Cub fans are getting their facials, exfoliating and waiting till next year.
Posted on 10/28/2005 2:16:32 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
CHICAGO (AP) -- The party was in full swing.
Two days after the White Sox swept Houston for their first World Series title since 1917, the team hit Chicago's streets Friday for a ticker-tape parade and rally.
Double-decker buses filled with players, coaches and their families left U.S. Cellular Field as hundreds of fans cheered. And they kept cheering all the way to the Loop for a celebration and a parade. There, one after another, the players and team officials took turns thanking the fans.
``Chicago, second city no more,'' said Paul Konerko, the first baseman who brought team owner Jerry Reinsdorf to tears when he presented him the ball he caught for the last out of the World Series.
``Getting this ball from Paul Konerko is the most emotional moment of my life,'' Reinsdorf said.
One of the first to speak was Frank Thomas, for years the team's best player, but who missed much of the season and all of the playoffs with an injury.
``Chicago should really appreciate this and understand what this is all about,'' said Thomas, who was handed the World Series trophy by general manager Kenny Williams. ``This is the pinnacle.''
Mayor Richard Daley, a lifelong White Sox fan, clearly agreed.
``I am pleased to say 2005 world champs, the Chicago White Sox,'' he shouted to the crowd.
The fans, many of whom had waited for hours and were streaming into downtown even as the players were appearing on the ``Oprah Winfrey Show,'' roared with every player introduction. Tens of thousands of fans, sporting black, white and silver White Sox hats, jerseys and jackets, packed the downtown area.
Many waved team flags, black and white balloons, white socks, their faces painted black and white. Others clamored onto light poles and utility boxes for a better view of the ceremony, while dozens stood perched on the oversized windowsills of City Hall along the parade route.
Children with faces painted black and white stood shoulder to shoulder with officer workers in suits and ties, straining for a glimpse of the players.
``We all woke up at 6 a.m. and we painted our faces and we came down here,'' said Jimmy Aguayo, 16, of Steamwood, who skipped school with four friends to attend the rally. ``We got a spot against the rail, we saw our favorite players, we took pictures and it was just fantastic.''
Across the Chicago River, hundreds of fans lined the top level of a parking garage for a view. Above the crowd, office workers looked on from high rises, some pressing White Sox signs to their windows. And above them, F-16s flew over as part of the tribute to the team.
Andy Wilson, like many of the tens of thousands who turned downtown into a giant block party, was playing hooky from work to take part in a celebration of a championship that he still doesn't quite believe really happened.
Exhausted from staying up late into the night to watch the games on television -- something that didn't even exist the last time the White Sox won the World Series -- Wilson said it may not be until this winter when the White Sox victory sinks in.
``When I'm at a bar enjoying a beer, saying 'our world champion Chicago White Sox,' that's when it's really going to hit me.''
It hadn't quite sunk in for Williams, either.
``It's really kind of overwhelming,'' he said before the team left U.S. Cellular Field for the Loop.
Steve Perry, who co-wrote the song the White Sox took as their theme, ``Don't Stop Believin,'' was also on hand and led the team in a rendition of the song.
``They've always believed,'' Perry said.
Konerko talked about how many didn't believe the team could do what it did. He thought about how the players might be able to win over doubters.
``The only thing I could come up with is maybe we'll have to do this one more time next year,'' he said.
Cub fans are getting their facials, exfoliating and waiting till next year.
They have a sign up on wall of Comiskey, er CELLULAR Field that says something like "Crying is OK in baseball if it is because your eyes are stinging from the champagne."
Chief, can you put me on your ping list? Thanks.
I could handle lee in Red
Charles, thanks for all the pictures.
I watched the WGN coverage of the parade on my computer at work. I haven't lived in Chicagoland since 1979, when I was still a kid, but I still follow all of the teams. I'm not sure if this championship has really sunk in yet.
I'm so happy for my parents, who both grew up on the South Side. I'm happy for Chicago, they finally have a baseball champion!
And I'm especially happy for all those Sox fans who have spent their lives feeling like they're rooting for the more cursed and less beloved team in a two-cursed team town.
One question I have for Chicagoans, or any big city I guess - is there a lot of talk there, in bars and on local sports talk radio - of the importance of having a championship parade?
I live in Philly now, and here it always seems like what people here want most is that parade. I suppose it is representative of the championship, but here they talk about the "parade" as much as they talk about "getting the ring" or "winning the championship."
Is that common elsewhere?
That's cool. I'm an NL guy and I imagine that there weren't too many Cubs fans pretending to be lifelong Sox fans at the celebration. But a well-earned celebration it was!
Congratulations and have a nice winter Chicago!
Yo, Mike, I'm a Philly native (37 years). When the Flyers won the Cup in 1974 (aaagh!), 2 million people showed up at the parade! The Phillies and Sixers almost reached that mark for their singular championships. If the Eagles ever win the Supe, there will be a party like you've never seen!
So, I guess to answer your question....we want our teams to win it all so we can have a memorable party. It all goes hand in hand...and around here, it's like once in a lifetime.
Surprisingly little trouble. The Chicago fans have conducted themselves with a great deal of class.
Why?
I wasn't able to make it to the parade myself, but saw it on the Boob Tube. Swirling streams of confetti made it seem like a blizzard was underway down on LaSalle St.
I just hope that the Sox management is able to find a way to keep the team together for next year, but, deservedly so, the guys will be looking for a raise from the boss.
All the local TV channels -- except the eggheads at PBS -- covered the motorcade as it swung its way thru the near south side neighborhoods and into the Loop. It was way cool, reminding me of the last ticker-tape parade we had back in January of 1986 for the Bears. But that was a cold, cold day! However, I think there were more people by far in the Loop today than 20 years ago.
Even my diehard Cubs fan relatives were all cheering the Sox on.
And to think that the Sox were #1 from wire to wire and throughout the postseason still stuns me.
Cheers!
Not me. Remember? We're White Sox fans...we have day jobs to go to! /shameless shot at Cub fans and their early day games at home.
Actually - NO.
Remember it's not like 'we' aren't used to celebrating properly.
After all there were the SIX Bulls Championships and the 85 Bears Super Bowl win, so 'we're' not exactly loser city (and suburbs).
That being said Chicago proper sucks - Richie Daley has turned it into a little Beirut. But that's another matter - GO SOX!
I would be happy for Philly fans if and when one of their teams wins it all, because they deserve one, and me and my wife would go to the parade to see the celebration.
I was just wondering if fans in other towns like Cleveland or Boston talked so much in those specific terms - like the discussion during Smarty Jones' run of whether or not a Triple Crown deserved a parade, would that have happened in another big city, or is it just a Philly thing?
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