How and why did you become a Sox fan?

[Princess Dye]

I'm envious of people with long Sox history and family reasons for it. I feel like so many people I know...it's "my family was all Cubs fans" or something along those lines. It feels odd to become a fan out of opposition to something, but hey that's how things get going I guess......in all kinds of situations, not just this one

 

Also for anyone in their 30s..it's already been mentioned...but Frank Thomas is such a big part of things. He was a star in a period of time where star players were at a heightened focus (endorsements etc) ..and the cubs at that point in the 90s didnt have any. Not at that level, anyway

[demonbluess]

Went to my first game in 1990 at the age of four. My parents took me with a couple of my dad's buddies. I don't remember who won that day, but I caught (more like "picked up") a foul ball from Angels 1B Wally Joyner. We waited outside the clubhouse after the game and got him to sign it. From that day I was hooked, not only on the White Sox, but on baseball in general.

 

While I have fond memories of Ventura, Thomas, Karkovice, and Black Jack, I really grew into my fandom around the 1999 and 2000 "The Kids Can Play" teams. This is when I really owned it. Being a left-side infielder in little league, my favorite players were Mike Caruso and Greg Norton.

[Reddy]

I grew up in New Jersey, and didn't want to be a Yankees fan. I hated all those people. My little league team one year was the White Sox and we won our local "world series". That's back when Frank Thomas was in his prime. I remember decorating my trapper keeper with Frank Thomas 35, Robin Ventura 23, Albert Belle 8, Magglio Ordonez 30. Here we are a decade and a half later = Sox fan for life!

[IlliniKrush]

I was actually a Cubs fan growing up due to my Dad being a Cubs fan. This was up until I was 6. We didn't go to many games or anything so I wasn't really die-hard yet, the only team I was really attached to were the Hawks, as we had season tickets there and I was going since I was 4.

 

Then the new park was built for the 1991 season. My Dad's 2 brothers are Sox fans, so he split 4 season tickets in the Club level with them. Not the best idea on my Dad's part as far as keeping me a Cubs fan, but he saw it as a great family opportunity for the summer (which it absolutely was).

 

I started going to 20 or so games a season in 1991, 1992, 1993 - you go to that many games, you start to become a fan and have a much stronger allegiance.

 

90% of my friends growing up were Cubs fans, so I wore it as a badge of honor and loved being on the other side.

[NorthSideSox72]

Parents and sister were all Cubs fans, grew up north side... but my grandfather (Dad's side), who died 9 months before I was born, was a big Sox fan. My father was always concerned about my sister and I growing up in the bubble of the north suburbs, so we went to the city a lot, and would take trains or drive surface streets from Wilmette. And he made sure we saw one game a year each at Wrigley and Comiskey. At some point in the late 70's or maybe very early 80's, I chose the Sox, and I don't remember why. But Carlton Fisk, and then the 1983 team, really iced it for me.

 

It was all about geography. My grandfather lived in Englewood, and my father was born there too, but they moved up to the NW side when my Dad was about years old (when the neighborhood changed dramatically). So for my grandfather, he was a south side guy, so he was a Sox fan. My Dad mostly grew up north side, so he was a Cubs fan.

 

[LittleHurt05]

My Dad came to this country 35-40 years ago, and learned everything about baseball from watching the Cubs on WGN. Over time, he got sick of the Cubs & the Tribune Co. seemingly caring more about the experience and Wrigley instead of winning baseball games, so he started watching and rooting for the White Sox.

[ScottyDo]

I moved to Chicago from southeast Michigan in the late 90's when I started high school. I really didn't care about baseball at all at that point. I was in the camp that found the game boring. Right when I came to town was when Sammy Sosa was doing his thing on the north side and it really annoyed the hell out of me since the team sucked but the media were fawning over him. There was not a chance in hell I was gonna end up a Cubs fan after that. About a year later, I had a friend (who lurks here but almost never posts) who was a Sox fan and convinced me to watch a few games. I enjoyed it a lot more when I understood how pitching worked a little more. Then they went to the playoffs and I was hooked (despite the results).

[rneumann33]

Hey everyone, my first post. I've been reading post on the board for years but finally decided to join in on the conversations.

 

I grew up near the park and I would go with my grand father and friends all the time. My family are Sox fans so I grew up being one too. Harold Baines is my favorite Sox of all-time.

[southsider2k5]

Hey everyone, my first post. I've been reading post on the board for years but finally decided to join in on the conversations.

 

I grew up near the park and I would go with my grand father and friends all the time. My family are Sox fans so I grew up being one too. Harold Baines is my favorite Sox of all-time.

 

Welcome to Soxtalk!

[Y2Jimmy0]

I could have gone either way because I have family on both sides that are Cubs and White Sox fans. When I was a kid, I went to way more Sox games than Cubs games and well like many have said, The White Sox had Frank Thomas. I am 27 years old so those teams headlined by Frank and Robin were what I remember from my youth. I met Frank at a book signing last year and told him the same thing. I always liked the black and white colors too.

[Texsox]

The South Side Hit Men solidified it for me. Growing up in the north burbs I guess being a Sox fan connected with my contrarian side. Then there was fun at the ballpark. Nancy Faust, Bill Veeck, exploding scoreboards, roof top shots, it was a secret world so different than what I saw around me in Des Plaines. I would attend at least a game a week, sometimes more if I could get a customer to go. I loved the dumb ass windy 40 degree games when no body would be there or the 30 games out end of the season, again when Comiskey would be empty.

 

I could go to a Cubs game and have a good time. But it was too corporare, too antiseptic for me.

 

Today, hell if it's good enough for the President of the United States of America, well paint me red, white, and blue, it's good enough for me!

[Texsox]

I know we're talking the team as a whole, but with all the Frank talk I want to add this,

 

In my lifetime, no one could quiet a crowd like Frank at bat. Even if you weren't into baseball, you knew who Frank was. If you were at a bar, it seemed like time would freeze as everyone watched his at bat. Frank had to be Frank, but if he had MB's smile and outward love of the game, his endorsements would equal Jordan's.

[Steve9347]

Dad's a Cards fan. Die hard.

 

I couldn't watch the Cards, Cubs weren't an optoin.

 

White Sox were enjoyable, and I was 10 years old in 1993. Seems obvious.

[MexSoxFan#1]

My dad, who came from Mexico in 1969 and settled on Chicago's SE side, was a Yankees fan growing up. He used to get free tickets from US Steel and he would take me and my brother along with co-workers of his. The first game I can remember, Steve Kemp hit a game winning HR against the Tigers IIRC. My Pops eventually switched his allegiance to the White Sox.

 

I actually grew up liking both the Sox and the Cubs, most of my friends were Cubs fans even though we lived in what should've been deep Sox territory. The Cubs games were all on WGN while the Sox were mostly on cable, that really had a negative impact on Sox popularity in the 80s. Anyways, that 83 team locked me in on the Sox and Harold Baines is my fave all time Sox player.

 

I'll do all I can to make sure my son, who is on my avi, also becomes a Sox fan.

Edited December 10, 2012 by MexSoxFan#1

[justBLAZE]

I wasn't even exposed to baseball until 1999 or 2000, started following it in time for the McGwire and Sosa HR race, then came the 2003 Cubs fiasco. Went to my first Sox (and baseball game) in 2004 because a buddy of mine had a friend who used to live in Bridgeport and was a huge fan so he got us tickets. By 2005 I had a huge rivalry going vs. a guy I knew who used to compete with me at pretty much everything.. he was a huge Cubs fan, so I had to pick the other side. The rest is history

[YASNY]

There have been a lot of good stories here. It's fun and lighthearted reading.

[chw42]

I was taken to my first baseball game in 2000 by my dad's boss at the time. Didn't really think much of the game at the time. I didn't really understand baseball too much back then. Nobody in my family knew anything about baseball. After flipping through the channels one day, I found a Sox game (this was after I attended my first game). I watched that one, then the one after that, and I just couldn't stop watching. Maybe it was because The Sox were really exciting in 2000. Lots of offensive firepower with Frank and Mags having great years. I basically learned all the rules of baseball by watching the team that year and I've been following the team ever since.

[greg775]

Grew up in Mt. Greenwood. Lot of Sox fans, lot of Cub fans in the close-knit neighborhood, too.

My dad was a huge Sox fan but very busy guy working at Board of Trade supporting his family. So I didn't do a lot of things with him.

My grandfather happened to be a big Cubs fan and since he was retired had a lot of time on his hands and took me to a ton of Cub games. Cubs/Sox...I didn't care. I was hooked on the visual of walking through the turnstyle and up the stairs and seeing a real life baseball field. The green was mesmerizing.

 

My dad got Sox season tickets one year in the upper deck and took me to a lot of games. So I actually became a fan of both teams.

 

Then we moved to suburbia my junior year in high school.

My dad's business partner was one of the zillion members of the Sox ownership group. So my dad got 4 Sox season tickets in the fifth row to the left of home plate. He'd go to the games but sit in a box, usually leaving me the 4 tickets and parking pass if I wanted them.

 

Being in high school with nothing to do in the summer, I got to go to a ton of Sox games with my friends. Almost all the games.

 

We'd drive in from suburbia and meet my dad for delicious corned beef sandwiches or beef sandwiches at the park, then he'd go back up to the box and me and three friends would enjoy the games in the fifth row.

 

I had pretty much dumped the Cubs by then. I just didn't really care if they won or lost. Went to college in Kansas and got into tons of arguments with Royals fans in my frat and was pretty much known for my Chicago fanaticism, especially regarding the Sox. Would go to Sox-Royals games with frat friends and enjoyed being the one Sox fan in the group. Sox have had a history of sucking in games in KC and usually I was on the short end of the stick watching those games. I've seen the Sox lose games in so many different ways in games played in KC.

In adulthood have only followed the Sox, don't care about the Cubs.

 

So once again .. is that the story of a troll?

Edited December 10, 2012 by greg775

[The Beast]

When I was in 4th grade I went to the Sox game with a friend and found out about the White Sox. I had quit baseball as a kid and began t umpire after I saw a Sox Yankees game. My dad was a Sox fan but we didn't ever speak of sports because I "hated baseball." We sat three rows behind the plate after buying tickets from a scalper on the third game in 1999 and I fell in love with the team. My dad said later that if I was a Cubs fan, I'd be living on the street and he'd question my sexuality.

 

Since then, our entire family knows about the team and have become huge fans. It's funny how things you hate turn into things you love and brings you closer to your family.

[Rooftop Shots]

Born in 59' (pennant year!! Great year for Sox fan to be born yeah yeah yeah!!!!!!) Growing up my dad and I did not have a very good relationship. But there was something that was real different when we went to the Old Comiskey together with my other older brothers. We ALWAYS sat in left field. He got me hooked on the Sox and baseball in general. As time progressed when I was in my 20's, I knew a guy that had golden box seats (row 23 dead on first base) and would sell me any 4 dates every year. Well I took my dad to 2 of them every year to finally say Thanks for all of the games that he took me and the family too by FINALLY getting him the chance to sit in GREAT seats. We did that together for about 5 years until he acquired Parkinsions disease, and passed away 2 years later. Thanks dad for giving me the great love of baseball and for most of all...........for teaching me what it is to be and making me a TRUE die hard Sox fan. I love the CELL but STILL miss the Old Comiskey BIG TIME. For anyone who has never been there........... to this day there is NOTHING comparable to what your chest felt like when they blew off the fireworks when a home run was hit and the sound would thunder and boom as it rickochetted off all the walls. Your heart would ROCK inside your chest. I'm sure others could relate to that like BigEdWalsh and others on this board.

Thanks again dad!

(Note after umpteen years......... finally getting closer to post # 1000)

[Quin]

Born into it.

 

My dad was the lone Sox fan in his family because he went to Sox game in '59 when he was six and idolized Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio. Then he raised my brother and I as Sox fans.

 

I loved the lone-wolf mentality of being a Sox fan (which is why Waldo the White Sox Wolf was awesome), I loved Frank Thomas (one of my earliest memories is a Thomas HR), loved Maggs (stress on the past tense there), and you knew that if you were a Sox fan, you weren't a poser who did it because it was cool. You were a true fan.

[Texsox]

There have been a lot of good stories here. It's fun and lighthearted reading.

 

 

Great thread idea.

[CanOfCorn]

When I was a kid, my grampa would always have the Sox on Channel 44 in the den. The days of Harry Carey and Jimmy Piersall. But, I was more of a baseball fan and not a fan of either team. It wasn't until I started to go to a steady stream of games in '84 - '86 that I became the Sox fan of today. I will admit that I actually rooted for the Cubs in '84. I really like the "Daily Double" of Dernier and Sandberg. But I was also starting to latch onto the likes of Fisk and Baines. I think the tide started to turn when I went to a July series against the Tigers. I went to two games and saw FOUR roof shots. One by a young Team USA member in an exhibition named Mark McGwire. One each by Kittle and Luzinski. And the first one over the right field roof by Ruppert Jones. That pretty much sealed the deal from that day forward. And as Harry Carey sunk deeper into insanity and my love of Wimpy grew...

 

here we are today.

 

Oh, and one more thing, as silly as it sounds, I loved Andy the Clown. He was a fan in the mold of Fireman Ed. Someone who could rally the crowd without being a caricature of himself.

 

GOOOOOO YOOOOOOUUUUU WHIIIIIIIIITE SOOOOOOOOOOX!

[BigEdWalsh]

I'm honestly not quite sure why I chose to like the Sox. I think it was mostly because of Louie Aparicio. I was 6 when he was a rookie and that was about the time I became a fan. I had a bit of a speech impediment as a kid and my parents claimed the first thing that they could understand what I said was "Louie Aparicio". What's pretty weird is how I hated the Cubs right from the get-go with no family influence at all. My dad, I'm pretty sure liked the Sox because of me, not the other way around and his dad (who died before I was born) was a Cub fan. My dad was a pharmacist and kind of a workaholic. He never found the time to take me to a game until I was 12 (Aug. 1962). It was a night game and Early Wynn lost to Jim Kaat and the Twins 2-0 but man the thrill of seeing Comiskey Park for the first time in person (and in color!!...ahh the days of black and white tv) was unforgettable. After that, my dad took me to a lot of games. When I was about 14 I started ditching school now and then and going to games on my own. Great memories!!

[JoshPR]

Family thing for me too, on my mothers side my grandfather was a mechanic in desplains and he would get home and eat "supper" as he called it and watch the game, my mom has some old memobrilia of the early 70's teams. Like an autogrphed picture of bill melton, I got a ball down home she gave me autographed by the 1970 team I believe, I know Gail Hopkins and rich McKinney are on it, I think Ken berry and rich morales. My dad was never big on sports, but a few of his brothers that live in Elgin are cub fans... I remember I was about 5 still lived in elgin and didn't have the slightest idea of my hispanic heritage I had a pajama set let the late 70's early 80's uniform and I remember watching but not really understanding really but I knew it was the sox. I Tought Marc hill has all that LOL!! I don't know why tho...