Cubs–White Sox rivalry

The Cubs-White Sox Rivalry (also known as the Crosstown Classic or Crosstown Showdown) refers to the rivalry between fans of the two Major League Baseball teams which play their home games in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cubs of the National League play their home games at Wrigley Field located on the city's north side, while the Chicago White Sox of the American League play their home games at U.S. Cellular Field (also known as Comiskey Park II) on the city's south side. The terms "North Siders" and "South Siders" are synonymous with the respective teams and their fans. Through May 20, 2007, the White Sox lead the all-time series against the Cubs, 30-27, but have only won the season series five times in ten years. This is one of the most heated interleague play rivalries in baseball. The Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line runs north-south through Chicago's neighborhoods, stopping at Wrigley Field and US Cellular Field. It is commonly known as the only thing the Cubs and White Sox have in common.

History

Action in the 1906 World Series

The rivalry between the two teams and their fans dates back to the founding of the American League. In 1900, Charles Comiskey moved his Saint Paul Saints minor league franchise to Chicago. It is believed that the Cubs owner at the time was not happy, and filed a suit against Comiskey. After talks, it was decided that Comiskey could move his team to Chicago, pending that Chicago was not used in the title of the team name, and that the team play south of 35th Street. In response, the team was renamed the "White Stockings", which was the original name of the Cubs from 1876 to 1889. The establishment of a new team in the city was a direct challenge to the National League franchise, which was the idea of establishing the AL. As the AL gained in popularity (with cheaper prices on admission and alcohol), the NL recognized the equality of the AL. This recognition did little to stem the rivalry between owners, players, and fans.

While teams in New York City (such as the Yankees, Giants, and Brooklyn Dodgers) routinely played against each other in World Series matchups throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the two Chicago teams only met once in the 1906 World Series, a celebrated event that seemingly put the city on hold for a full week. The heavily favored but young Cubs (who had won 116 games in the regular season) lost in six games to the veteran and pitching-strong White Sox, "The Hitless Wonders".

Between 1903 and the beginning of interleague play in 1997, the Cubs and White Sox occasionally met in a "City Series" and later in single charity exhibition games, often on Memorial Day each year. While fans generally loved these games, as evidenced by high fan attendance, the games did not count toward the teams' rankings in their respective league standings, which took away some of the excitement. At best, they provided "braggin' rights" to the winner.

Since interleague play began in 1997, the White Sox and Cubs have routinely played each other six times each year (one three-game series at each stadium). Based on the availability of tickets and the prices offered through ticket brokers, these games are among the most anticipated of the season. These games have featured a variety of heroics, perceived slights, and errors on both sides that have added fuel to the rivalry.

Socioeconomics

Today, fans of both teams can be found in the same families and share common social origins. Cubs fans and White Sox fans are often friends. For many people in Chicago, the rivalry is simply a fun tradition which provides the opportunity for good-natured verbal jousting, and is as much about theater and humor as it is about serious criticism of the other team. This aspect of Chicago sports culture, which predates the north side-south side class hostilities, is often forgotten.

The history of Chicago is like that of many large urban centers in the 19th century. There has long existed a separation between the more affluent citizens and the economically poorer citizens (often recent immigrants and African-Americans). The north side of Chicago, with its favorable higher ground became the center for affluence, while the less developed south side became the home for numerous immigrant groups (Irish, Italian, Greek, among others). The south side of Chicago was already home to a growing African American population. Locals logically tended to follow the sports teams that were closest to home, thus the Cubs became associated with more affluent, mostly Caucasian fans, while the White Sox became more associated with "blue collar" workers and immigrants. Thus, the issues between workers and owners, between races, between immigrants and more established families, and poor and rich which became key struggles in the 20th century were represented very clearly in Chicago by the various fans who followed their respective baseball teams. In a sense, this sports-based rivalry became a far less violent way to express dissatisfactions between rival groups.

U.S. Cellular Field is more accessible by car than Wrigley Field, and the White Sox enjoy a growing fan base. Even so, the perception of Cubs fans being more affluent than White Sox fans continues, especially in the city. The gentrification of the Wrigleyville neighborhood around Clark and Addison streets plays a part in reinforcing the wealthy image of Cubs supporters, although a good amount of money is being spent on improving South Side neighborhoods as well.

Stadiums

The White Sox have always been located on the south side. At the time the White Sox came to town, the Cubs' home field was West Side Park, in an older section of the city which is now the realm of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks. (Coincidentally, for a few seasons in the early 1890s the National Leaguers home park was within a block of the sites of the future Sox ballparks). In 1916 the Cubs moved from the west to the north side, taking over Weeghman Park, the abandoned Federal League facility (later renamed Wrigley Field), thus setting up the current separation.

When the new Comiskey Park (now called U.S. Cellular Field) was built, many in the media and baseball (including both Cubs and White Sox fans) called the park "sterile", and lacking the beauty and personality of the old park, even though many seats at the old park were cramped, behind posts, or in the outfield. Regardless, this again set up a point of rivalry as Cubs fans had their classic park, while White Sox fans had their modern park. While several renovations to U.S. Cellular Field have silenced many criticisms, such as the improved upper deck and bleachers, the difference between the fields remains a point of rivalry between fans of the teams.

When the Tribune Company bought the Cubs, they immediately started pressing for night baseball, threatening to abandon Wrigley Field otherwise. Night baseball was finally added in 1988, and after some further negotiations with the city, in the winter of 2005-2006 they expanded Wrigley's bleachers for the first time since 1938.

Even the neighborhoods around the stadiums show the difference between the fans. The aptly named "Wrigleyville" neighborhood of Chicago (a part of the Lakeview neighborhood) surrounds the Cubs' stadium, and is composed of middle- and upper-middle-class housing, as well as many restaurants and bars for fans to visit before and after games. The Bridgeport neighborhood directly west of the White Sox home field has a more "blue-collar" reputation, although rising housing values in the area indicate some gentrification. There are bars and restaurants in Bridgeport, too; however, White Sox fans must walk or drive a few blocks from U.S. Cellular Field to get to them.

Media coverage

One of the most common points of contention by White Sox fans is the claim of biased media coverage. While not all White Sox fans will make this claim, it is a common topic among fans that the Cubs receive more coverage than the White Sox. A website dedicated to documenting this bias, http://www.cubune.com, has used the Chicago Tribune's own archives-search engine to document that during the 2005 and 2006 regular seasons, during which the White Sox won a World Series and reigned as champions, the Tribune published about 1,400 more stories that mention the Cubs than stories that mention the White Sox. This complaint is fueled by the fact that the Cubs are owned by the Tribune Company, one of the larger media companies in the United States, whose holdings, among others, include the Chicago Tribune and the WGN television, cable, and radio stations. WGN airs Cubs games far more often than White Sox games, due to the contract the Sox have with WGN, which does not allow for as many national telecasts.

Until 2004, WGN and FSN Chicago would "switch off" during interleague games: for the Cubs home games, the Cubs commentary team would call the game, while the Sox commentary team would have the call for their home games. Starting in 2005, both WGN and newly created Comcast SportsNet Chicago show the games on each network with both commentary crews at the same time, allowing the viewer to watch the game without an opposing team bias. The stations will switch off each day (For example, in a series at Wrigley Field, WGN would treat the game on Friday as a Cubs home game with CSN treating it as a White Sox away game. On Sunday, WGN will broadcast a White Sox away game and CSN will show a Cubs home game) in order to give WGN Superstation viewers a broadcast from both sides. The Saturday game is traditionally nationally broadcasted as a Game of the Week by FOX Sports, providing a neutral perspective. In addition, CSN will air a neutral two-hour pre-show featuring batting pratice and interviews from both teams.

Performance

While New York of the 1940s and 1950s often had two or three teams vying for championships, the two Chicago teams had comparatively little to celebrate for a long time, until the White Sox won the 2005. Historically, each team's fans felt bad for their own team's relatively poor performance, but could take solace that the other team was doing just as badly. Thus, the rivalry often was one in which fans of one team are just as happy for the poor play of the other team as they are for the good play of their own. This above all is what made the Chicago rivalry unique in Major League Baseball. An examination of other great rivalries (Yankees-Red Sox; Mets-Yankees; Giants-Athletics; Dodgers-Angels; Dodgers-Giants; Cardinals-Cubs) shows that (with the Cardinals-Cubs exception) both teams have made World Series appearances on a fairly regular basis.

The animosity among fans (that fortunately only rarely escalates to violence) is summed up in the lines from the song "The Ballad of the South Side Irish", echoing sentiments often expressed by at least one side of any number of sports rivalries in America: "When it comes to baseball I've got two favorite clubs, the "go-go White Sox...and whoever plays the Cubs." Ardent fans such as the late columnist Mike Royko, a Cubs fan, and the late writer Nelson Algren, a Sox fan would take their shots at the other team. Royko once wrote that the reason Sox fans have a 'bad attitude' is that when they would go to games at Comiskey Park, the stench of the Union Stock Yards would fill their nostrils and remind them of the status of their team. The stockyards closed in 1971.

Several Cubs and White Sox fans have made a cottage industry selling shirts, hats, and other souvenirs that include slogans intended to take swipes at the opposing teams, rather than support their own. After the 2005 season, it is not at all uncommon to see Sox t-shirts depicting an obscene hand gesture, with the White Sox world championship ring on the exposed digit. Many of the popular anti-Cubs shirts are based off similar designs used by fans of the St. Louis Cardinals, who have for years played up the fact that they have "owned" the Cubs in the NL Central.

Team owners naturally encourage such rivalries (two-time Sox owner Bill Veeck was a master at it), in the hope that they will translate to increased gate receipts, and the Cubs-Sox interleague games have borne out that theory.

"Cursed" teams

While not meant in the most literal sense to most fans, there is an overall feeling that both teams' misfortunes began with unfortunate events which some claim have cursed both teams into their poor play. This adds to the overall downtrodden feelings that fans feel for their own teams, making it much easier to revel in the poor play of the other.

The Chicago Cubs won ten National League championships between 1901 and 1945, and also had among the best winning percentages in the NL up to that time (3796-3022 for a 0.557 winning percentage). The Cubs had a 2 games to 1 lead over the Detroit Tigers in the 1945 World Series, when on October 6, 1945, Cubs fan and local tavern owner Billy Sianis was prevented from reaching his seat because he was accompanied by his pet billy goat. Local legend says that he responded by placing a curse on the Cubs to never again win the World Series, which they have not. While few take the idea of a curse with great seriousness, the Cubs, on more than one occasion, have featured a tongue-in-cheek promotion where billy goats are brought into the stadium to be offered as an apology (see: Curse of the Billy Goat). Some historians argue that the genesis of the curse goes back much farther; that the allegededly underhanded way they won the 1908 pennant (leading to their last World Series win) angered the "baseball gods". For lack of a standard term, this could be called the curse of Johnny Evers, since he was at the center of the controversy. Every post-season they have participated in since them seems to have featured a disaster of some kind, from Hack Wilson losing a fly ball in the sun, to Babe Ruth's "called shot", to the "Steve Bartman incident". When they won the division in 1984, their first title since 1945, manager Jim Frey shouted in the champagne-soaked clubhouse, "The monkey's off our back!" Some fans took that as the kiss of death... which it proved to be, as the Padres late-inning rally in the final game in San Diego featured a ground ball slipping under the glove of first baseman Leon Durham... an eerie precursor to a similar and much-more-memorilazed incident with the Red Sox and former Cubs first baseman Bill Buckner that would occur two years later. That requires a quick mention of the "Ex-Cubs Factor", an offshoot of the main Cubs "curse": that any team reaching the post-season since the 1945 Series, and having 3 or more ex-Cubs, was almost certainly doomed to lose in either the playoffs or the Series due to "a critical mass of Cubness". The 1960 Pirates had been the lone exception until 2001, when the Diamondbacks effectively ended talk of that curse by winning the Series in a dramatic finish that featured 2 of the 3 ex-Cubs, one of them (Luis Gonzalez) making the game-winning RBI.

The White Sox had the best winning percentage of any American League team from 1901-1920 (1638-1325 for a 0.553 winning percentage), but quickly slipped to among the worst teams after that. Many point to the Black Sox scandal surrounding the 1919 World Series as the point in history that changed the White Sox fortunes. Eight White Sox players conspired to intentionally lose the World Series, and in 1920 were banned from baseball for life. While the White Sox won 4 AL titles in the first 20 years of their existence, they would win only one more league championship in the twentieth century. The term "curse" has seldom been used as such, since the scandal was perceived to be something the players did to themselves rather than being wrought by the front office conducting ill-advised transactions or committing public relations gaffes. In fact, many White Sox fans take offense to the term "curse." Still, a pall seemed to settle on the franchise (along with a slim budget), and it would be the last years of the Eisenhower administration before they would win the league championship again. When the White Sox clinched the pennant, broadcaster Jack Brickhouse capped his play-by-play with, "A forty year wait has now ended!" The 2005 pennant ended a forty-six-year wait for the next one, while the 2005 World Championship ended an 88-year wait for a World Series victory. This adds a decidedly interesting twist on the rivalry as there are very few fans for either team who were alive to see one side actually claim a title while the other waited.

The 21st century seems to be a time for legendary curses to finally surpass their statutes of limitations, one by one. The Curse of the Bambino was broken by the Red Sox's stunning victory in 2004. And the recent success of the White Sox has pretty well put their distant shady past behind them, leaving the Cubs as the last remaining fully "cursed" team in the major leagues.