Living in the Chicago usually means one thing: I either favor the Cubs or the White Sox. It is that simple.
There are three types of people around Chicago: Cubs fans, Sox fans and the people who claim to like both teams.
Nice try, but it does not work. Granted, there are the select few people born into split Cubs-Sox homes. My cousin is one of them. He chose a team to root for and his father is convinced it is some form of rebellion.
There is nothing wrong with favoring one team over the other. A two-baseball team town has to deal with this separation. Chicago has dealt with it well and made the rivalry part of its culture.
Every year, the Sox play the Cubs in what some call the Windy City Series. It is a popular summer tradition like the Taste of Chicago. Chicagoans who do not hold tickets are glued to their television sets with bratwurst or hot dogs on the grill. Their phones are sitting within arms reach.
When our rival team hits a home run or our team makes an error, family and friends call the house. They make fun of my father, and he laughs it off. We have lived the ridicule long enough. We are Cubs fans.
There is an underlying respect to this practice. Both a Cubs or Sox fan would rather see a die-hard follower of one team rather than a watered-down follower of both.
Recently, I have seen a growth in support from our cross-town counterparts. For some, the Cubs' post-season play has unified the town. Some Sox fans would rather see the Cubs win than another team because their chance to play in the World Series is long overdue.
As all Cub fans, I have waited long enough to watch a game at the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field with the famous ivy changing to colors of the post-season. We have one of the most loyal fan bases in the country. We are the most loveable losers in baseball.
Sox fans can complain. They can rip into Cubs fans all they want. It might be out of jealousy, but I think it is about keeping the tradition alive. The jabs will begin again next season, regardless of either team's performance.
So as I shed a few tears Wednesday after the loss to the Marlins, my father reminded me that it was all part of being a Cubs fan.
"You know what they say, 'They wouldn't be the Cubs if they didn't break your heart,'" he said.
Cubs fans keep coming back for more. They live to love the Cubs and hate the Sox. Sox fans live to love the Sox and hate the Cubs.
In the meantime, fans from both sides will ignore their differences and unify during football season to hate the Green Bay Packers.
Such is Chicago sports.
Write to Lauren at lmphillips@bsu.edu
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