The Blackout Game was objectively cool. That the Blackout Game remains the last real late-season triumph the White Sox have experienced in 15 years is lame.
That's what makes me just a little bit itchy about the White Sox bringing back the call for all black when the White Sox host Game 3 of the ALDS. Maybe that, and the press release failing to conjure up the spontaneous feel of the last one.
CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox invite fans to wear black throughout all October at Guaranteed Rate Field, showing their support for the team during the postseason and joining in the “Change the Game October” fun.
“One hit, pitch, play – any moment – can literally ‘Change the Game’ on the field, and we know the energy of our fans can be a game changer. That’s why we are calling on White Sox fans everywhere to show their Sox pride by wearing black throughout the postseason,” said Brooks Boyer, White Sox chief revenue and marketing officer. “Just as we saw with the ‘Blackout game’ in 2008, 40,000 White Sox fans standing strong in our team’s color is a sight to behold. We’re ready to show the 26 guys in our dugout that Chicago is for them.”
As part of “Change the Game October,” the White Sox will distribute 40,000 black “Change the Game” rally towels, presented by Beggars Pizza and Xfinity, at the first American League Division Series (ALDS) game at Guaranteed Rate Field.
While everybody remembers Game 163, the White Sox went back to the well in the 2008 ALDS, which featured a scrappy Game 3 win and a sleepy Game 4 loss. The unremarkability of the series despite what was a remarkable look from the crowd gives me a reflexive "nothing gold can stay" feel about dusting off the blackout scheme. It's a rave when the team shows up. When it doesn't, it casts a funereal pall over the proceedings.
That said, I went back to revisit the blackout aspect of the 2008 ALDS, particularly the White Sox's Game 3 victory, and watch the three-run fourth inning that gave the Sox all the runs they needed in the lone victory. There are slow-developing innings, and then there are innings where the White Sox load the bases with Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey Jr., but it pays off.
After the game, Evan Longoria made a special note of the environment.
With the capacity crowd of 40,142 yelling and waving towels, Jenks struck out Carlos Peña looking for the final out.
“I loved it,” left fielder DeWayne Wise said of the crowd. “It gave me a lot of energy. I fed off the energy, and a lot of the guys did, too.”
Even Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria said he found the scene compelling.
“I’ve never been part of anything like that,” he said, “and it definitely is a little bit tougher to focus when you’ve got 35,000 fans, or however many they’ve got here, waving those towels. It was fun.”
Also, Longoria said: “I’m sure Ozzie, once he sensed a little bit of that crowd’s energy and the guys hitting the ball in certain situations, he put the pedal to the metal and kind of put the pressure on us. I expected it.”
I'd note that Longoria was a rookie two days away from his 23rd birthday and playing in his first-ever postseason game on the road, so he didn't have a voluminous catalog of experiences for purposes of comparison. The Rays jumped on Gavin Floyd for a 4-0 lead through 3½ innings in Game 4, so it seems like they recovered well enough from the aura.
Lest I sound like the fun police, it's more that I have an aversion to easy nostalgia, especially when it comes to a 120-year-old entity without a golden age. The White Sox have had a glory day here and there, but the subsequent lack of momentum-building experiences makes it too easy to milk those rare triumphs dry.
That said, an entire generation of fans wasn't around, aware or locked in to the White Sox enough to really enjoy the couple times they did it 13 years ago, and when everybody's wearing dark clothing and throwing around towels that make it look like a bat infestation was disturbed, it creates a scene that's utterly unfamiliar in baseball. If the Sox can somehow make a deep run, it'd be a signature that other properties would want to emulate, just like they do with the standard Sox logo and the Batterman doubleknits.
There are more important reasons why the Sox need to capitalize on this opportunity with at least one series victory, but the Sox have aced most of their style decisions over the last decade and change. Now's the time for some substance to make everything play up.
(Photo by Jeff Dahl)
