baseball. He was my idol growing up, the reason I batted lefty and played centerfield all through the years. And just like him, leg injuries ruined my career in becoming a sure fire major leaguer with the Marlins and a couple of my other friends who were drafted. Edited December 10, 2012 by SoxAce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 My Dad grew up in Indiana where he could get Sox, Cubs, and Reds games on the radio. Because the Yankees were so popular, he started listening to Sox games because they were the AL team and grew into being a Sox fan, and I inherited it from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elamins Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Family is all cub fans and I have always been the opposite of everyone in the fam so it was an easy choice plus I loved listening to hawk and wimpy over that harry carey garbage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokpelts Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 1990 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buehrle>Wood Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Like so many others Hawk is probably a big reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox_Sonix Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Started off as a Yankee fan but moved to Germany when I was about 7 for a few years. My dad wasn't a sports fan and my favorite shirt my mom getting me from the american store on the nearby Panzer army base was a White Sox shirt so it just kind of stuck with me when we moved back to New York a few years later. In the same pattern, that is why my brother is an Indians fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chetkincaid Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Everyone in my family was always a Cubs fan. As a kid, we always took field trips to Cubs games. I never ever heard anything about the White Sox... it was like they didn't even exist. When I got older, I wanted to be different, so I started following the Sox. And it really sealed the deal when Kenny Williams took over. I was excited that he was one of the first and only minorities running a major league franchise, and believe it or not, I am almost related to the guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayitaintso Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 When I was growing up my dad tried to make into a cubs fan since he was a cub fan, but I always ended up going to several sox games with my uncle and I just grew to loving the sox. Growing up in the 90s, Frank Thomas was an idol of mine (and millions of other kids) so that helped my Sox fandom in addition to Robin Ventura being my favorite player. My uncle took me to my first opening day, several games over my childhood years, my first sox garage sale, my first playoff game (in 2000), and to Game 2 of the ALCS & WS in `05, so I was spoiled in a good way. I guess that would be about the jist of how I became a sox fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Born and raised a Sox fan, 3rd generation in my family. The 1983 team really solidified that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GGajewski18 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I'm only 20. My dad's side of the family are all White Sox fans. My grandpa who now lives in Arizona would tell me all these stories of the teams he grew up with. He would also take me to spring training games in Arizona when they would play the Cubs. When I was little and the Sox game came on, I would go grab a big spoon out of the kitchen and pretend to use that as a bat and mimmick the White Sox hitters lol. So ever since I really understood baseball, I have been a White Sox fan all my life and I love it. Going on 21 years of being a fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 My dad was an Andy Frain usher as a kid. He was a rare one who actually liked both teams. He worked Wrigley one day there was a DH. He was working the boxes behind homeplate. During the second half of the second game, the Cubs GM at the time saw him leaning against the railing and told Andy Frain to fire him. My dad gets called up to see Andy and Andy tells him the story but told him he wasn't going to fire him, and that he should go hide in the upper deck the rest of the day. Because of that, my dad hated the Cubs. If it never happened, I probably would have been one of the few who liked both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Dye Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) I grew up around Cubs fans, rooted for both teams..but eventually the people I grew up around got annoying enough where honestly they pushed me solely to one side. I also enjoyed the outsider role that provided me, probably. Also around that time (last two years of high school) I was an usher at the park My father's family is from Beverly, but honestly that did not directly play into things ..since he is not that into sports. Edited December 10, 2012 by Jose Paniagua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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