Is baseball rivalry going soft?

June 10, 2001

BY GREG COUCH STAFF REPORTER

If it's a rivalry, South Siders better bring some buddies. Cubs fans outnumber Sox fans by more than two to one in the Chicago area, according to a CBS 2-Chicago Sun-Times Poll.

In a survey to measure the temperature of the historic rivalry, 34 percent of residents said they were exclusively Cubs fans, while 15 percent said they were exclusively Sox fans.

Twenty-eight percent said they were fans of both--hey, isn't that against some city ordinance?

Die-hard Sox fans were rewarded for their loyalty Friday night with a 7-3 victory over the Cubs at Comiskey Park. Carlos Lee's grand slam in the 10th inning won the opener of a three-game set as the Cubs and Sox renewed their crosstown rivalry.

But how much of the rivalry really remains? In the poll of 500 fans, Sox fans seemed to be a bit more relaxed about it, although that could have something to do with this year's Cubs surge and Sox swoon.

Of those saying they were Sox fans, 59 percent said they root for the Cubs when they're playing someone else, while just 46 percent of Cubs fans said they root for the Sox.

Still, if this has become a kinder, gentler rivalry, that was news to the fans at the Sox-Cubs games this weekend at Comiskey Park.

"What?" asked Adam Cowhey, in Sox shirt and cap, drinking beer, among other things, with a half dozen friends in the parking lot before Friday's game. "Sox fans rooting for the Cubs? Oh, then they're just sell-outs."

Of course, Cowhey stood to be called a traitor, too. He was at the game with Keisha Kuharski of Wheaton.

A Cubs fan.

Also in the group was Keisha's sister, Kelly Kuharski of Chicago. Despite her Mark Grace Cubs jersey, Kelly carried the new Cubs-Sox attitude. Temporarily.

Rivalry? "I don't think it matters anymore," she said. "I just think people want to have a good time."

"Plus, the Cubs are going to kill the Sox, anyway."

Can't we all be friends?

In the first row down the right field line before Friday's game stood a man and three boys in Sox jerseys. They were next to another man in a Cubs shirt, holding a nice, friendly conversation.

"We're arguing about Sammy Sosa," said Larry Ganet of Naperville, the Sox fan, with his sons, Simon and Elliot, 11, and Max, 13. "He thinks he's hitting .380. I think he strikes out 180 times a year."

Where's his wife, Gale? Getting some popcorn?

"My wife?" Ganet said. "I wouldn't let her come. She's a Cubs fans. Last year when we were into the playoffs, we wouldn't let her come, either.

"We are generations of Sox fans here. My grandfather was a Sox fan and my father, and me and now them," he said of the boys.

Would he root for the Cubs if they were to, say, get to the World Series?

"I would hope they would get swept," Max said. "Lose every game, 11-0."

But Mike Webb of Hanover Park, the Cubs fan standing with the Ganets, was softer, somewhat. Although, he did carry a sign with a joke about Sox fans that isn't suitable for a family paper. And he did say he normally roots against the Sox.

"But I think Cubs fans are more laid back," he said. "They go to the games, drink beer, sit in the bleachers, have a good time and not worry about the Sox.

"If it came down to winning a championship, I would root for the Sox. Somebody's got to win a championship around here."

Not according to the survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. It was conducted by Survey USA.

This town hasn't produced a World Series team in 42 years, or a World Series winner in 84. According to respondents, the big reason was this: bad ownership.

That's what 41 percent said, with 12 percent blaming bad players and 23 percent bad luck.

And as for someone winning the World Series, 46 percent said it would be the Cubs next, and 28 percent said the Sox.

But 19 percent said neither team would win it all. Ever.

Bill and Judy Donnelly of Shorewood weren't so pessimistic. They have been happily married for 11 years, despite the Sox cap and jersey he wore this weekend, and her Cubs earrings.

"We classify ourselves," Bill said, "as a truly mixed marriage."

They met at a Cubs game, and Bill actually bought Cubs season tickets for Judy as a Christmas present. She said if the Sox were in the World Series, she would pull for them. And if the Cubs were there?

"Mmmm," he said. "With our luck, we'll probably both get to the World Series at the same time, and then we'd still have a loser."

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