I'm a White Sox fan and I rooted for the Cubs to win the World Series
When you're born and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago, you're a White Sox fan, not a Cubs fan; it's unquestionable. And I've always rooted for the team from the South Side.
But does that make me a traitor, then, if I wanted the Cubs to win the World Series this year? In the regular season, it was, and always will be, White Sox all the way; Crosstown Classic - I'm always rooting for the White Sox. But what about when the Sox don't make the playoffs and that other team in your city is the best team in baseball making a strong postseason run? Ever so slowly, that infectious Cubs pride starts to spread. The spirit within the city is contagious, it's an infection that is impossible to combat.
Would I call myself a bandwagon fan? Not necessarily, I'd say a baseball fan who lives in a city with a team making a postseason run whose fans have endured 108 years of disappointment and are still somehow fans of the team. That's faith and I respect that kind of hope.
As a six year resident of the north side of Chicago, I've met quite a few Cubs fans. I've been to Wrigley Field for multiple games, passed it hundreds of times on my commute on the Red Line. This year I went to as many Cubs games as White Sox games.
At first I was only rooting for the Cubs because I was writing an article about Wrigleyville and if they made it to the World Series, the article would be more prominent than if they didn't. But then they actually made it to the World Series, I went out to bars in Wrigleyville to watch the games. To start the World Series, I watched the games as a passive fan, nodding with approval at a particularly good play by either team, groaning when an error was made. I rolled my eyes when fans started crying after they lost Game 3. There's only so much one can take after all. But by Game 5 I was nodding only when the Cubs scored. Come Game 6, I proceeded to clap when they scored. During Game 7, I all out cheered when the Cubs scored. I never went as far as to sing "Go, Cubs, Go," but I was standing right outside Wrigley Field during the final half inning of Game 7 of the World Series and I went to the Cubs victory parade. It's history, people back in the suburbs may have been rooting against the Cubs because they're "true" Sox fans, but I don't believe that. It's a historic moment in Chicago history and I wanted to witness that.
No "Go, Cubs, Go" for me, nor do I purchase any Cubs apparel, I've got pictures and that's enough because, come April, I'm rooting for my Sox again.