If you watch the video below from the 5:00 minute mark onwards, you'll realize why I back Barack Obama.
If you don't want to watch, I'll sum it up.
Ann Curry asked Obama who he supports ... "Cubs or White Sox?".
Obama answers without hesitation ... "White Sox".
I realize this will come off like I'm a fan who likes Obama because he likes the White Sox (well, he did give the right answer).
I back Obama because I think his White Sox fandom says something about his candidacy.
Think about the Cubs and White Sox fan dynamic for a moment. Strictly stereotypically speaking, Cubs fans on average are white collar worker types.
White Sox fans? Blue collar all the way. And if you find a White Sox fan in a white collar job, that fan likely exhibits a blue collar mentality.
Some people use the terms rich and poor to describe Cubs and White Sox fans. That's not right in every case, but on average and relatively speaking, it's probably not wrong.
Based on my observational data, White Sox fans are more diverse. Cubs fans are mostly white.
The bottom line is that Cubs fans and White Sox fans are different, and there's no room for negotiation. You're either for one or the other ... there's no flip flopping, or playing both sides of the field. It's a mindset you take on for the rest of your life.
He's one of us.
Here's why this is important regarding Barack Obama. If he's fan enough to wear a White Sox hat on his day off, that tells me he is a fan.
The way I see it, his White Sox fandom will shape his policy.
For instance, when Obama says he wants to help displaced steel workers, he means it, because steel workers are blue collar guys.
When Obama says he wants to help unions and raise the minimum wage, it's not lip service. This affects White Sox fans directly.
When he says he wants to help create jobs, amend NAFTA to make it better for American workers, invest in new job training and in manufacturing, he means it.
Why? Because it's a mindset. White Sox fans don't chose to cheer for a team that gets no respect in its own city and lives in the shadow of the team from the north side. We cheer for the White Sox because it's who we are. We're practical, hard working people. We expect results, and don't like losing.
And for the record, there's nothing lovable and romantic about losing.
I have no reason to believe that Barack Obama does not embody this. If he is a White Sox fan, he will work hard and demand results. He will look out for those in need ... especially blue collar workers. He's the champion for the middle class that George Bush never was.
If he gets elected and does not live up to this, we'll do what any self respecting White Sox fans would do ... we'll vote his ass out!
3 comments:
Well, my grandparents were lifelong Cub fans. My grandfather dropped out of school in 9th grade and spent his career as a factory worker and a sheriff's deputy. My grandmother and her brother owned a tavern that looked much like the place where Hillary Clinton took that shot of whiskey. I think the popularity of Wrigleyville among yuppies in the last 20 years has exaggerated the difference. Certainly, the north side has long been on average more affluent, but that part of the city has always had working class neighborhoods (and Obama's Hyde Park has always been affluent).
As for the diversity, that's certainly true. The White Sox, given the location of much of Chicago's black populations, probably do have a higher percentage of black fans. On the other hand, notorious racist and southside Sox fan Dick Daley certainly placed the expressways strategically in order to keep the Negroes away from his precious Bridgeport and precious ballpark. George Wallace was very popular in the white neighborhoods on the south side of Chicago.
The "loveable loser" thing is a straw man. No serious Cub fan considers losing loveable.
I know or at least hope this is tongue in cheek. If not, you are trying too hard.
To be clear, I do think it says something positive about Obama that he didn't waffle Hillary-style about who his favorite team is. I don't think the content of his answer says anything about his character, but his honesty is refreshing and shows that he is a real sports fan.
John-
Not sure how to respond to your comments.
The premise itself is a bit tongue in cheek as there are more important issues for which one should base their presidential decision (free trade, foreign policy, etc); but I also think there's an ounce of truth to it.
But that's the problem with stereotypes ... which is where this post plays. There are exceptions to every stereotype. In fact, I fit the stereotypical Cub fan demographic much better than I do the White Sox fan demographic.
So I hear what you're saying ... there are exceptions and my point is not spot-on in every case.
For this post, I struggled with the premise myself ... I know the point I want to make, but I struggled to make it without using the broad stereotypes that exist. For what it's worth.
But I do think, to a certain degree, that attitudes are different when comparing Cubs fans and White Sox fans. I know you're a Cubs fan and I'm a White Sox fan ... I don't think either of us would want to trade places (and I came from a Yankees household). I think that's that part of my post that is not tongue and cheek. I think there's something there about the two teams, in terms of attitude or other intangible and unmeasurable stuff, that makes you and I identify with the Cubs and White Sox. I assume that Obama used a similar process when selecting which team he wants to support ... and given that, I feel I can support him because I have a better idea of where he is coming from.
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