Crains Article

[SOXFANSINCE72]

Hello all,

 

I haven't posted for awhile but I've been reading. I'm 9-1 so far this year, with the 9th win coming yesterday. My only loss, sadly the Saturday night 10-1 Oakland game...damn the effin A's.

 

Here's an article I found in today's Crains Chicago Business, I posted this on the MLB board as well.

 

Tell me what you think, I found some to be true but a lot just pretty typical.

 

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/art..._id=24048&arc=n

[drowninginflame]

gotta be a member.......c/p

[UofIChiSox]

Tell me what you think, I found some to be true but a lot just pretty typical.

 

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/art..._id=24048&arc=n

 

I think I don't want to pay to read it.

[rangercal]

Want to be a Sox fan?

You're a bandwagon-jumping imposter — but trying to hide it. Here's how to blend in.

 

July 25, 2005

By Mark Scheffler

 

As the Sox continue along with their strong — if lately somewhat spotty — season, bandwagon jumpers are starting to take note.

 

But weaseling one's way into the Sox fan base or onto a seat at U.S. Cellular Field requires the ability to blend in. Not always easy if you're a rookie, lack knowledge of Sox esoterica or, God forbid, are a follower of the Cubs.

 

Complicating matters: The Sox devotee is a particular breed of spectator, with a short fuse for baseball neophytes and fair-weather fans.

 

"Dude, here's a telltale sign: It's harder to get tickets; games are selling out," says a riled-up Jon Del Rio, 25, who grew up on the South Side and attends eight to 12 games a year. "Where were these people the last four years?"

 

Longtime followers of the team can spot impostors a mile away: They're usually the ones immediately mistaking a routine fly ball hit to the outfield for a home run, or focusing more intently on their nacho platter than the starting pitcher. Or, worse still, "watching the Bears on a portable TV during September games," says Paul Whitfield, author of "The White Sox Fan's Little Book of Wisdom."

 

Outsiders tend to "bring mitts, wear floppy hats and talk on cell phones," says Brian O'Sullivan, 31. At the park, he expects there to be "no beach balls, nobody doing the wave." Why no wave? "It's unethical."

 

A fledgling enthusiast should also understand what's important on the field. "The Sox fan is completely focused on the pitching element of the game because historically, it's been a pitching-rich franchise — from the 1950s Go-Go Sox to today, when we're focused on strong arms to complement an offense that can do the little things," says George Bova, who runs whitesoxinteractive.com, an unofficial fan Web site.

 

Erin, 24, a rookie fan from Peoria who recently started coming to games with her boyfriend, says fandom is "like a religion" between "fathers and sons." Thus, she advises buying a vintage-style cap, specifically one with the 1917 logo stitched on it. You get instant credit for tapping into the team's storied heritage and the last year it won a World Series.

 

With help from numerous fans attending a recent Red Sox game and a couple of Sox authorities, including Messrs. Whitfield and Bova, what follows is an assemblage of other techniques and skill sets that can make fitting in appear more authentic.

 

UNDERSTAND YOUR ETIQUETTE

"I don't know if etiquette is learned behavior or what, but there is an instinctive reaction you develop," says Mr. Bova. "If you're walking up the aisle and blocking people's view during a pitch, you'll get yelled at. There are going to be Sox fans telling you about your mistake. So learning the ropes has a self-preservation element to it."

 

LEARN TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE TRIBUNE

People in various fan forums online tend to refer to the paper — whose parent, the Tribune Co., owns the Cubs — as Pravda or the Cubune, because Sox fans think coverage is forever tilted toward the North Side.

 

HAIRSTYLES

Consider a mullet (or at least learn not to do a double take when you see one). Having "mullet night" as a special event on Sept. 2, says one fan, is redundant at Cellular Field, where "every night is mullet night."

 

EXPERIENCE WITH THE TRADES HELPFUL, BUT NOT MANDATORY

Being a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134, for instance, helps one get immersed in the Sox culture, traditionally perceived as blue-collar. Even if you're on the high end of the economic strata, chances are you still have some working class in your bloodstream. "We have plenty of fans who are white-collar, but many have that blue-collar mentality and work ethic," says Brooks Boyer, vice-president of marketing for the Sox.

 

WEARING A TIE TO THE PARK IS UNACCEPTABLE?

"That's a great fallacy," says Mr. Bova. For years, he says, Comiskey Park was considered a shot-and-beer place, the world's largest saloon. "But look at the corporate suites at the park — there's two decks of them. There's a whole new element to the kind of people attending."

 

ANGER MANAGEMENT

Some think the typical Sox fan has a higher-than-normal level of hostility. "They're angry at the world because they don't get exposure," says Coner McKnight, a Cubs fan, who opted not to wear his chosen team's colors "out of respect." But what some perceive as anger, Mr. Bova says, is instead a realistic view of a challenging game.

 

CELLULAR FIELD TALKING POINTS

Defending the park from miscellaneous slurs is de rigueur for the Sox fan. Treat the following as mantra: It does not have the vibe of a suburban mall, the upper deck is not too steep, the neighborhood is not bereft of charming taverns.

 

KNOW YOUR HAWK-ISMS

Reciting TV broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson's popular homespun phrases should be done knowingly, if sparingly, lest you sound like a total buffoon. Greatest hits include "can of corn" for a routine fly ball, "He gone!" for a strikeout and his effusive home run call: "You can put it on the boooaaard. . . . Yes!"

 

NEVER THROW BALLS BACK, EVER

Accept the reality of the other team hitting a home run. "One thing nouveau fans should know is that for a Sox fan, the ballgame is the show. You're not part of the show. When you throw a ball back, you're really saying, 'Look at me, aren't I cute? I'm throwing this ball back!' " says Mr. Bova.

 

UNDERSTAND RECENT HISTORY

Aficionados agree that one ought to be conversant with the "White Flag" trade in 1997, when team owner Jerry Reinsdorf let go of expensive talent while the team was still in a position to catch the division rival Cleveland Indians. Also of note: the "Winning Ugly" era in 1983 when the team managed 99 wins by playing a hardscrabble style that capitalized on botched plays and lucky bounces.

 

 

NO SUCH THING AS PSYCHOBABBLE . . .

After a loss, the Sox fan doesn't believe in coping mechanisms or emotional crutches. "That's not where the fan is at," says Mr. Whitfield, "because in terms of self-image they see themselves as tough guys. Not the kind starting fights in stands, but people well-braced for life's disappointments."

 

. . . OR A CURSE

Sox fans don't believe in any kind of spitball voodoo, à la the Cubs' curse of the Billy Goat. "If we're bad, it's because of bad management, bad marketing, bad publicity and just never getting the breaks," says Mr. Bova.

 

SOX VS. CUBS

One fan says the easiest way to blend in is simply to wear a "Cubs Suck!" T-shirt.

 

Cubs fans "kind of accept losing; there's something cute or ironic about it," says Mr. Whitfield. "They embrace their patheticness. White Sox fans resent theirs."

 

"They have all those years under .500, but you always hear them say 'Well, at least we sell out the park,' " says Justin Del Rio, 21, of Highland, Ind. "Big deal. What do you want, a cookie?"

 

It's true, says Mr. Boyer, that the Cubs have a different fan experience and a national fan base. "But if you compare us with us and not them, we're having an amazing year." He says group sales are up 40%, individual tickets are up 30%, season tickets are up 10% and attendance-wise, this season is on track to be the fourth-best in franchise history.

 

On the managerial front, Sox fans insist the team plays it looser, and is therefore more fun. When Ozzie Guillen saw ace pitcher Mark Buehrle sliding on a rain-soaked tarp, he shrugged it off, saying his All-Star starter was a grown man. "When Dusty Baker caught Cubs ace Kerry Wood doing the same thing, he fined him," points out Steven Steinberg, 54, of Buffalo Grove.

 

And perhaps the biggest difference of all? "Cubs fans are nicer drunks," says one attendee.

[rangercal]

thank you bugmenot.com

[UofIChiSox]

thank you rangercal

[rangercal]

thank you rangercal

not a problem

[SOXFANSINCE72]

thank you rangercal

 

 

Thank you too rangercal, I was just about to copy and paste it.

 

[SnB]

good article.

you don't see much of these around.

[SnB]

considering on saturday, i was with a few people from this board, and one inparticular wasn't afraid to call out people walking in front of us during a pitch. You could definitely tell who were the real fans and who weren't.

[rangercal]

considering on saturday, i was with a few people from this board, and one inparticular wasn't afraid to call out people walking in front of us during a pitch. You could definitely tell who were the real fans and who weren't.

LOL that's me too .

[GoodAsGould]

HAIRSTYLES

Consider a mullet (or at least learn not to do a double take when you see one). Having "mullet night" as a special event on Sept. 2, says one fan, is redundant at Cellular Field, where "every night is mullet night."

 

???

[knightni]

"They have all those years under .500, but you always hear them say 'Well, at least we sell out the park,' " says Justin Del Rio, 21, of Highland, Ind. "Big deal. What do you want, a cookie?"

[Soxy]

Thanks, that was nice (with the exception of the mullet night comment). Good read.

[DrunkBomber]

I didnt know that these fair weather fans were being educated on how to fit in. I could just imagine some of the people I know reading this and actually paying attention to it. That mullet comment is a little stereotypical. Those idiots that stormed the field really didnt help the image of the average white sox fan.

[SoxFan1]

Only thig I disagree with is the mitt-to-the-park thing. I have seen many people who have been Sox fans a loooong time bring mitts.

[southsider2k5]

Only thig I disagree with is the mitt-to-the-park thing. I have seen many people who have been Sox fans a loooong time bring mitts.

 

I still do, and always will... difference being if I catch a ball I am keeping it no matter who hit it.

[SoxFan1]

I still do, and always will... difference being if I catch a ball I am keeping it no matter who hit it.

I agree with ya 100% there....

[That funky motion]

I like the dont throw the ball back bit. My season tix are in left field and I hate when people start yelling to throw it back. I yell this isnt Wrigley stadium now sit down and give that ball to a kid. I will always get a cheer from the Sox diehards.

 

[dymaxia]

That was good, for the most part. At least the writer talked to some people we know. There are bandwagons and there are...bandwagons. I don't blame the casual baseball fan or someone whose team isn't doing well for wanting to watch a good team, but some of these bandwagoners try too hard.

Edited July 27, 2005 by dymaxia