Not this Savage—this Savage loves Seattlest. (Well, as much as a Cubs fan can love a Sox fan.) This is a note from my older brother Bill Savage, a respected baseball historian, NU prof, and Cubs fanatic. He responds to a scolding note Seattlest sent me the other day about the low regard in which Cubs fans hold White Sox fans:

Seattlest editor Dan Gonsiorowski’s reasonable attitude aside, the real reason that true Cubs fans cannot root for the White Sox in this World Series is based not on urban geography, the racial/ethnic makeup of the team, relative amounts of fan homophobia, or dislike for all things Texas.

Real Cubs fans cannot root for the White Sox because Sox fans are so ardently anti-Cub. In today’s Sun-Times (paper, not online, as far as I can find—page 14A of the special section) there’s a photo which sums up the issue. A bunch of Sox fans sitting in a skybox—all white by the looks of them, but that’s neither here nor there—went to the trouble of producing a sign to hang off the front of the box, presumably to express their deepest feelings at this high point of their lives. The sign reads: “White Sox Tickets $185/Cubs fans at home priceless.” Besides the derivative ripoff of credit card ads, think about what this means: they don’t write a sign praising the athletic prowess of their Sox heroes—Konerko, Crede, Contreras, Jenks—or the brilliance and foresight of their Latino manager or black GM. No, they write a sign fucking with Cubs fans. So, I won’t root for them. And if they win—and if I had to bet, I’d say they will—Sox fans will never let Cubs fans hear the end of it.

And then there’s another angle: future urban divisiveness. Besides the story (linked in the previous post) in last week’s Sun-Times about how demographically similar Cubs and Sox fans are, if the Sox win the World Series, Sox and Cubs fans will no longer have the one thing they have in common, the one thing that can unite them: their loserhood. While the Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908, the Sox haven’t won one since 1917—the second longest championship drought. Chicago fans have long been united in defeat, and if/when the Sox win the Series, that unifying force will disappear. Maybe the South Side will secede from the city. And perhaps that would be worth it …

And to put this all in Seattle demographic terms: how would all you Mariners’ fans feel if the Tacoma Tigers were a major league team and were about to win the World Series, giving that shithole town something to lord over you?

UPDATE: Bill sent this very important follow-up…

Two more facts: Vendors outside of Sox Park earlier this season were selling T-shirts with the Cubs Wrigley Field marquee and the slogan “World’s Largest Gay Bar.” And what do you call a Cubs fan who’s rooting for the Sox? Bisoxual.