North & Southsiders Unite

It’s on a very rare occasion that the Northsiders and Southsiders unite to bring one fantastic city into a state of sports harmony. In a city where Baseball championships are as rare as a summer holiday weekend without rain, we were able to savor the longest piece of summer in 88 years. 1917 will no longer be the year associated with 35th Street baseball, for now we can finally shout out, “Say it IS so, Joe!” In a stunning 4 game sweep of the World Series, the White Sox have truly captured the essence of baseball, which has been missing in Chicago for so many years.

I’ve been a Northsider for as long as I care to remember, and that will never change, for I’ve always felt that even when the Cubbies lose, it’s more exciting than when the Sox win. Over the past 17 games of the post season, I’d have to change my tune (if only for a short while), for the Sox have put on the best display of small ball that I’ve ever seen (16-1). Very rarely do we get a glimpse of what true sportsmanship and camaraderie should be. While watching the Sox, the true spirit of the word “team” comes to mind, and this has been the best ball I’ve seen since the D-Backs took the series against the Yanks back in 2001.

After the final out of 2005, after the interviews on the field, after seeing the neighborhood bars of Chicago erupt and after realizing that I was actually cheering for the Sox, I felt it best to retire to the back yard, gaze up at the stars and think of the pure electricity lighting up Chicago at that moment. While savoring this World Series win, I found myself with an Arturo Fuente Short Story in hand, for this experience is exactly that; a short story. For now, it’s time to return to my Northside roots, only after expressing my true congratulations to a team well deserved of the Fall Classic.