Can Cubs Fans Suck It Up?

Tribune: "Picture two ugly sisters--think Patty and Selma Bouvier from "The Simpsons"--spending their childhood living together, arguing over who was prettier, who was more popular, who did better in school--even though neither has much to brag about. That's what Chicago Cubs and White Sox fans have been like for the last 46 years. For seasons immemorial, North and South Siders have bickered and brawled over who won more games, who (before the interleague season series era) won the otherwise meaningless Crosstown Classic, or who (after interleague play began) won the season series. But we never debated pennants or World Series titles because, well, that never was an issue." [Tribune]

This article makes a good point, it's not the team we hate, it's the fans. Sox fans hate the "wine-sipping crowd" at Wrigley just as much as we hate the "mullet-wearing, toothless bunch" at the Cell.

During any given season, I think about the White Sox maybe a handful of times. I don't care about their team. They have no bearing on my mental well-being at all. But, those same Sox fans are just waiting...waiting for any little thing to befall the Cubs, and they jump all over it. Pathetic.

Here's a great story from the article: "Cub fans barely noticed the Sox's playoff failures in 1993 and 2000. But in 1984, when the Cubs squandered a 2-0 National League playoff series lead to the San Diego Padres, Sox fans were elated. They were downright giddy when that ground ball rolled through Leon Durham's legs. I was 11 at the time and, following the last out of Game 5, I rushed outside the house in tears, only to see my friend, one of a family of Sox fans who lived down the street, ride by on his bicycle. This was the same kid whom I had consoled one year earlier after his "Winning Ugly" Sox choked against the Baltimore Orioles in the American League playoffs. His kind words to me? "Go Padres!" he yelled."

"That's a Sox fan for you, whether he's 11, 31 or 81. We don't really root against the Sox, but they live for the Cubs to fail. It's like your younger sister jeering you after you've been stood up for the umpteenth time, even though she's never been asked out on a date herself."

Am I jealous they're playing in the World Series and my Cubs aren't? You bet.