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Oh, and if you are going to Norway, I highly recommend visiting Bergen and taking the train from there to Oslo. There’s a Slow TV episode about that route to preview the scenery.
Bergen’s a nice little town. Definitely worth spending a couple of days puttering around there before heading east on the train if you have enough time.
I’m old enough to have been through seasons before when it wasn’t clear the Sox were trying to win. In the past, I have certainly made the choice to go to fewer games and invest less emotionally and I will do so to some extent this year. However, I’ve never completely cut ties and I won’t this time either.
I think one reason I have never completely cut ties is that the Sox are part of the fabric of my life at this point. I like baseball and having the game on as background noise throughout my summer is part of life at this point. Talking about the Sox at a 4th of July gathering with the cousins I see once or twice a year helps us not argue about politics. How am I going to tell my wife that I no longer care how the Sox are doing when I made her listen to the end of a game driving home from our wedding 25 years ago?
Another thing that keeps me from cutting ties completely is something my dad used to say when I was a kid. The Sox were awful in the very late 60’s / early 70’s and my dad’s one brother was always advocating abandoning the team because of John Allyn. One of my dad’s other brothers would chime in that for him the team was about the players not the owner but the players were bad then too. My dad would always say that he saw players come and go and owners come and go (although more slowly) but that the fan base was what he was loyal to. That’s what keeps me a Sox fan. Someday in the future (perhaps with different owners and different players), the Sox will win and I want to be part of that fan base that savors the winning. I know I could cut ties now and jump on that band wagon in the future. However, I know that I have never enjoyed the wins by teams I jumped on the band wagon for (Bulls, Hawks) anywhere near as much as the wins by teams I follow through thick and thin (Sox, Illini).
As a contemporary of yours ,you have described my fandom and love of the Sox perfectly. I live about 8 miles away via the red line and with warm summer weather , cheap tickets and good craft beer combined with blind loyalty I will renew my ticket package (but not go to many April games ). Like any loyal baseball fan your team over time is a part of your being. Thanks for so eloquently expressing you viewpoint.
This totally sums it up for many on this site I assume. There simply is no way that I could ever not be a Sox fan. I have a damn tattoo FFS. Also with the nature of things, this team will get better. It might be difficult, it might take this rebuild ending in a complete disaster but it will happen.
What made me think about this was you talking about the Hawks actually. I always loved hockey and played the game for a long time. I spent years watching a garbage hawks team. It was a little different because I was a kid but still, when the Hawks won that first cup it was something special. Rivaled only by the 05 WS.
That being said, I still think its important to vote with your dollars in some way or other. Or at least register a grievance in some way or the other. Even if its just an email or tweet. That is just me of course.
It all depends on the players, doesn’t it? If Yoán, TA, Rodon, et al start the season strong, people will pay attention. This does not equate forgetting the off-season debacle. It might even make some people more bitter (“Think how much better we’d be with Machado!”) But the players themselves can get us excited again. They’re the only ones who can; it’s certainly not going to be ownership.
I don’t believe I’ll ever be able to view anything short of a world series win outside of the view of ‘Imagine if we had Machado’
815sox
5 years ago
Every year, I tell myself I am going to ignore them and never do. I have to admit, my interest for sure has been waning. However, I will always be a White Sox fan and so will my family. I am probably more upset at the Sox then ever (maybe the Thome fiasco under Ozzie) though. I really am not sure. I honestly don’t even know how to feel about this team or how to even proceed being a fan. I for sure won’t be giving them money, but that doesn’t seem to be effective. Also, do we as fans even have the duty to try to encourage them to make changes? We shouldn’t have to worry about that stuff.
Fangraphs has updated their draft board.
Sox reportedly interested in Kameron Misner at 3. (Mizzou LH Corner OF bat with 70 raw power grades and surprising speed for his size)
Rutschman and Vaughn off to red hot starts, mercy
Stott also off to a good start. The other College SS’s and Josh Jung, not so much.
Logan Davidson had a homer game one then I think has cooled.
All these things are obviously way too small a sample size most teams havent even gotten to 10 games played yet.
BA ranks Sox’ prospects 6th.
“I think about the White Sox so you don’t have to” would be a good masthead slogan.
Oh, and if you are going to Norway, I highly recommend visiting Bergen and taking the train from there to Oslo. There’s a Slow TV episode about that route to preview the scenery.
@asinwreck Yup, that train scenery is a big reason it was on my radar. That, and the cheap, direct flights.
Bergen’s a nice little town. Definitely worth spending a couple of days puttering around there before heading east on the train if you have enough time.
I’m old enough to have been through seasons before when it wasn’t clear the Sox were trying to win. In the past, I have certainly made the choice to go to fewer games and invest less emotionally and I will do so to some extent this year. However, I’ve never completely cut ties and I won’t this time either.
I think one reason I have never completely cut ties is that the Sox are part of the fabric of my life at this point. I like baseball and having the game on as background noise throughout my summer is part of life at this point. Talking about the Sox at a 4th of July gathering with the cousins I see once or twice a year helps us not argue about politics. How am I going to tell my wife that I no longer care how the Sox are doing when I made her listen to the end of a game driving home from our wedding 25 years ago?
Another thing that keeps me from cutting ties completely is something my dad used to say when I was a kid. The Sox were awful in the very late 60’s / early 70’s and my dad’s one brother was always advocating abandoning the team because of John Allyn. One of my dad’s other brothers would chime in that for him the team was about the players not the owner but the players were bad then too. My dad would always say that he saw players come and go and owners come and go (although more slowly) but that the fan base was what he was loyal to. That’s what keeps me a Sox fan. Someday in the future (perhaps with different owners and different players), the Sox will win and I want to be part of that fan base that savors the winning. I know I could cut ties now and jump on that band wagon in the future. However, I know that I have never enjoyed the wins by teams I jumped on the band wagon for (Bulls, Hawks) anywhere near as much as the wins by teams I follow through thick and thin (Sox, Illini).
Well that just about sums it up perfectly. Â Thank you.Â
Agree
As a contemporary of yours ,you have described my fandom and love of the Sox perfectly. I live about 8 miles away via the red line and with warm summer weather , cheap tickets and good craft beer combined with blind loyalty I will renew my ticket package (but not go to many April games ). Like any loyal baseball fan your team over time is a part of your being. Thanks for so eloquently expressing you viewpoint.
This totally sums it up for many on this site I assume. There simply is no way that I could ever not be a Sox fan. I have a damn tattoo FFS. Also with the nature of things, this team will get better. It might be difficult, it might take this rebuild ending in a complete disaster but it will happen.
What made me think about this was you talking about the Hawks actually. I always loved hockey and played the game for a long time. I spent years watching a garbage hawks team. It was a little different because I was a kid but still, when the Hawks won that first cup it was something special. Rivaled only by the 05 WS.
That being said, I still think its important to vote with your dollars in some way or other. Or at least register a grievance in some way or the other. Even if its just an email or tweet. That is just me of course.
It all depends on the players, doesn’t it? If Yoán, TA, Rodon, et al start the season strong, people will pay attention. This does not equate forgetting the off-season debacle. It might even make some people more bitter (“Think how much better we’d be with Machado!”) But the players themselves can get us excited again. They’re the only ones who can; it’s certainly not going to be ownership.
I don’t believe I’ll ever be able to view anything short of a world series win outside of the view of ‘Imagine if we had Machado’
Every year, I tell myself I am going to ignore them and never do. I have to admit, my interest for sure has been waning. However, I will always be a White Sox fan and so will my family. I am probably more upset at the Sox then ever (maybe the Thome fiasco under Ozzie) though. I really am not sure. I honestly don’t even know how to feel about this team or how to even proceed being a fan. I for sure won’t be giving them money, but that doesn’t seem to be effective. Also, do we as fans even have the duty to try to encourage them to make changes? We shouldn’t have to worry about that stuff.