Soxfest back for 2025

[WhiteSox2023]

4 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Never said it wasn't.

Just want people to add links when they excerpt blocks of text. Not only is it one of those old standing internet rules, but come on how do I know where it came from? I can't even try to read the rest of the article without a link.

Agreed, I was just surprised it was true.

[Sambuca]

On 1/26/2025 at 4:11 PM, Chicago White Sox said:

@Sambuca - How was SoxFest for you and your boy?

First off, good call on the baseballs. They were 100% confiscating baseballs at security, so you saved me $20 and some major frustration. I still do not understand this policy (which was not communicated), as they were not even selling baseballs at the merch table. 

A few things turned out very well. As soon as you mentioned no baseballs allowed at entry, I started scouring through my baseball cards (an old hobby I have recently picked up again), and I was able to find a Colson and Bryan Ramos. Since time was limited, I ended my search there and packed both cards in cases. After arriving, we looked around for a bit and found the "meet and greet" room. The workers told us they did not know who would be signing next, but they would be receiving the wristbands and info soon. Once the "package" was delivered to the workers, we approached them and one of the two "meet and greets" just so happened to be Colson and Bryan Ramos together, along with Cubbie Mike Tauchman. It was fate and we secured our wristbands for that line. 

Colson was extremely outgoing and friendly with me and my son. He took the time to engage and joke around with both us, asking my shell-shocked son what sports he played, which I had to answer for him, and also giving me advice on which pens/sharpie worked best on baseball cards. It was by far the highlight of my son's night, and who am I kidding, mine too. Ramos appeared to be slightly less shell-shocked than my son, but understandably fairly overwhelmed by the event. He still managed to be friendly and welcoming to my son, despite slightly crushing the baseball card he attempted to sign lol. Tauchman kept his shirt on, thank God, and was also kind with my son. He was able to get separate pictures with all of three of the players. 

After that, we were able to get in the other line with Edgar Quero and Miguel Vargas since everyone with their wristband had already signed and there was still time left in the hour. For those two players, we did not have anything to sign other than the little Sox Fest poster they gave us at entry, already containing the Tauchman auto. While planning to get the posters signed, we struck up a conversation with two young gentlemen in the line behind us who had a whole book full of White Sox baseball cards. After a few minutes, they very generously offered my son a baseball card for each player. He very appreciatively accepted and we were able to get those two cards signed as well. 

During our downtime for the meet and greets, we attempted to check out the only other activities, which was whatever was happening in the main theater and the merch table (also in the main theater). Every time we checked, there was absolutely nowhere to sit as every seat in the theater was occupied, and even the standing room area was crowded and we were always in the way.

We did check out the merch table and made a few trips to make purchases. They were selling "mystery" bags for $80, which included a "mystery" signed baseball, a "mystery" bobblehead, a White Sox Bluetooth speaker and a few other smaller things. The bag was a very nice White Sox cooler bag, which will come in handy for road trips. We went for it, and the Bobblehead was Luis Robert, but unfortunately, the mystery auto was the Cub Mike Tauchman, which was greatly disappointing so I decided to roll the dice again and get another cooler bag in the process. This time it was Yaz Bobblehead and Paul DeJong auto baseball. I was done "gambling" at that point and convinced him that Paul DeJong was an awesome autograph to have. We also purchased a Mark Buehrle slip and slide Bobblehead.

Overall, I might have been able to experience more if I was attending with other adults, but that many people crammed in a space with nowhere to go is overwhelming for a child. You were not kidding when you said it was not kid friendly. Since there was nowhere to sit in the theater, we were not able to experience any of the programming happening on stage. When he got a little hungry, we bought a few hot dogs (pizza, hot dogs, and popcorn were the food options), but we ate them sitting on the floor in the hallway because there were no areas to sit and retreat. No tables/chairs outside of the occupied seats in the theater, unless I was missing something. This was also difficult for me as I was carrying around two cooler bags, a bag I brought in, and two Sox Fest posters. With nowhere to sit, it was difficult holding onto everything while trying to eat a hot dog, sitting on the floor in a theater hallway. You were not kidding when you said it was not kid friendly. It was also extremely unorganized where none of the workers seemed to know what was happening, and no schedule of events was provided. 

I hope they do not attempt this format again. I find it odd that prospects/younger players were the focus of the event, but not younger fans. I miss the previous formats with an open floor, a schedule of multiple activities to choose from at any given time, and an area with tables to sit down and gather yourselves. This event was a cluster, and felt more like an adult night out that requires alcohol to quell the chaos.  

Oh, and we got to ride on a school bus.  

Edited January 28 by Sambuca

[WestEddy]

5 hours ago, Sambuca said:

First off, good call on the baseballs. They were 100% confiscating baseballs at security, so you saved me $20 and some major frustration. I still do not understand this policy (which was not communicated), as they were not even selling baseballs at the merch table. 

Considering the reception Reinsdorf got, they probably didn't want projectiles in people's hands. 

[WhiteSox2023]

1 hour ago, WestEddy said:

Considering the reception Reinsdorf got, they probably didn't want projectiles in people's hands. 

No worries — any projectiles or weapons would have mysteriously disappeared before the event ended anyways.

Edited January 29 by WhiteSox2023

[southsider2k5]

21 hours ago, Sambuca said:

First off, good call on the baseballs. They were 100% confiscating baseballs at security, so you saved me $20 and some major frustration. I still do not understand this policy (which was not communicated), as they were not even selling baseballs at the merch table. 

A few things turned out very well. As soon as you mentioned no baseballs allowed at entry, I started scouring through my baseball cards (an old hobby I have recently picked up again), and I was able to find a Colson and Bryan Ramos. Since time was limited, I ended my search there and packed both cards in cases. After arriving, we looked around for a bit and found the "meet and greet" room. The workers told us they did not know who would be signing next, but they would be receiving the wristbands and info soon. Once the "package" was delivered to the workers, we approached them and one of the two "meet and greets" just so happened to be Colson and Bryan Ramos together, along with Cubbie Mike Tauchman. It was fate and we secured our wristbands for that line. 

Colson was extremely outgoing and friendly with me and my son. He took the time to engage and joke around with both us, asking my shell-shocked son what sports he played, which I had to answer for him, and also giving me advice on which pens/sharpie worked best on baseball cards. It was by far the highlight of my son's night, and who am I kidding, mine too. Ramos appeared to be slightly less shell-shocked than my son, but understandably fairly overwhelmed by the event. He still managed to be friendly and welcoming to my son, despite slightly crushing the baseball card he attempted to sign lol. Tauchman kept his shirt on, thank God, and was also kind with my son. He was able to get separate pictures with all of three of the players. 

After that, we were able to get in the other line with Edgar Quero and Miguel Vargas since everyone with their wristband had already signed and there was still time left in the hour. For those two players, we did not have anything to sign other than the little Sox Fest poster they gave us at entry, already containing the Tauchman auto. While planning to get the posters signed, we struck up a conversation with two young gentlemen in the line behind us who had a whole book full of White Sox baseball cards. After a few minutes, they very generously offered my son a baseball card for each player. He very appreciatively accepted and we were able to get those two cards signed as well. 

During our downtime for the meet and greets, we attempted to check out the only other activities, which was whatever was happening in the main theater and the merch table (also in the main theater). Every time we checked, there was absolutely nowhere to sit as every seat in the theater was occupied, and even the standing room area was crowded and we were always in the way.

We did check out the merch table and made a few trips to make purchases. They were selling "mystery" bags for $80, which included a "mystery" signed baseball, a "mystery" bobblehead, a White Sox Bluetooth speaker and a few other smaller things. The bag was a very nice White Sox cooler bag, which will come in handy for road trips. We went for it, and the Bobblehead was Luis Robert, but unfortunately, the mystery auto was the Cub Mike Tauchman, which was greatly disappointing so I decided to roll the dice again and get another cooler bag in the process. This time it was Yaz Bobblehead and Paul DeJong auto baseball. I was done "gambling" at that point and convinced him that Paul DeJong was an awesome autograph to have. We also purchased a Mark Buehrle slip and slide Bobblehead.

Overall, I might have been able to experience more if I was attending with other adults, but that many people crammed in a space with nowhere to go is overwhelming for a child. You were not kidding when you said it was not kid friendly. Since there was nowhere to sit in the theater, we were not able to experience any of the programming happening on stage. When he got a little hungry, we bought a few hot dogs (pizza, hot dogs, and popcorn were the food options), but we ate them sitting on the floor in the hallway because there were no areas to sit and retreat. No tables/chairs outside of the occupied seats in the theater, unless I was missing something. This was also difficult for me as I was carrying around two cooler bags, a bag I brought in, and two Sox Fest posters. With nowhere to sit, it was difficult holding onto everything while trying to eat a hot dog, sitting on the floor in a theater hallway. You were not kidding when you said it was not kid friendly. It was also extremely unorganized where none of the workers seemed to know what was happening, and no schedule of events was provided. 

I hope they do not attempt this format again. I find it odd that prospects/younger players were the focus of the event, but not younger fans. I miss the previous formats with an open floor, a schedule of multiple activities to choose from at any given time, and an area with tables to sit down and gather yourselves. This event was a cluster, and felt more like an adult night out that requires alcohol to quell the chaos.  

Oh, and we got to ride on a school bus.  

The great thing about the historic Soxfest was they always ran two amazing parallel paths for entertainment, giving a great experience to both adults and to the kids.  I know they are trying to rebuild with the full knowledge that fan engagement is at a multi generational low, but geesh you would think someone would think to do better than this.

[DoUEvenShift]

Back again this year

 

[Lip Man 1]

31 minutes ago, DoUEvenShift said:

Back again this year

 

They've made some changes though according to this article (last few paragraphs):

https://www.southsidesox.com/chicago-white-sox-news/117814/south-side-shuffle-white-sox-keep-robert-jr-reshape-coaching-staff-and-relaunch-soxfest

[Dick Allen]

The good news is they will be wearing jersey so you will be able to tell who the hell most of them are.

[Milkman delivers]

I don’t know how much this actually has to do with the Sox, but tonight we went to the holiday light show in the parking lot at the stadium. It was…pretty embarrassing. I don’t fault them too much, as it’s the first night and there are bound to be kinks to work out. But it felt like half of the lights were out. I wasn’t even upset. I was embarrassed for whomever runs it

[WhiteSox2023]

15 minutes ago, Milkman delivers said:

I don’t know how much this actually has to do with the Sox, but tonight we went to the holiday light show in the parking lot at the stadium. It was…pretty embarrassing. I don’t fault them too much, as it’s the first night and there are bound to be kinks to work out. But it felt like half of the lights were out. I wasn’t even upset. I was embarrassed for whomever runs it

Jerry must’ve imported tons of cheap second-rate Christmas lights from China at pennies on the dollar.  Sounds like similar spending as our White Sox offseason.

”You can’t spend a dollar if you only have fifty cents.”

https://lightofchristmas.com/locations/chicago/

Edited November 21 by WhiteSox2023

[TheBooneLoganEra]

1 hour ago, Milkman delivers said:

I don’t know how much this actually has to do with the Sox, but tonight we went to the holiday light show in the parking lot at the stadium. It was…pretty embarrassing. I don’t fault them too much, as it’s the first night and there are bound to be kinks to work out. But it felt like half of the lights were out. I wasn’t even upset. I was embarrassed for whomever runs it

We did it last year. It worked pretty well. 

I thought Ramova was not a great venue last year. Not kid friendly at all. Which as someone who grew up going to Soxfests I don't know why they'd break away from developing young fans. I know, I know....there's a kid event early in the day at a different location.....that's a dumb idea too. Im not going to two places.

We stumbled into the meet and greet as we were leaving last year. That was actually great. Making it a pay only thing is very Jerry. The hell with that. 

They also need to actually organize and allow fan questions this year. Last year was super awkward, everyone was pissy as Stone read fake questions off of pre printed cards that were actually from families of Sox staff. Schriffen tried to get some in but it didnt work well. This format kinda blows imo but white sox gonna white sox. 

[Lip Man 1]

27 minutes ago, TheBooneLoganEra said:

We did it last year. It worked pretty well. 

I thought Ramova was not a great venue last year. Not kid friendly at all. Which as someone who grew up going to Soxfests I don't know why they'd break away from developing young fans. I know, I know....there's a kid event early in the day at a different location.....that's a dumb idea too. Im not going to two places.

We stumbled into the meet and greet as we were leaving last year. That was actually great. Making it a pay only thing is very Jerry. The hell with that. 

They also need to actually organize and allow fan questions this year. Last year was super awkward, everyone was pissy as Stone read fake questions off of pre printed cards that were actually from families of Sox staff. Schriffen tried to get some in but it didnt work well. This format kinda blows imo but white sox gonna white sox. 

Just more examples of how on and off the field this franchise is incompetent, dysfunctional and inept.

Hard to think they are that stupid or blind to the damage that is being done, its that arrogance again that has been around for 40+ years now...WE know what we're doing. How DARE you question us!

[TheBooneLoganEra]

59 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

WE know what we're doing. How DARE you question us!

This right here my friend. Well said. Should've been their marketing slogan. 

Usually Im the type of person that believes the mob, or people on the outside don't know s%*# when theyre trying to give their two cents on a subject. But I feel the situation between this organization and its fans is the only only exception to that rule. 

[Milkman delivers]

11 hours ago, TheBooneLoganEra said:

We did it last year. It worked pretty well. 

I thought Ramova was not a great venue last year. Not kid friendly at all. Which as someone who grew up going to Soxfests I don't know why they'd break away from developing young fans. I know, I know....there's a kid event early in the day at a different location.....that's a dumb idea too. Im not going to two places.

We stumbled into the meet and greet as we were leaving last year. That was actually great. Making it a pay only thing is very Jerry. The hell with that. 

They also need to actually organize and allow fan questions this year. Last year was super awkward, everyone was pissy as Stone read fake questions off of pre printed cards that were actually from families of Sox staff. Schriffen tried to get some in but it didnt work well. This format kinda blows imo but white sox gonna white sox. 

My wife and kids have gone the last couple of years. It was apparently good at the time, which is why I think it’s just kinks getting worked out on the first night. But it was seriously embarrassing.

[DoUEvenShift]

 

[Tnetennba]

Let’s see if Getz actually shows…

[Chicago White Sox]

3 hours ago, DoUEvenShift said:

 

That’s everyone attending?  Looks way lighter than last year.

[WhiteSox2023]

25 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

That’s everyone attending?  Looks way lighter than last year.

Didn’t more people get added/announced as the date got closer last year?

[nrockway]

Where’s Braden? 

[Sambuca]

11 hours ago, DoUEvenShift said:

 

This is disappointing. 

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

On 11/20/2025 at 9:11 PM, Lip Man 1 said:

Just more examples of how on and off the field this franchise is incompetent, dysfunctional and inept.

Hard to think they are that stupid or blind to the damage that is being done, its that arrogance again that has been around for 40+ years now...WE know what we're doing. How DARE you question us!

I just think its just a way to keep things civil. You're blowing it out of proportion putting words in their mouths. What's someone like Getz or anyone going to say to angry fans ?

Getz can't admit the real truth even if many fans already know it but it took them longer enough.

"JR  no longer has any interest in spending much money on the 26 man roster because he's preparing the team to be sold and rather his sons get more millions. Period end of story. I'm sorry. We're doing what we can right now to improve our player development and we believe we are making significant strides in building a solid foundation with what little we do get. I know this is not ideal waiting for an old man to die so new ownership can spend more on the on-field product. Please dont kill me. Thank you. "

 

Edited yesterday at 04:31 AM by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[Lip Man 1]

13 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

I just think its just a way to keep things civil. You're blowing it out of proportion putting words in their mouths. What's someone like Getz or anyone going to say to angry fans ?

Getz can't admit the real truth even if many fans already know it but it took them longer enough.

"JR  no longer has any interest in spending much money on the 26 man roster because he's preparing the team to be sold and rather his sons get more millions. Period end of story. I'm sorry. We're doing what we can right now to improve our player development and we believe we are making significant strides in building a solid foundation with what little we do get. I know this is not ideal waiting for an old man to die so new ownership can spend more on the on-field product. Please dont kill me. Thank you. "

 

Wasn't speaking about Getz specifically in this case but as I pointed out the arrogance has been linked to JR, Kenny Williams, Don Cooper, Einhorn, Hahn and others with their public comments towards the fan base.

Even Garfein has had his moments.