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Dan Bernstein the always
thoughtful and insightful sports host on our local
sports radio station
used the term “nervous joy” to describe the feeling that baseball fans in
Chicago have today. It’s that feeling of knowing that your team has made
it to the post-season, but you’re not quite sure what to expect from them
once the playoffs start. Physically it manifests itself in cold hands,
heightened awareness and a feeling that you’ll never be drowsy or sleepy
throughout the day.
Because Chicago is a two
team baseball town, rarely if ever have both factions of fans felt this
“nervous joy” in one season. Only once in fact has it happened; in 1906
and that was when both teams faced each other in the World Series.
I’d imagine the feeling
for White Sox fans is more joy than nervous right now. Their team
accomplished something no other team in baseball accomplished. They won 3
games in a row to finish the season by beating 3 different opponents. An
amazing feat punctuated by an epic game on Tuesday against the Minnesota
Twins. This was another example of how a 1-0 game can be incredibly
exciting. There were plays at the plate, fabulous catches, clutch pitches
being made and a mammoth home run by Jim Thome. So, yes the feeling White
Sox fans have is more joy than nervous.
Los Angeles is also a two
team baseball town, and both of their teams made it into the post season
as well. I doubt the division between Angel and Dodger fans is quite as
sharp as they are in Chicago. First of all the Angels don’t even play in
the same COUNTY as the Dodgers, and second, hey, it’s California! There
are other diversions. Here in Chicago, sports icons are true stars and are
treated like loyalty.
Contrary to popular
belief the division between White Sox fans and Cub fans is not a North
Side (Cubs) versus South Side (White Sox) geographical split. I live on
the Northwest side of Chicago and there are more White Sox fans in my
neighborhood than Cub fans. That may be due to the fact that there are
many city employees (police, fire and streets and sanitation) living in my
neighborhood. Most city workers are Sox fans. That’s probably because Da
Mayor, Richard Daley is an avowed Sox fan. Daley grew up in Bridgeport,
practically in the shadows of Comiskey Park. His father, the first Mayor
Daley was also a White Sox fan. That explains why most city workers are
also White Sox fans.
Most office workers and
professionals I’ve run across are Cub fans. It makes no difference if they
live on the North or South sides of the city. Don’t listen to those goofs
on TBS and Fox. I think if you live in the city and you’re a blue collar
worker, you’re most likely a White Sox fan. If you’re a professional,
you’re a Cub fan. Now there are far more Cub fans than White Sox fans. In
large part that’s due to the legacy of Jack Brickhouse, Harry Carey and
WGN. Most folks from Iowa and western Illinois are Cub fans. Downstaters
are split between Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Rarely are Sox fans in the
mix.
Anyway, that’s how the
city is divided. What I wanted to say here is that this “nervous joy” will
only last until that first pitch by Ryan Dempster tonight. Then, it turns
pretty much all to nervous. White Sox fans will face the same thing
tomorrow. Their joy of winning an epic battle to win the AL Central will
turn to nervous when they take on Tampa at Tropicana Field.
I just wanted to take a
snapshot of this “nervous joy” moments before the first pitch. It hasn’t
happened in Chicago for 102 years and it’s something that I’m appreciating
immensely. Yes, there are fans here who are “bi-sexual” in that they
profess a love for both teams. These people cannot under any circumstance
appreciate this feeling of nervous joy for THEIR team right before that
first pitch.
Whatever
happens tonight or tomorrow or next month, I will always be a Cub fan
through thick and thin. But this feeling I have tonight is one that I’ve
rarely felt in my 40 plus years as a fan. It’s a wonderful thing this
thing called “nervous joy”
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