The Cubs and White Sox rivalry – more than just baseball

Sports rivalries bring out the most in fans and teams – passion, loyalty, determination and every other sports superlative. And usually they’re based around games that have significant meaning to the success or demise of the teams involved.

So, how do six games between the White Sox and the Cubs that mean relatively nothing to both team’s chances of making the playoffs entail so much for the city of Chicago?

The White Sox hold a slight edge in the all-time regular season series with 37 wins compared to the Cubs 35 wins. The next installment of this rivalry begins Friday at Wrigley Field with a three-game set.

Photo Credit: Tammy Green

The Cubs and White Sox used to never play each other in the regular season because the Cubs are in the National League and the White Sox are in the American League. But in 1997, Major League Baseball introduced interleague play, and the teams have played every season ever since.

The teams started out playing only three times a year, and then started playing six times each season in 1999. Six games out of the 162 each team plays in an entire season is relatively few; therefore the results of these games shouldn’t have much bearing on each team’s overall success.

However, the rivalry means so much more than just baseball – it reflects the North Side against the South Side and bragging rights in a sports-crazy city for an entire year.

“The South Side of Chicago is a different town than the North Side. We all write Chicago on our return address the same, but our way of life differs. We on the South Side are blue collar, down to earth people. The North Side is full of high rises and expensive bars and restaurants,” Mike from Bridgeport wrote in a reader response to the official website of the White Sox.

Dennis Hobein of the baseball section at RealGM.com describes the rivalry between the teams.

“White Sox fans take pride in their ‘blue collar’ work ethic and their claim that they are the ‘real’ baseball fans in Chicago. Cubs fans, on the other hand, take pride in the fact that they play hookie on Friday afternoons to catch the 2:20 at Wrigley,” Hobein wrote.

Ken Boehlke, who covers the White Sox for Chicago baseball blog Talking Chicago Baseball, said that Chicago families are often involved in the rivalry.

“There are a lot of people that have cross-town families where there’s half a family that’s White Sox fans and half the family that’s Cubs fans, there tends to be bets on that,” he said.

“It’s definitely North Side vs. South Side; if you go to either side of town you’re going to notice it. There’s going to be a lot more people from the South Side wearing black and white and a lot more people from the North Side cheering for the Cubs,” he continued.

Greg Mitchell, on the Cubs side at Talking Chicago Baseball, called loyalties to each team “a modern day coat of arms.”

What do White Sox fans think of Cubs fans?

“White Sox fans have a lot more negative thought process towards Cubs fans than vice-versa. Sox fans tend to think they’re kind of slighted at all times and they tend to blame it on the fans of the other team,” Boehlke said.

“I think White Sox fans tend to take it a little bit more seriously because they do feel like the step-child in Chicago baseball,” he continued.

While White Sox fans might feel like their team doesn’t get as much attention as the Cubs, they do have the bragging rights of winning the World Series in 2005.

As has been well documented, the Cubs haven’t won the World Series since 1908. So, were Cubs fans jealous of the White Sox victory? Mitchell was, but only to a point.

“I was kind of envious they were there, so part of me was cheering for them not to win,” he said.

“When they got to the World Series I just said, ‘I don’t really care. That would be cool for Chicago to have a champion,’” he continued.

The winner of this year’s season series between the teams will have a trophy to represent their accomplishment, as the series has been called the BP Crosstown Cup.

“I personally think it’s kind of cool, mainly because I would love to be at the game that my team carries the cup off the field,” Boehlke said.

“It’s just another thing to shove in face of the other fan base.”

Despite BP’s recent problems due to the oil spill, they will still be the sponsor.

Photos via FLICKR