White Sox Acquire James Shields

[Balta1701]

Yes, but is no fun in watching the game unless the team you are rooting for wins? Again, it's obviously more fun when the team wins but no fun in a game even if they lose? That's sounds more like a fan of winning not a team or the game.

Of course there's disappointment when you lose a game, but as long as it doesn't build up too much, every year, I've managed to endure that.

[Lip Man 1]

Bingo. The games are entertainment, not life, death, or any of life's other problems. It is an escape from that. If it stresses you out, or angers you for any real period of time, you aren't getting out of it, what you should be getting out of it.

 

South:

 

With respect that's your opinion. Your thinking isn't gospel and isn't set in stone from Moses. It depends on the individual.

 

Again no offense, people are different, they have certain values and approach things differently.

 

To me my passion for the White Sox is, was and always will be the third most important / prominent part of my life behind my wife and my son and his family.

 

Mark

Edited June 7, 2016 by Lip Man 1

[Bob Sacamano]

Bingo. The games are entertainment, not life, death, or any of life's other problems. It is an escape from that. If it stresses you out, or angers you for any real period of time, you aren't getting out of it, what you should be getting out of it.

 

Exactly.

[Hatchetman]

Losing is tolerable if you can see some light on the horizon. Like maybe someday the sun will come up.

 

 

[ptatc]

I think the best way to sum up my feelings PTATC is to say I like baseball but I love the White Sox. And when the Sox are doing poorly baseball has very little appeal for me. I don't care to watch other successful teams and wonder why it is the Sox can't do the same thing.

 

Just the way I'm wired. Winning means more to me personally that the sport itself.

 

Not saying you are right or wrong just that we take different approaches to this.

 

Mark

That's fine. Everyone has their own point of view. I was just joking about the response to your post.

 

I love the game of baseball. i don't like to see the Sox lose but I can still enjoy a game if they lose unless the play is really awful.

[Lip Man 1]

That's fine. Everyone has their own point of view. I was just joking about the response to your post.

 

I love the game of baseball. i don't like to see the Sox lose but I can still enjoy a game if they lose unless the play is really awful.

 

Understood and I respect that view. Sometimes I wish I could be more like that but I'm not. As I explained to South I happened to grow up perhaps in the only time in franchise history where if they lost (i.e. at the end of the season they actually had a losing record) it was inconceivable.

 

That tends to color how you view things. And given the success the Sox had in that time period that view wasn't necessarily a bad thing in my opinion.

 

I go back to late May 1961 when the Sox lost a DH to Baltimore and for a day or so dropped into last place for the first time since 1950. They'd finish the year in fourth place with another winning record.

 

This actually happened. Some aldermen in a Chicago city council meeting brought up the fact the Sox were losing, in last place and thought the city should allocate some "disaster funds" for them. (Now I'm sure they were joking) That really reflected the overall attitude of the city though about what was expected from the Sox.

 

The 'motion' by the way was defeated with the alderman from the Cubs ward saying it wasn't fair, that the Cubs were a disaster for decades. LOL (Wonder what would happen if they said something like that today? LOL)

 

Mark

Edited June 7, 2016 by Lip Man 1

[Hatchetman]

I only go back to 1980. Another 20 years of this and I'll be 100% certifiable. JR will still be running the team!

[ptatc]

Understood and I respect that view. Sometimes I wish I could be more like that but I'm not. As I explained to South I happened to grow up perhaps in the only time in franchise history where if they lost (i.e. at the end of the season they actually had a losing record) it was inconceivable.

 

That tends to color how you view things. And given the success the Sox had in that time period that view wasn't necessarily a bad thing in my opinion.

 

I go back to late May 1961 when the Sox lost a DH to Baltimore and for a day or so dropped into last place for the first time since 1950. They'd finish the year in fourth place with another winning record.

 

This actually happened. Some aldermen in a Chicago city council meeting brought up the fact the Sox were losing, in last place and thought the city should allocate some "disaster funds" for them. (Now I'm sure they were joking) That really reflected the overall attitude of the city though about what was expected from the Sox.

 

The 'motion' by the way was defeated with the alderman from the Cubs ward saying it wasn't fair, that the Cubs were a disaster for decades. LOL (Wonder what would happen if they said something like that today? LOL)

 

Mark

I can see that. I think working for so many different pro and amateur sports teams has taken some of the intensity out of my "must win" attitude. For years it was just keep them on the field or get them back ASAP. After awhile it becomes, is the one more win really worth all of this? I understand it it from the athletes and management point of view but from a long term health position it can be very different.

[southsider2k5]

South:

 

With respect that's your opinion. Your thinking isn't gospel and isn't set in stone from Moses. It depends on the individual.

 

Again no offense, people are different, they have certain values and approach things differently.

 

To me my passion for the White Sox is, was and always will be the third most important / prominent part of my life behind my wife and my son and his family.

 

Mark

 

It isn't gospel for sure. But in terms of it being a third priority in life, I will never understand that at all. Seeing something like that just blows my mind.

 

[ChiSox59]

To me my passion for the White Sox is, was and always will be the third most important / prominent part of my life behind my wife and my son and his family.

 

Mark

 

 

Hmmm, hard to tell reading your posts. The Sox are also one of the more prominent parts of my life, always have been and likely always will be, but I take such a different approach to things than you. But as you said, everyone is different. Just don't think pointing out every single negative thing helps the picture, really, and certainly sucks out the enjoyment (at least would for me).

[southsider2k5]

Hmmm, hard to tell reading your posts. The Sox are also one of the more prominent parts of my life, always have been and likely always will be, but I take such a different approach to things than you. But as you said, everyone is different. Just don't think pointing out every single negative thing helps the picture, really, and certainly sucks out the enjoyment (at least would for me).

 

Yes, totally this.

[southsider2k5]

I can see that. I think working for so many different pro and amateur sports teams has taken some of the intensity out of my "must win" attitude. For years it was just keep them on the field or get them back ASAP. After awhile it becomes, is the one more win really worth all of this? I understand it it from the athletes and management point of view but from a long term health position it can be very different.

 

At the end of the day, I can't see making a sport important enough (well without getting a paycheck from it) where it turns into something that I draw self-worth from. The game owns you at that point, and that just doesn't make sense to me.

[shipps]

It isn't gospel for sure. But in terms of it being a third priority in life, I will never understand that at all. Seeing something like that just blows my mind.

 

Yeah me neither. Whatever floats your boat but good lord would I be a miserable SOB if the Sox were third most important in my life. Not that I think I am better than Lip either, its just that I can be miserable sometimes when the Sox are bad and they are in the 30's to my most important in life.

[Dunt]

I dont think any of you need to be making this a personal thing. If the Sox are more important to someone else than they are to you, who are you to judge them? It's their lives and they are free to choose how they want to live it. I understand frustration with negativity, but a lot of people use message boards like these to commiserate with fellow fanatics. For you it may be a nuisance, for others it may therapy. Isn't it just best to block those that irritate you so your experience is more enjoyable?

[EvilJester99]

I dont think any of you need to be making this a personal thing. If the Sox are more important to someone else than they are to you, who are you to judge them? It's their lives and they are free to choose how they want to live it. I understand frustration with negativity, but a lot of people use message boards like these to commiserate with fellow fanatics. For you it may be a nuisance, for others it may therapy. Isn't it just best to block those that irritate you so your experience is more enjoyable?

Seems most are happier b****ing about those b****ing...

[greg775]

I think the best way to sum up my feelings PTATC is to say I like baseball but I love the White Sox. And when the Sox are doing poorly baseball has very little appeal for me.

 

I won't watch the playoffs or WS if the White Sox aren't in it. Check that. I will watch the Royals if they are in it to stay abreast of why everybody is so excited, etc. around here.

 

Some people live and breathe White Sox or Cubs baseball in Chicago though. You are kidding yourself if you think people aren't freaking out, screaming, throwing s***, getting drunk when their favorite team loses and/or sucks.

 

To show our family's fandom ... When my dad died I went back home and was minding my own business putting together a photo presentation slide show for my dad's wake, when I saw a White Sox shirt folded up sitting on a chair with pants and shoes, etc. I asked my mom, "What is all this?"

 

My mom said, "those are the clothes your dad will be buried in. Take them to the funeral home please."

 

I exclaimed forcefully at my sibs, not at her necessarily: "Are you crazy? He wasn't on the team. He wasn't an owner of the team. The team made him mad as much as it made him happy! I won't go to the wake if he is buried in that. He was a successful businessman downtown. He had other interests and hobbies. He was big in the church. He wore a tie every day to work where he made millions. No way he'd want to be buried in a White Sox shirt."

 

My mom looked at me like I was crazy but said, "You are right" and she went and got a tie and dress shirt, etc.

 

Some people indeed live and breathe White Sox/Cubs/name their favorite team. It isn't life and death, though. I lose it when the team turns into the buffoonish team that blows six run leads in the ninth inning, etc. Once I know we're not a pennant winning caliber team I tend to calm down again.

 

For some ... of course the White Sox (moreso the Cubs in Chicago) dominate their everyday lives.

[southsider2k5]

I dont think any of you need to be making this a personal thing. If the Sox are more important to someone else than they are to you, who are you to judge them? It's their lives and they are free to choose how they want to live it. I understand frustration with negativity, but a lot of people use message boards like these to commiserate with fellow fanatics. For you it may be a nuisance, for others it may therapy. Isn't it just best to block those that irritate you so your experience is more enjoyable?

 

Definitely don't try to talk to or convince anyone to expose them to a different line of thinking.

[Lip Man 1]

I can see that. I think working for so many different pro and amateur sports teams has taken some of the intensity out of my "must win" attitude. For years it was just keep them on the field or get them back ASAP. After awhile it becomes, is the one more win really worth all of this? I understand it it from the athletes and management point of view but from a long term health position it can be very different.

 

It almost sounds like you were a team doctor or a team physical therapist.

 

Mark

[Lip Man 1]

It isn't gospel for sure. But in terms of it being a third priority in life, I will never understand that at all. Seeing something like that just blows my mind.

 

As Kenny Williams would say "it is what it is..."

 

I've got a comfortable life, doing what I want to do broadcasting-wise and I'm very content save for the way the Sox are performing.

 

I don't know what more someone could want out of life. I'll be 61 this August and have been "exposed" to many different ways of thinking over the years. I do those folks the courtesy of hearing them out and listening to their point of view but in the end I'll do what I think works best for me.

 

Mark

Edited June 7, 2016 by Lip Man 1

[Dick Allen]

Seems most are happier b****ing about those b****ing...

Or even happier b****ing about the people who are b****ing about the b****ing.

 

 

 

The fact is, you can tell if the Sox are winning or losing just by who is in a gamethread.

[Lip Man 1]

Hmmm, hard to tell reading your posts. The Sox are also one of the more prominent parts of my life, always have been and likely always will be, but I take such a different approach to things than you. But as you said, everyone is different. Just don't think pointing out every single negative thing helps the picture, really, and certainly sucks out the enjoyment (at least would for me).

 

Which is why, as I told an earlier poster, I'll let the results on the field and the front office moves do the talking from that perspective from now on.

 

That should make a segment of the readers happy. So it's win / win for all!

 

Mark

 

 

[Black_Jack29]

At the end of the day, I can't see making a sport important enough (well without getting a paycheck from it) where it turns into something that I draw self-worth from. The game owns you at that point, and that just doesn't make sense to me.

 

Yep. Rooting for one's favorite sports team should be a hobby, and nothing more. Especially if you work, have a spouse, and have kids.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Black_Jack29

[Bob Sacamano]

Yep. Rooting for one's favorite sports team should be a hobby, and nothing more. Especially if you work, have a spouse, and have kids.

 

 

Yeah definitely more important s*** to worry about in life. If how the Sox are doing is your biggest worry, you don't have many problems/issues.

[ptatc]

It almost sounds like you were a team doctor or a team physical therapist.

 

Mark

I'm a physical therapist and athletic trainer. I've worked for many different organizations, professional and amateur.

[ptatc]

Yep. Rooting for one's favorite sports team should be a hobby, and nothing more. Especially if you work, have a spouse, and have kids.

I think it does change though. Prior to having a family, the sports world was important, as kids came along it fell back. As the kids got older and move out, there is less going on around the house and the sports world has begun to climb the daily ladder.