HOW I BECAME A BASEBALL FAN PART II: A Mid-1990s Dream

One of the most underrated ballparks in MLB, "The Cell."
(photo courtesy of Ricardo Ponce)

Felipe M

Part I of this saga explained how I became a Chicago Cubs' fan.  Part II, takes this story to an unpredictable conclusion.

Like many Chicago Cubs’ fans, I grew up hating the Chicago White Sox and during the 1990s, not only was it my “duty” to hate the White Sox, but I was also filled with envy because their team was actually winning. 

The first time I found out that Chicago had two MLB teams, I was very shocked.  “Why does Chicago need two teams?  The only team that matters is the Cubs,” I used to think to myself.  The White Sox might as well have been a foreign team from Mexico or Canada.  It’s as if they were the unwanted family member showing up to family gatherings making an awkward mess to what was an otherwise good time.  Who are these people?  There was so much to hate about them:

• They wore black uniforms. 
• Their uniforms didn’t even have a hint of “American colors.”
• White Sox TV broadcaster, Ken “Hawk” Harrelson used to (and still does) refer to the White Sox as the “good guys” and the opposing teams as the “bad guys.”  That used to irk me.  “Who does this guy think he is?”
• They played in the American League and used a “DH.” 
• “What the hell is a DH?”
• Their ballpark didn’t have the charm that Wrigley Field had.  Their outfield walls aren’t even covered in ivy or any other organically grown life form.  They just spew out a depressing, color blue to go along their, sad-looking blue seats.
• The South Side?  What the heck is the South Side of town?
• All of their players had nicknames and came off as bullies.
• Frank “The Big Hurt” Thomas
• “Batman” Robin Ventura
• “Black Jack” McDowell
• Lance “One Dog” Johnson
• Craig “The Little Hurt” Grebeck
• “The Pope” Donn Pall
• “The Rock” Tim Raines
• Carlton “Pudge” Fisk
• They played against weird teams like the Seattle Mariners, California Angels, Minnesota Twins, and the Milwaukee Brewers (back when they were in the AL).
• They are an evil, unlikable team.

In 1997, the Cubs were coming off another disappointing, ’96 season and I was getting tired of all the losing.  And then the White Sox do the unthinkable and sign Albert Belle.  That struck a nerve with me.  “Why can’t the Cubs go out and sign a hitter like Belle?” I used to ask myself as that signing really impressed me.  At least I couldn’t show the same disdain towards the White Sox as before.  See, I used to be one of those fans who root for a Cubs’ win and White Sox loss.  It brought this inexplicable joy.  But after this, I couldn’t go out and root against them anymore.  The Cubs are always losing and they don’t do anything to improve the ballclub.  But the White Sox have put themselves in a better position to win a title for 1997.  

I was not going to hate the White Sox, but I wasn’t going to start rooting for them either.  I was just going to focus on the Cubs and forget about the White Sox.  Not apathetic, not even indifference was the right word.  It was like one eye would kind of "lazy-eye" off into the White Sox’s direction, but quickly focused back on the Cubs. It was like acknowledgment without acknowledging anything.  That make any sense?

Then Robin Ventura broke his ankle during a spring training game.  I felt so sorry for them.  Here I was, a young adolescent now, rooting against the White Sox and getting joy at their misfortune, now feeling sorry for them when their star third basemen looked to be out for the rest of the season.  It wasn’t fair!  This team actually wants to compete and win and seemed to have put themselves in position for glory and then this happened?  

At this point, I was beginning to feel empathy towards the White Sox, but I was not going to root for them.  No, that would be just asinine!  I’m just going to focus on my team and forget about the Sox.  Yes, they are a Chicago team, but the Cubs are the Chicago team. 

As you can imagine by now, the Sox struggle with the loss of Ventura and didn’t look like World Series contenders anymore.  It’s understandable and I’m beginning to pity them a bit.  And then there’s the Chicago Cubs who start the year at 0-14.  They literally found new ways to lose games that season.  Their season was over before it even started, but just for good measure, they would go on two, 5-game losing streaks and one losing streak of 8.  Besides that, they played pretty well, I guess.

Ventura would eventually come back that same year, surpassing even the most optimistic expectations and would spark the White Sox as the trade deadline loomed and the Sox were only 3 ½  games behind Cleveland.  Then management decided that they were not going to catch the Cleveland Indians and decided to pull off the now infamous “White Flag Trade.”

After enduring a lot of frustration with the Cubs, my fandom finally reached a crossroads in ’97.  This performance was just unacceptable on the North Side.  But for White Sox management to give up on the season after the star third baseman worked his tail off to come back and play in order to help the team, was almost a crime in my book.  After I saw that, I said, “enough of this nonsense!”  I had decided that since both teams are from Chicago I was going to spend the rest of my summers living and dying with both teams.  I was now going to start to openly root for both teams.  Both teams are terrible and pretty much have the same history of failure.  If the Cubs were going to make me miserable every summer, then I might as well be doubly miserable and start pulling for the Sox as well.  Why not?  Status quo dictates that I must choose one or the other, but at that point, it just didn’t make any sense to me anymore.  Plus by then, after many years of watching ESPN showing highlights of every MLB game every night, I was hooked on baseball.  It got to the point where rooting for one team was not enough.

I have no regrets and my baseball experience has been very satisfying as watching both teams has also helped me branch out and help me check out the other 28 MLB teams.  I’m not limited to being just “an AL fan or NL fan.”  I’m a baseball fan!  Plus, the move would pay immediate dividends as in 1998, the Cubs would make the playoffs via the wildcard and in 2000, the White Sox would return to the playoffs as well.  And of course, in 2005, the Sox finally brought back the World Series title back to Chicago for the first time since 1917.

 

Nevertheless, this decision has come with a lot of negative reaction from friends and strangers alike.  Most call me a “fair-weathered fan” or a “bandwagon jumper,” but it’s clear to see based on my anecdotes that I truly love cheering for both teams.  The accusations for rooting for both clubs makes me out to be a double-crossing secret agent of sorts.  It reminds me of the story of the bat.  I have to allude to a children’s story because I believe forcing one to choose a baseball team is pretty childish in itself.  I may come off as “confused” as to which team I’m rooting for, but one thing’s for sure: my baseball knowledge is better than any exclusive Cubs’ or White Sox fan.  Probably better than yours, the reader.  And I'll "live and die" with that mantra as a "die-hard" baseball fan any day of any week of any year.

Since 1997, I have been rooting for both the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox.  2013 will mark 21 years of being a Cubs’ fan and 16 years since being a White Sox fan.  I’ve been to both Wrigley and U.S. Cellular Field; feel right at home at both venues.  More importantly, I can honestly say that my summers are much more enjoyable since I have been rooting for both teams.

So as you can see, after reading both Donny's entry and my Cubs' story, not all Chicago baseball fans are created equal.  There are many stories from numerous friends and strangers alike that started out as  Sox fans and later converted to the Cubs or vice-versa.  A lot of these people took advantage at the one chance to switch allegiances and never looked back.  I, on the other hand, refusing to follow conventional thought, decided to root equally hard for both teams.  It probably helped that my family didn't really care about baseball so there was no pressure weighing down on me to pick one or the other.  As mentioned, as a baseball fan, it's been probably the best "baseball decision" I have ever made.

So what's your story?

Read Johnny  J's story on how he became a Mariners' fan.

More MLB content is available here. 

DIE’D-HARD CUBS FAN or DEAD-HEART FAN OF CUBS

"Moonshots can be heard and seen over the Chicago night sky..."
(photo courtesy of Ed Mancia)

Donny R

As a kid, it's much easier to get into the lumber power of Frank Thomas and Bo Jackson and Co., fireworks at a brand new ball field and, gulp, winning, than it is to get behind the on-base percentage of the aging, early 90's Chicago Cubs’ teams.  Growing up in Chicago proper, your fandom is usually handed down from your DNA donor and incubators: my parents, however, liked both teams though my mom leaned towards the Cubs.  I'm not a parent but if I lived in the city with two “same-sport” team choices and had two young boys, I'd take them to as many Chicago White Sox games as my parents took me, because sports’ integrity is an impossible concept to teach your kids.  I strongly believe that my parents did the right thing nudging me to the winning side.  Why would you even subject your kids to the heartbreak that is the Cubs anyway?  As day baseball was being labored close to my Rogers Park home, the moonshots could be heard and seen over the Chicago night sky in the Summer of the early '90's, but that did not change my allegiance.  A couple of Big-Hurt chocolate bars, Robin Ventura t-shirts, and trips up and down the concourse ramps at the new Comiskey Park, I was obsessed with the White Sox.

Enter 1994. 

The strike ends the Sox World Series hopes and ultimately ends my love affair for the team.  I started playing organized sports at this time.  I, like most Hispanic boys (excluding Pathological Hate’s editor, Felipe), was really fast (For the record, I was my 8^th grade football team's fastest runner and one of the few players that never complained during sprints—Ed).  I thought I was Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez from the film The Sandlot (No relation?—Ed).  And I was probably as fast as the character who shared the same last name as me, except, unlike Benny, I had no coordination whatsoever.  During the pee-wee player assessment try-outs, I didn't field one pop-up or grounder.  I swung and missed on every batting attempt.  So I was put in right field, a safe haven for kids with fielding deficiencies.  You know who else played right field around that time? Sammy Sosa.  Right around 1995, with Michael Jordan attempting a comeback and my loyalty to the Sox just inexplicably wearing off just like things do for most eleven year-olds, I decided I was a Sosa/Cubs’ fan.  Chicks (baby chickens) dig the long ball.  Ok that joke was cheap, cheap.  Crap that was worse; my gags have flown over the coo--

Why did the rooster cross the road, Donny?
(photo courtesy of Ricardo Ponce)

You know where this story goes: 1998 was the most exciting year of my sports-loving life!  The Chicago Bulls had just three-peated, again, WWF (now the WWE-Ed) was embarking in its Attitude era, and Sosa could hit a football with one swing (perhaps even throw it) farther than Erik Kramer and Steve Stenstrom could do all that year, combined.  Jordan was now gone, leaving the face of the city in the hands of Toni Kukoc, Curtis Conway, Tony Amonte, Albert Belle, and Sosa.  

As a teen, just as a pre-teen, I was a front-runner.  Not proud of it, but as an adult now, I'm a fan of honesty.  In High School, tucked away in the suburb of Elk Grove Village, I always looked forward to the Cubs’ games back in the city I lived in the first 12 years of my life.  That's when you cement your allegiance.  Taking that Metra to the Blue Line is where some of my favorite memories are bedrocked.  

The rest is a sad an unfortunate history, with a blip of nice times spaced out on my Cubs’ sonar map:

• 2003 NLCS, I could have done without (The year my soul gave up on life and committed suicide—Ed).  I was in college at Columbia in Chicago, and remember taking the Red Line after class to Wrigley Field to stand outside on Sheffield Ave, for Games 6 and 7, and experienced the realest kind of dejection a sports' fan can ever experience.  
• Sosa "accidentally" grabbing a corked bat that same year (Among many stupid things he has done throughout his life.  Not even talking about the PEDs—Ed).  
• In 2005, from the bleachers, I saw Greg Maddux’s 3,000th strikeout on my brother's 21st birthday.  The Maddux game, aside from the random 2000 Sox game I attended where Mike Cameron hit four home runs, is the best time I've ever had at a game.
• Throw in a couple two-three Cubs vs Sox games, which now happen to be my least favorite sporting event because of everyone in the stands insisting on being drunk dicks to each other.  
• The recent playoff runs were also memorable.  

And now, here we are.  

I'm too old to jump ship to the South Side.  I'm a Cubs' fan from now until death does me part.  Or at least until I have a kid, I'll take "it" to both ball parks around age 7 and let "the child" decide who he roots for.  Hopefully, I can nudge the tyke to bleed “Cubbie Blue,” because after all, misery loves company.  Like father, like son.  Go, Cubs, Go.

To read how Felipe became a Cubs' fan, click here. 

To read how Johnny became a Mariners' fan, click here. 

More MLB content is available here. 

THE CURIOUS CASE OF: Lovie Smith (The Legacy)

Felipe M

What can be said about recently fired, Chicago Bears' head coach Lovie Smith that hasn't been said all ready?  The consensus seems to be that, though, he had a championship caliber defense, he failed miserably in getting his offense going. But is it really as simple as that?  

New Bears' GM, Phil Emery believes so. Emery echoed the sentiments of everybody when he stated that Coach Smith failed to build an offense. Hard to argue with a man whose former team, the Kansas City Chiefs, sent 5 players to the Pro Bowl despite having a miserable season (on and off the field)--no doubt, Emery had a hand in acquiring those players. So let's assume that Emery, indeed, has an eye for pro football talent--why did he fail miserably in acquiring help for the offensive line (the team's #1 concern since the Bears last made the Super Bowl)? Why did his draft look like former GM, Jerry Angelo conducted it (with unnamed sources stating that Emery and the Bears were indeed using Angelo's draft board to conduct the 2012 Draft)? And what kind of coach will he be looking for to replace Smith who ranks #3 in wins for this historic franchise (fans are screaming GRUDEN! COWHER! REID!)?  

The focus here will be on Smith, but the point I'm trying to make is, although many Bears' fans got their long-time wish of seeing Smith ousted from his position, this mess could have been avoided in the offseason with better personnel decisions and a direction that everybody in the organization--from the owners down to the vendors--could follow without hesitation.  Remember, this Bears' team was supposed to finish 2012 no better than 3rd place in the NFC NORTH Division.  There were no realistic Super Bowl aspirations.  Coming into kickoff 2012, this team looked old and slow on defense and very sluggish on offense. 

However, once the season got going, the Chicago Bears turned into the 2012 Chicago White Sox--a team with low expectations coming into the season who suddenly sees themselves contending for a division, only to choke it away in the end. The differences between both Chicago teams are obvious, the most important being that Smith, despite having the ability to get the most out of his players to begin the season,  had worn out his welcome after 9 seasons with the fans, media, and the team's front office; while rookie manager, Robin Ventura will not be tethered to a tight leash for a long while.  

Smith's faults are many: a pompous attitude towards media and fans that many of his players picked up on and showcased as well (Brian Urlacher being his strongest supporter and imitator); a conservative approach on offense ("we're a running team. We come running out of the bus."); terrible clock management; an inability to make halftime adjustments as mentioned before on this site; not winning in December; not being able to beat the Green Bay Packers as promised; not being able to come up with an adequate offensive line; the list goes on and on.

On the plus side, his achievements are worth mentioning one more time: 3rd place among Bears' head coaches in terms of wins; coaching a defensive squad that rivals any other great defenses in NFL history; making it to the Super Bowl; having a disciplined team; cultivating a culture where there was no finger-pointing or players blaming other players for the team's short-comings (which we have seen, in the NFL, that is a very common occurrence among most teams); the unhesitant support from his players, from both sides of the ball, through success and failures (once again, in the NFL, once players stop believing in a coach, that coach is doomed). 

Many Bears' fans were overjoy when news of Smith's firing became official, but among the NFL fans across the U.S., they were left pretty perplexed at the move by Emery. Despite the low expectations, the Bears were still a Minnesota Vikings' loss from making the playoffs. Of all the coaches that were fired on "Black Monday," Smith was the only coach who finished 2012 with a winning record. Smith's club was also the only team that finished with 10 wins and not make the playoffs. However, Emery was determined to hire his own coach to start his administration as Bears' GM and this was the perfect reason to ax Smith. Can't really blame Emery for wanting to start his career with his own, hand-picked head coach. The only reason Smith was able to start the 2012 campaign as head coach was because Bears' ownership did not want to pay millions of dollars for Smith to stay at home and collect paychecks from his former employer. 

So while Bears' fans wonder who will be the new head coach for their beloved team, we try to figure out, with each subsequent article, what really went wrong for the team and what the firing means for the future of the franchise.

Part II of the Lovie Smith saga can be read here.