Ozzie will further endear himself with these comments

[Balta1701]

Didn't the Sox blow a lead of about 15 or 16 games at one point in 2005? How could people not realize they were collapsing like they could in 2012?

I had confidence in the 05 team and lost all my confidence in the '12 team when I could see the fundamentals starting to fall apart in late August. Whether it was because people were tired or what, you could see it all going to trash.

 

There were a few 05 games I definitely turned off midway but always had the game on the next day.

[LittleHurt05]

To be fair, by that point it was pretty obvious the White Sox were collapsing. I stopped watching completely right around the end of August because I could see what was about to happen and didn't want to watch it.

 

These were people that put in the effort to attend the game. If they weren't there to cheer the Sox on in a pennant race, then what were they there for? To get drunk? Sounds like another fanbase.

 

My point being Sox fans have no room to talk in saying that Cubs fans only go to games and party and get drunk. Despite those people, Wrigley still gets louder in close moments for bad teams than the Cell did last year in a pennant race, collapsing team or not.

[witesoxfan]

I would just like to point out how obvious the collapse was in 2008 too.

[Iwritecode]

But if Cub fans really care about winning why do they fill the park when they are losing?

 

There are a number of different reasons. Whether it involves drinking with their buddies, the field itself being a tourist attraction, being long-time season ticket holders who are afraid to miss the year the Cubs finally make it all the way or just watching Sammy hit a bunch of homeruns...

 

About the last thing I would accuse the Cubs "customers" of being is caring about winning. I think the Sox numbers would increase, but my guess is it would be new fans that are attracted to the winning, not an exodus of Cub customers deciding to move the party to the southside.

 

Obviously. The city is big enough for both teams to draw 3 million fans in the same season. But if the Cubs attendance started shrinking like it has the past couple of years and the Sox attendance stayed up, I think the tide would turn from everyone thinking that it always will be a Cubs town.

 

 

[ewokpelts]

BS. You probably did the same thing in 2005, since they were collapsing then as well.

 

I love the argument Sox fans make, they "knew the team would collapse" that is why they didn't support them all year. Like Sox fans are far more intelligent than other fanbases. Explain to me why, if these fans are so smart and know what is going to happen ahead of time, more Sox fans watched them in person in 2007 than in 2012?

More season ticket holders. And that number shrank quickly, as there were no playoff invoices/deposits forcing people to renew(Sox have a policy that if playoff refunds are deposits for the next year, or you lose your seats. 2006 had tix issued and refunded).

[ewokpelts]

There are a number of different reasons. Whether it involves drinking with their buddies, the field itself being a tourist attraction, being long-time season ticket holders who are afraid to miss the year the Cubs finally make it all the way or just watching Sammy hit a bunch of homeruns...

 

 

 

Obviously. The city is big enough for both teams to draw 3 million fans in the same season. But if the Cubs attendance started shrinking like it has the past couple of years and the Sox attendance stayed up, I think the tide would turn from everyone thinking that it always will be a Cubs town.

The sox were a sellout short of 3 million PAID admissions(comps don't count towards attendance) in 2006, and the Cubs drew north of 3 million that year as well.

 

It can be done.