I don't think it's the same for non-Chicagoans. My Mom's side of the family is from Chicago and thus I've visited nearly every summer since I was a kid; although much less since me and my three brothers graduated high school. Through it all, I've been to three Cubs games and only 1 Sox game (at my demand of tiring of Wrigley). Through it all, I am the only one to turn out a Sox fan while 2 of my brother like the Cubs and one somehow became a Dodgers fan. Bottom line is, the two Cubs fans barely follow baseball while I'm a split mlb.tv subscriber with the LA fan. I think it just goes to show how much of a national, bandwagon team the Cubs are like the Yankees, Red Sox etc. I never really understood the rivarly until I started working with a Cubs fan that actually follows the games last year, who was surprised that I didn't flat out hate the Cubs. After working last summer with him though, I'm not so impartial to the Cubbies as I used to be. So I guess appreciating the rivalry boils down to whether or not you have to deal with Cubs fans, as obviously all you Chicagoans grinding it out have to on a daily basis.