Barack Obama on being a White Sox fan

from Chicago Sun Times
August 25, 2008

We all knew Barack Obama is a White Sox fan, but the presumed Democratic presidential nominee took it a bit further in an interview with ESPN.

Obama joked about the stereotype of Cubs fans, who probably are tired of being described as partying people-watchers instead of serious baseball fans.

"You go to Wrigley Field, you have a beer, beautiful people up there," Obama said, according to transcripts released by ESPN. "People aren't watching the game. It's not serious. White Sox, that's baseball."

Before interleague play in 1997, the White Sox and the Cubs often played in exhibition games. The White Sox and their South Side fans invade Wrigley and the North Siders travel via the Dan Ryan, Lake Shore Drive, or the "El" (the subway) via the Red Line to U.S. Cellular Field.  Most of these exhibition games were filled with "call ups", those being minor league players as the teams did not wish to have their regular players injured in an exhibition game. Thusly, these games, although intense in the fans eyes, were merely entertainment.

Then in 1997, it was finally counted. The first two years of these games (1997 & 1998), there were only 3 games for the entire season, with the home team alternating. Then in 1999, MLB introduced the current series of the games, in which there are 3 games at each park each year.

Although the teams had a similar record against each other in this series (they were tied going into 2009), there is nothing similar about either team in the eyes of their fans. With the Cubs having not won a World Series in over 100 years, and the White Sox finally having broken their long drought in 2005 (an 88 year wait), the "palehose" have an advantage in recent bragging rights with their World Series win.