A lot of Sox fans are morons.

[southsider2k5]

So far, you've labeled me as a moron, retarded, and that I deserved to be punched. And I am not the only one who sees it this way.

 

Not makin' a lot of friends.

 

I think he went to the George W Bush School for Media Relations. Wait until he takes AP Hunting with Friends with Professor Cheney.

[BainesHOF]

The preoccupation of Sox fans with the Cubs is an ongoing embarrassment on the South Side.

[daa84]

here is why I think the sox and cubs are the biggest rivals.....

 

if detroit sucks next year, nobody gets pumped up about a sox vs. tigers series

 

the cubs can be horrible, and every year the crosstown series is a huge deal

 

just because the sox and _____ (fill in the blank AL Central team) are battling it out for 1st in the AL central doesn't necessarily make them big time rivals. Put the cubs in the AL central and its not even close. The only one i could see is cleveland because at least that has some history to it. That is at least my definition of a rivalry....wanting to beat the other team, because beating the other team brings joy to your day, and not necessarily soley for benefit of the standings

Edited May 18, 2007 by daa84

[BearSox]

this rivalry isn't about the teams. It's about the fans. Cub fans like to talk sh*t about the Sox, and I'll admit, I talk back sometimes. The fans make this rivalry what it is, not the actual teams.

[Queen Prawn]

Detroit is nowhere near Cleveland and Minnesota, guys. One year does not a rivalry make.

 

And actually, I would say Minnesota has got to be our biggest rival because they are the only one of the three teams who were in the old AL west (although back then our biggest rival was Oakland - there's still no team I hate as much as the Athletics).

 

[jackie hayes]

So far, you've labeled me as a moron, retarded, and that I deserved to be punched. And I am not the only one who sees it this way.

 

Not makin' a lot of friends.

Hey, I agree with you on something!

 

The Sox-Cubs rivalry is perennial. Even when the teams played just one exhibition game, it was important. And it doesn't matter how good or how bad either team is -- it just IS important. That's how I think of a rivalry -- how important is it in isolation? Not by the influence it has on your team reaching the playoffs.

 

Cheers,

A proud moron

[BearSox]

This series is like playing a game with your older brother who likes to tease you. The result of the game will likely have no effect on your life, but you don't want your brother to win and brag and gloat about him beating you. Just like we don't want cub fans bragging and gloating about beating us. It just isn't right. This is the only way to shut them up.

[Allsox]

The preoccupation of Sox fans with the Cubs is an ongoing embarrassment on the South Side.

 

Agree 100%. Also, the hype that goes into the Cubs series is completely overblown and unnecessary (Such as the Sun-Times having a 16 page pullout on it today).

 

When the White Sox were in the World Series, the last thing in my mind was how they did in the Cubs series. And when they won it, again, the Cub series was the last thing on my mind.

[rangercal]

living inside the city most of my life and currently 4 blocks away from wrigley.. I can see why people picked the cubs. Out of town sox fans will have a different perspective. I don't see what the big deal is either way.

[aboz56]

Its a poll on whitesox.com. Is it really worth arguing or worrying about? No.

[Baines3]

How in the world could anyone call the Cubs are biggest rival? I could call Detroit. Cleveland and Minnesota our biggest rivals. I would have Detroit as our biggest since I grew up 75 miles west of Detroit.

[knightni]

my choice would be the indians, but that's probably only because i live in ohio and have to hear all the bullcrap from cleveland fans incessantly.

 

Most guys I met in Cleveland hated the Yankees more than the WSox - from the days they were in the AL East.

[rangercal]

Its a poll on whitesox.com. Is it really worth arguing or worrying about? No.

exactly. People get their blood boiling over the most stupid things.

[NorthSideSox72]

There are obviously two schools of thought here on the use of the term "rivalry". To me, players play the game as professionals, so rivalries are less meaningful. Rivalries are all about the fans. Therefore, yes, the Cubs are the Sox' biggest rival.

 

And I can walk and chew gum at the same time. Who knew?

 

Hey, I agree with you on something!

 

The Sox-Cubs rivalry is perennial. Even when the teams played just one exhibition game, it was important. And it doesn't matter how good or how bad either team is -- it just IS important. That's how I think of a rivalry -- how important is it in isolation? Not by the influence it has on your team reaching the playoffs.

 

Cheers,

A proud moron

Awesome. The morons. Better than the idiots (wasn't that what the Red Sox called themselves in 2004?).

[rangercal]

Most guys I met in Cleveland hated the Yankees more than the WSox - from the days they were in the AL East.

I think that has changed a bit since

 

1 division changes

2 Albert Belle leaving cleveland to sign with the sox for the richest contract in the history of baseball at the time.

3 1994,2000 and 2005 were awesome years between those 2 teams

4 who could forget when Jerry Diputo threw the intentional Ball to walk Big Frank during his last at bat on the last day of the season (securing the RBI title for Albert Belle 128-129)

 

 

Another note, Don't forget the Yankees and White Sox had quite a rivalry from about 1957-1964 . The Yankees won 7 pennants during that stretch ( only year missed was '59) The sox had four 2nd place finishes and the 59 pennant. Plus, it was a big deal to some die-hard yankee fans that Moose Skowron ( long time yankee who played with the Mick and Marris) played most of the remainder of his Career with the Wsox. Obviously with the 2 division allignments since those years, things have changed greatly.

[earthshiner]

The preoccupation of Sox fans with the Cubs is an ongoing embarrassment on the South Side.

I have grown up in a very pro-Cub area. Going through school I took a lot of crap from Cubs fans every single day. In fact, I still do. The Kohls I work in did not sell White Sox merch until this year but would always have a wall filled with Cubs shirts. I don't hate the Cubs but I sure hate their wishy washy fans. I got so sick of taking s***e from fans that couldn't even name five guys on the Cubs yet would try to argue that the Cubs were great. The thing is that Cub fans, in my experience, are always the antagonists and care about this much more than Sox fans. I have never seen a Cubs fan treated bad at the Cell but every time I have been to Wrigley I have seen a Sox fan get treated like s***. When the Sox beat the Cubs I know I can live easy that day.

[mreye]

I actually agree with the 37%. I don't obsess over the Cubs like some, and I'll even catch a game occasionally at Wrigley. And our games against DET/MIN/CLE are indeed more important to the season. But I agree that the Cubs are our single biggest rivalry.

 

 

I guess I'm a moron.

 

I'm a moron too, NS. I agree 100%. The Cubs are the biggest, but it doesn't mean they are the most important.

[mreye]

here is why I think the sox and cubs are the biggest rivals.....

 

if detroit sucks next year, nobody gets pumped up about a sox vs. tigers series

 

the cubs can be horrible, and every year the crosstown series is a huge deal

 

just because the sox and _____ (fill in the blank AL Central team) are battling it out for 1st in the AL central doesn't necessarily make them big time rivals. Put the cubs in the AL central and its not even close. The only one i could see is cleveland because at least that has some history to it. That is at least my definition of a rivalry....wanting to beat the other team, because beating the other team brings joy to your day, and not necessarily soley for benefit of the standings

 

I agree and I'll add to say that I regularly speak to exactly 1 Minnesota, Cleveland and Detroit fan combined. On the other hand, I see at work and in my private life dozens upon dozens of Cubs fans.

 

Just the other day a guy ran out of gas in front of my house. He asked if I was a Cubs or Sox fan. When I told him he said he'd take the gas anyway. I said I'd give it to him anyway. He didn't ask if I was an Indians fan or a Twins fan. We had a good laugh and talked baseball as I was pouring gas in his tank. It was fun. (And only cost me $7 for the 2 gallons I gave him)

 

A rivalry, IMO, has to do with the game or series that is most intense. The Cleveland, Detroit and Minnesota series just don't match up. Maybe someday they will, but I doubt it.

[retro1983hat]

I agree that while the Twins, Indians and Tigers series' are more important in the overall scheme of things, for six days a year, the intensity in the crowd is far greater for Cubs-Sox. It's just that your relative, spouse, neighbor, coworker could probably be a fan of the other team in town and you see them all year. Even for the Cubs. The Cards' series are big at Wrigley and the StL fans pour into the Northside, but they go home. When your cutting your lawn in St. Charles, the next to you and across from you is almost definitely a Cub or Sox fan. So even when you have to snowblow the driveway, that damn Cub fan is still there in the next driveway.

[retro1983hat]

I agree that while the Twins, Indians and Tigers series' are more important in the overall scheme of things, for six days a year, the intensity in the crowd is far greater for Cubs-Sox. It's just that your relative, spouse, neighbor, coworker could probably be a fan of the other team in town and you see them all year. Even for the Cubs. The Cards' series are big at Wrigley and the StL fans pour into the Northside, but they go home. When your cutting your lawn in St. Charles, the next to you and across from you is almost definitely a Cub or Sox fan. So even when you have to snowblow the driveway, that damn Cub fan is still there in the next driveway.

[bmags]

as far as my lifetime goes of following the sox, I still think Cleveland is our biggest rival.

[WCSox]

as far as my lifetime goes of following the sox, I still think Cleveland is our biggest rival.

 

I'll have to second that. They were definitely the Sox's rivals from '94-'00 and then in '05 again. And it was a pretty nasty rivalry back in the mid/late '90s, especially when the Sox signed Belle. The Twins deserve special consideration as well, although they haven't won a pennant since '91. The Tigers haven't been thorns in our side for long enough to qualify (although the bench-clearing brawl back in 2000 deserves mention). And I can't even remember the Sox having a clear-cut rival back in the '80s. Maybe the A's or Twins in the old AL West? Or maybe the Orioles, after what happened in the '83 ALCS?

 

Given the bad relationship between the Sox and the perceived pro-Cubs Chicago media bias, the mutual disdain between the fans, and the results of the '03 and '05 postseasons, the Cubs are definitely the Sox's greatest non-divisional rivalry. And I certainly wouldn't call a Sox fan a "moron" for enjoying a regular-season victory over the Cubs a little more than a regular-season victory over the Indians.

[badatbest]

63% said the AL central is our rival (split between several teams)

 

In my mind that sounds about right. a third of baseball fans are of the more casual type and can grab onto Sox v. Cubs concept.

 

the percentage breakdown for our "rival" neither surprises nor disapoints me.

 

I'd guess that in NYC it would break down similarly for the Yanks (1/3 Mets....2/3 Boston) and they have a natural and consistant "rival" in Boston.

 

besides these surveys were being taken on the eve of interleague play, people have Cubs/Sox already on their mind

[Pants Rowland]

I'll have to second that. They were definitely the Sox's rivals from '94-'00 and then in '05 again. And it was a pretty nasty rivalry back in the mid/late '90s, especially when the Sox signed Belle. The Twins deserve special consideration as well, although they haven't won a pennant since '91. The Tigers haven't been thorns in our side for long enough to qualify (although the bench-clearing brawl back in 2000 deserves mention). And I can't even remember the Sox having a clear-cut rival back in the '80s. Maybe the A's or Twins in the old AL West? Or maybe the Orioles, after what happened in the '83 ALCS?

 

Given the bad relationship between the Sox and the perceived pro-Cubs Chicago media bias, the mutual disdain between the fans, and the results of the '03 and '05 postseasons, the Cubs are definitely the Sox's greatest non-divisional rivalry. And I certainly wouldn't call a Sox fan a "moron" for enjoying a regular-season victory over the Cubs a little more than a regular-season victory over the Indians.

 

My baseball roots go back to the old AL West. Without a doubt the top rivalries for the Sox were the Athletics, Royals, and Twins in that order. The Royals were once a very proud and competitve franchise and gave the Sox fits. Despite losing in '83, I never recall the Orioles being really hated. I really hated the As, though.

 

Talking to my father, whose roots go back to the pre-expansion AL, the true league rivals from the 50s and 60s were the Yankees, White Sox, Tigers and Indians. Those teams were always fighting it out for the pennant with the Yankees frequently (and sadly) grabbing the crown. The Orioles were a non-factor until the late seventies, the A's were in KC and floundering (with the exception of three games late in 1964, ugh!), and the Angels were also a second tier team. I believe the Twins were still the Senators in D.C. and not much to speak of either. What is interesting is the Red Sox were a total joke and never really competed for the pennant until they miraculously won it in the late 60s.

 

As a fan of the game and history, I lament the loss of some of those rivalries that even still existed after the divisions were formed. The unbalanced schedule and interleague play have marginalized some great old rivalries that should still be in place, in particular, White Sox-Yankees, Indians-Yankees, and Tigers-Yankees with special mention to White Sox-As. 37% may say the Cubs are the White Sox' biggest rival, but I would love to eliminate interleague play and start playing the AL East and West more frequently via a balanced schedule. It would definitely make the wild card victor far more deserving with such even criteria.

[bmags]

My baseball roots go back to the old AL West. Without a doubt the top rivalries for the Sox were the Athletics, Royals, and Twins in that order. The Royals were once a very proud and competitve franchise and gave the Sox fits. Despite losing in '83, I never recall the Orioles being really hated. I really hated the As, though.

 

Talking to my father, whose roots go back to the pre-expansion AL, the true league rivals from the 50s and 60s were the Yankees, White Sox, Tigers and Indians. Those teams were always fighting it out for the pennant with the Yankees frequently (and sadly) grabbing the crown. The Orioles were a non-factor until the late seventies, the A's were in KC and floundering (with the exception of three games late in 1964, ugh!), and the Angels were also a second tier team. I believe the Twins were still the Senators in D.C. and not much to speak of either. What is interesting is the Red Sox were a total joke and never really competed for the pennant until they miraculously won it in the late 60s.

 

As a fan of the game and history, I lament the loss of some of those rivalries that even still existed after the divisions were formed. The unbalanced schedule and interleague play have marginalized some great old rivalries that should still be in place, in particular, White Sox-Yankees, Indians-Yankees, and Tigers-Yankees with special mention to White Sox-As. 37% may say the Cubs are the White Sox' biggest rival, but I would love to eliminate interleague play and start playing the AL East and West more frequently via a balanced schedule. It would definitely make the wild card victor far more deserving with such even criteria.

 

awesome read, thank you.