Deep is the rift that divides the city of Chicago come every spring. After reading's Noce's post, it brought up something that reminds me what makes this city different from New York or Los Angeles. Now, I have several friends that are from the NYC, but not as many in LA, though I have a few. We'll start with New York first since I have a little more background knowledge there. I know several Mets and Yankees fans(I'm sure you're very happy for me), and the sense I get from them is it's nowhere near the hatred Cubs and Sox fans share for each other. A couple of my friends who are Yankees fans say they have no problem with the Mets going to the World Series, just as long as they Yankees weren't in it. They wouldn't openly root for them, but they wouldn't detest them or get up in arms about. To me, it sounds like your team does what it does, and we do what we do. On the flip side of that, most Mets fans feel like they're not willing to cheer for the Yankees, and don't like them as much as it is the other way around.
Confused? Me too. In terms of the Dodgers and the Anaheim Angels (FUCK YOUR STUPID REASONING ON HOW YOU CAN REPRESENT L.A...DUMBEST FUCKING LOGIC EVER, YOU NOT GET MORE FANS, OR CONVERT ANYONE ELSE IN RHETORIC, FUCK OFF WITH YOUR RALLY MONKEY), I have no idea really how that works, because L.A. has a different sports vibe altogether. But what the fuck do I know about L.A., I've been there once, and was just for a layover at LAX.
With Cubs and Sox fans, if it's not your personal friends, they're your personal enemies. Hearing shit from my friends is one thing. Hearing shit from someone who doesn't listen to your point of view, take any viable argument you bring up, other then say your fan base is trash/blue collar/dumb fucks...that's aggravating. And it never ends. You know the more I think about it, Chicago is a lot like Jerusalem.
That's right, the biblical, currently crazy Jerusalem. Think of Cubs and Sox fans as Christians and Muslims. Each one thinks they other is completely wrong, each feels they were here first, and each feels the other should be tossed from the city so that things can be dominated by one ideal. Any difference philosophically? I don't think so. The only difference is Sox Fans don't go into Wrigleyville and bomb it, they just get bombed. Cubs fans don't go around 35th and Shields because they think that have to wear shields and riot gear because "people get shot around there". Is it the nicest neighborhood in the world? Not really. Do I feel safe there? Yeah for the most part. You get a way different vibe from tailgating at a Sox game then a Cubs game. Cubs games, you might go to a bar, or if you know someone near by you can drink at their place. There's no room to set up an area to drink outside Wrigley itself because the parking sucks and is quite limited. At Comiskey, there tons of lots. If you get to the game early enough, You can head to the Bullpen Bar in right field, first come for seats, first serve. If you're visiting Chicago and want to check it out, I highly recommend doing that.
I guess the main point is this. As Sox fans, we probably watch and know more about the Cubs then most so called Cub fans do. Let me throw out the usual Cub adage: that's because you're jealous. Actual Reason: I take pride in knowing more about your fucking team then you do. I like throwing out the fact that Lilly at one point was 10-2 following a Cubs loss, or that Carlos Marmol had 96 K's in 69.1 IP. I can't say outside of going to a Cubs game that I watched a game from start to finish, but I watched enough, heard enough on sports radio to know what happened.
I will never understand the true idiot Cub fans. I would say 90% of all the baseball fans in Chicago are just like you - you can give and take the arguments with a grain of salt - and move to have fun and just watch baseball, and I'm sure it's on both sides. There's plenty of jackass Sox fans (Please see attacking Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa) out there who embarrass me a both a human being and loyal South Sider. But for the hatred comes for those 10%. The ones who think its cool to say Wait Til' Next Year, and all that other dumb shit that most true Cub fans hate themselves. For those people you ruin everything for us. You all give us a bad name. Hopefully, we'll never have to worry about extreme violence, but people have been killed before over dumb shit like this, in fact I think was three years ago a Sox fan was shot and killed a couple blocks from Wrigley after getting in an altercation. While the city will never get anywhere near as radical as Jerusalem, the divide remains. Each Summer, we wear our alliances on sleeves, getting beer thrown on us, shouting names at each other and occasionally fighting in the stands. Because we believe the other side is wrong in every ideal sense. And if you're not with us, we will pull a double play jihad on you..or at least we were going to until fucking Uribe booted the ball. He sucks.
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