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The View From Section 416: Aroldis Chapman overshadows Cubs-Sox rivalry
- Updated: July 29, 2016
2:44 PM ET
Chicago is a city of mythic conflicts: Mayor Richard J. Daley and his cops against long-haired hippie protesters in 1968, Eliot Ness’ Untouchables vs. Al Capone’s Outfit during Prohibition, and Cubs fans vs. Sox fans in the “Crosstown Classic” every summer.
Before the installation of interleague play in 1997, the Cubs and Sox had occasional exhibition games to raise money for charity (I saw Michael Jordan play outfield at Wrigley in 1994). The teams also played for keeps once, the 1906 World Series, where the “Hitless Wonders” defeated the 116-win Cubs 4 games to 2. For decades, the teams staged a postseason “City Series” that let owners and players make a few more dollars before the offseason. Chicago baseball scribe Ring Lardner dubbed this the “City Serious,” and fans do indeed take it seriously. Perhaps too seriously, with so many Chicago myths in play.
The View From Section 416
Bill Savage — a member of the Society for American Baseball Research who teaches courses on baseball literature and film at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library of Chicago — is a lifelong Cubs fan. All season, he’ll document the sights and sounds from his seats at Wrigley Field and share stories from around town as the Lovable Losers chase history.
Cubs fans are yuppies, White Sox fans blue collar. Cubs fans don’t really watch the game, Sox fans do. Cubs fans foolishly support bad teams, Sox fans only show up when they’re winning. The media loves the Cubs and ignores the Sox.
Well, whatever grains of truth these myths might have, the media do not ignore the Cubs-Sox series, and fans flock to it.
But it might surprise people to learn that the games when the Cubs host the White Sox are not the most in demand among my season ticket group in Section 416.
“After going to a few games in the first few years, …
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