2005 White Sox victory, Oct 26, 2005, by Ian Roberts

From MemoryArchive

Who: Ian Roberts
What: 2005 Chicago White Sox victory
When: October 26, 2005
Where: Houston, Texas

It's something that's hard to describe to most people; the North Side-South Side thing. Unless you're a Chicago baseball fan, I'm not really sure you can entirely get it. It's not like Red Sox-Yankees; two cities several hours apart with deep on the field and off the field animosity. The Cubs and the White Sox are two teams who play in, seeminly, the same city and have had very little direct contact with one another, by virtue of playing in two different leagues. It seems that the two sides should actually get along, when you think about it; we live in the same city, in all other sports we cheer for the same teams, and both sides have experienced tremendous pain, both having gone throuh incomparable championship droughts. It is perhaps this last part that makes the White Sox victory all the more painful.

I am a Cubs fan. And I always took solace in the fact that our 96+ year drought made us, well, special. At the same time, the White Sox had experienced an 88 year drought; just enough that they weren't as special as us, yet at the same time could still be considered losers. Chicago was our town, and baseball fans the country over knew it. By virtue of having been there first, and our lovable loser status, the Chicago baseball team was the Cubs. And we were happy. But, long have we believed on the North Side that the baseball gods do not like seeing us happy. At least, not for long. And so it was that they threw at us the most painful dagger they could have. In the year 2005, the Chicago White Sox climbed to baseball's highest honor ande left us behind, to sulk.

For much of the 2005 baseball season, the White sox had been red hot. No one in their division or in their league stood much of a chance of catching up. They were just too far ahead. This disheartened me (from this point forward, I will use only my point of view, as it is presumptuious of me to think I can speak for all the North Side), because, in my memory, the White Sox had never been that good. I was concerned that no one might be able to beat them.

Then, during the second half of the season, they hit a roadblock. I couldn't tell you the exact details as to why, but the Sox were definitely skidding. It reminded me, and some of the people I talked to, of the 1969 Chicago Cubs breakdown. I was excited that maybe it had all been a flash in the pan and that my nightmare would not come to pass.

But alas, no such luck. Their unprecedented run in the early going helped ensure a final record of 99-63, and a division title. They were headed to the playoffs, with home field advantage guaranteed.

They first swept the Boston Red Sox, a team who had one year earlier broken their own 86-year drought. I had been a Cubs fan long enough to recognize ominous signs when I saw them. For the Sox to sweep the other Sox in such a fashion did not bode well for my hopes that the White Sox would blow it, as they had a history of doing.

In the next series, after an unprecedented number of controversial calls, they managed to do away with the rather impressive Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 4 games to 1. So it happened that the team I hated more than any other was headed to the World Series to play our division rivals, the Houston Astros.

It was my understanding that many Cubs fans decided they would cheer for the Sox, anyway. I guess their justification was that it would be nice to finally have a World Series trophy come back to the Windy City. Honestly, I could understand that. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew too many obnoxious Sox fans (despite all the genuinely classy ones out there) who would make my life total hell if the Sox won, whether I cheered for them or not. Call me petty, or bitter, but I would not do it. For the next week, I would be an Astros fan.

The Sox took the first two games in Chicago 5-3 and 4-2, respectively. It was with great trepidation that I watched Game 3 in Houston. I had seen the signs, and had a feeling that the White Sox may actually do it. Knowing that the Astros were next to unbeatable at home gave me a little bit of solace. But not enough. After the longest World Series game in history (14 innings), the Sox walked away victorious.

I could not bring myself to watch the next game, the final game. I knew what the result would be. I decided that, just this once, I would not sit by and have my heart broken. That night I went to bed without watching a single pitch. For me, the baseball season was over.

I woke up the next day to see on ESPN, CNN, and all the newsstands that, indeed, the White Sox had won. At least, I figured, it was done now. And, in time, people would move on.

Several weeks later, as I write this, the world has moved on. Baseball is over. It'll start up in a few months and I'm sure I'll have to deal with hearing "defending champion Chicago White Sox" all season long. But it's okay. I've learned to live with it. In due time, I know that the city of Chicago will turn back to the North Side, as it always does. And for now, with the Chicago Bears performing excpetionally well (especially for them), Cubs and Sox fans are stading proudly together as allies.

At least until Spring Training begins...