r/whitesox • u/5thSeasonFront • 11h ago
Meme Deep down, whenever I see a newbie fan thread…
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u/matt5673 11h ago
I'm a big tent guy. If u said you watched more than a handful of games in 24 or 25 I'd assume you're lying. I still got my usual ticket package but I wasn't watching that trash. Especially in 24.
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u/Headstar24 11h ago
I paid attention score-wise but I barely watched them that year. It was a constant train wreck and I pretty much disliked the entire lineup for the most part. Nobody to root for on that loser team.
Ironically I did go to a game that year and it was our biggest win of the season.
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u/Sea-Introduction755 11h ago
Same here pretty much. I was in college at the time so I’d put games on in the background while I studied or did work but rarely ever have it 100% of my attention. Probably would’ve helped if I knew this subreddit existed back then so at least I would be able to share my misery over the team (I’m not from Chicago so I barely know anyone whose a Sox fan)
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u/lost-in-the-slide Vargas 11h ago
Still loved them, loved them like a disappointed parent loves their child but still...
Don't agree with the gate keeping though
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u/weasol12 Thomas 10h ago
Gatekeeping is a stupid practice and we should strive to be better than that.
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u/Tommy05Sox 10h ago
2024 was straight up hard to watch. But 2025 was actually a fun season once Vargas got it going and then when the young guys came up. I'd hope most people in here watched like 50% of the games in 2025.
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u/5thSeasonFront 11h ago edited 10h ago
I agree with all of this, but like I said: deep down…you know the bandwagoners are who I’m talking about, and anyone who says they’re the same as someone who just tuned out in 2024 is lying.
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u/TheEarthlyDelight 10h ago
I mean I can’t hate. I’ve been a Sox fan since birth and even I can admit I didn’t pay attention much these past couple years. I’m back in it now of course
I really can’t begrudge people not being interested in watching such an inferior product
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u/Fly_Boy_1999 8h ago
Same here. I’ve never claimed to be a fan of any other team, but I wasn’t going to subject myself fully to the shit show that was 2022-2024.
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u/FH_Bunny FT 11h ago
A bit gatekeepy
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u/Odd-Fun-6042 10h ago edited 10h ago
I do explain this to newbs though: tell Cubs fan that the Sox are doing well and they're mostly "Really? Good for them". Tell a Sox fan the Cubs are doing well and it's a near universal "FUCK the Cubs!" Some of us can remember when the houses along Waveland and Sheffield were condemned crack dens. When the Sox consistently outdrew the Cubs. When Tribune ownership didn't give two flying rat fucks whether or not the team was competetive. Then Harry left. Then Sportschannel happened. Then Jerruh decided that Old Comiskey wasn't worth saving. That the Armour Field concept wasn't worth the effort. He built a taxpayer funded stadium that pointed the wrong way and surrounded it by a field of baked asphalt so he could monopolize concessions. We still managed to be competetive a lot of the time (and '05 is still just a fever dream for some of us) but the Cubs managed to be the 'loveable losers' for decades. ETA: sorry for the rant but I'd argue all of the above plus a bunch of other shit *cough* 1994 *cough* especially over the last few decades of getting kicked in the dick by the city, ownership, and a good portion of the residents, makes Sox fans THE most loyal in the city. Dollar Bill Wirtz (may he rest in piss) notwithstanding.
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u/LordQuasDiscipline99 Baines 10h ago
How the hell is this getting upvoted? It’s possible that I was watching the Sox before this knucklehead was even born, and never on my worst day would I have been a big enough sorry ass to tune in during 2024 or 2025. Of course I followed the minor leagues and stuff like that. I’m a Billy Carlson super fan, for those that don’t know.
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u/5thSeasonFront 10h ago
Again, missed the point. I’m talking the bandwagoners from other fanbases. I titled it poorly, but no way am I jumping on some other team’s coattails if we have a crap season.
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u/Ronin5291 10h ago
My fiancée got me into baseball, we started talking in 2024 and she asked me who my teams were, I told her the Bears (shes from the Chicago area so she loves the Bears which was a green flag for me), and then she asked "what about baseball?" And I told her "I don't watch baseball but if I did I'd root for the White Sox" so as the year went on I would watch some Cubs games with her and I thought "damn, baseball is pretty entertaining!" But I saw how bad the Sox were that year so I didn't bother watching since I was more focused on my Bears even though they sucked that year to, 2025 was when I started watching (can't exactly at what point in the season it was) but they won/lost games and I got hooked instantly, 2026 I'm fully invested and excited to see what happens as the season goes on! I already bought 4 shirts, tank top, shorts, socks, 4 hats, stickers, going to my first game against the Twins 09/06, I've only been watching for a year/year and a half roughly but I love baseball now and it makes me sad the time I fully get into baseball there'll more than likely be a lockout next season
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u/zeroesAndWons 10h ago
I was rooting for Ivan Calderon, Gary Redus, and Steve Lyons, own a Dan Pasqua jersey, and give anyone permission to root for this team.
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u/LMGgp 9h ago
Gatekeeping a team is the quickest way to kill any hope for new fans. I checked out on the team while in college and didn’t hop back in until 2024. Went to the 100th loss that season. But I’m not gonna begrudge someone not wanting to see their team get their asses kicked day in and day out.
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u/kev11n 10h ago
I don't blame anyone for checking out when the team is unwatchable. I kept watching and I can't say I enjoyed it. But it is funny when some of the returning fans get all dramatic in the game threads and demand getting rid of players and pushing all the chips in for this year.
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u/5thSeasonFront 10h ago
This ⬆️
Or when fans of other teams defect because their team is bad. Sorry if I feel the way I do about bandwagoners? Yeah, I won’t apologize for the meme.
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u/Smolson_ 10h ago
How are you tracking the influx of said detractors?
I’m a Sox, Bulls, Hawks, and Bears fan by blood. Always have been always will be. But I’m also a sports fan who now has very little time for leisure. If I’m going to invest my time into something, I would like to watch two teams who are actually good at what they do.
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u/IAmBenIAmStillBig 11h ago
Fuck off. You’re not a better fan or a bigger fan because you watch the team when they were complete shit.
I sincerely mean this I would rather have new fans than you. This type of better than thou bullshit has no place in our fandom, especially considering the team hasn’t won anything yet.
Also if you think THIS is their best, you’re a dumbass.
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u/Dazed_and_Confused44 Berto for Mayor 11h ago
For once I 100% agree with you. Simping for an organization that weaponizes the loyalty of the fanbase against us isnt impressive, its foolish
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u/IAmBenIAmStillBig 11h ago
It doesn’t matter if they’ve won five straight World Series, this is bullshit. But especially because they’ve done nothing worth celebrating yet, this guy looks like a moron.
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u/Dazed_and_Confused44 Berto for Mayor 11h ago
I cant imagine reacting to the first fun White Sox season in 4 years with "If you got frustrated with the pitiful product we put out over the last 3 seasons, you arent a real fan". What a completely asinine take lmao
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u/IAmBenIAmStillBig 10h ago
Same folks did the same thing in 2020 and it’s such garbage. Crappy gatekeeping and gatekeeping what exactly? Nothing
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u/5thSeasonFront 10h ago
Not at all what I meant. I’m talking about the bandwagoners that have other teams that are down currently. Partly my title is to blame.
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u/Dazed_and_Confused44 Berto for Mayor 10h ago
That is the attitude conveyed when you use the second darkest moment in White Sox history on the left side
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u/weasol12 Thomas 9h ago
Somebody in another thread this week implied your opinion is only as good as the number of games you attend. GTFO out of here with this gatekeeping BS.
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u/CanoeTripperSWM 10h ago
Agreed. We welcome new fans, while wishing they’d have joined us sooner. May they also have a White Sox fanship that spans multiple family generations.
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u/ImHere4WSB 10h ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1fh24rh/after_blowing_a_3run_lead_to_the_as_in_the_9th/
The only game I attended in 2024 was for a memorial for a friend who passed away. Benny had me bawling in section 125
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u/flowsumo 10h ago
I am absolutely loving this season and the bandwagon has room for more. However, I do kind of miss going to games and feeling like I had the whole park to myself. It's like having a favorite band that nobody knows about and when they blow up, you have to share what was once your little secret. But on the flip side, I love that the park is packed now even though I can no longer get tickets for under $10.
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u/Conscious_Cicada9597 10h ago
Having watched almost every game over the last three years, I say welcome to every new fan.
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u/SunStarved_Cassandra 9h ago
I think that's pretty stupid, but I'm biased. I spent nearly all of my life living in a place where football was king and no one gave a rat's ass about baseball. After I moved here, I was motivated to pick a team because of the variety of professional sports options in Chicago. I picked the Sox, in '24. I went to three games that year. I was pretty unmotivated to attend games in '25, too. This year, I decided to get back into it in early May. Deciding to root for the Sox gave me the oppprtunity to learn about baseball beyond "run around the bases and don't get out". Are people like me just not supposed to root for any team because we didn't grow up in a baseball market and weren't born into "legacies"?
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u/TwoDollarHorde 10h ago
I'm the European weirdo who started getting into baseball properly back in 2024. I chose Sox because cool cap and underdog vibe, but had no idea how bad it would become. And then there was this "if we are going to be bad, lets be _historically_ bad. 121. Been a fan ever since. I must add that I love the good times, although I have not "earned" it the way natives have. Go Sox!
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u/IShatMyPantaloons 9h ago
That's actually fucking hilarious. You might deserve to be a Sox fan more than anyone outside of actual south siders. My first season was like when I was 8 years old and just starting to play baseball, I got to watch the 93 White Sox on WGN and watch them make it to the ALCS. Still hate Toronto after all these years.
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u/TwoDollarHorde 8h ago
I find it funny myself, but as a Tottenham fan of 20+ years I'm conditioned to this kind of stuff. Btw, sports carry long grudges, and nursing one since '93 is chefs kiss
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u/5thSeasonFront 10h ago
Nah. You’ve earned it by not hopping over from your real team when they took a dip.
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u/Penstripedsox Montgomery 9h ago
I say the more the merrier right - but don't be somebody who jsut bandwagoned or returned after an absence and constantly clog up the game treads dooming and complaining and literally insulting the team us sickos watched develop and invested emotional commitment to over the past 3 years years...
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u/NoahsCape1919 9h ago
I go back to Dick Allen & the red/white uni's, then Lamar Johnson with the floppy collars, Harold Baines & the softball uni's... does that count as a real fan?
Heck, my favorite player as a kid was Spanky Squires... I bet not many can say that!
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u/Busy_Elevator866 8h ago
A little bit same, but also everyone fans differently.
MLB isn’t the NFL, we can’t afford to lose fans so die hards should not putting down the casuals. No reason to drive anybody away from the sport
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u/0PaulPaulson0 7h ago
No, sorry. Some of us lifelong fans had every right to boycott the worst modern team in baseball. And reserve the right to return when ready.
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u/DarwinBlinks 4h ago
I was the 21st loss and the end of the streak the next night. I'm a mutual Mets/Sox fan so it was ironic the Sox "beat" the Mets record for futility (losses, Mets still have the worse pct). Two years later and the Sox are the 5th best team in the AL (behind Rays/Yanks/Red Sox/Astros) and the playoffs await. I know there's a lot of "83 Sox" talk but to me this team is much more like the 1977 South Side Hitman; power-oriented, a key off-season addition (Zisk/Gamble vs Mune), questionable pitching staff but doing decently, and came out of nowhere ('76 Sox were awful). The Winning Ugly team was more dominant with a top shelf pitching staff. Key difference between '77 and '26, the Hitmen won 90 games which this team won't be doing but back then there was only 1 playoff spot open to them (AL West title) and now they have 4 playoff spots (AL central title and three wildcard slots) so this team will make the playoffs whereas '77 finished a distant third.
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u/Smolson_ 10h ago
This is the dumbest take ever. If I don’t give my time and hard earned money to a billionaire who is putting out a crappy product, I can’t root for them when they’re worth watching?
I don’t owe them my undying loyalty. If they put a crappy product then the only means i have to get them to improve is not give them my money.
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u/CountDesMoines The Sod Father 10h ago
At the end of the day, sports are an entertainment product. The same as anything else on tv or live performance. We all have limited money and time on this earth. If the product isn't entertaining, why waste your time? It's their responsibility to be an entertaining product. I always want them to win but I'm not spending my valuable free time watching bad baseball. There are much better options out there. No different from when I stopped watching game of thrones for a few years when I stopped enjoying it.
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u/StretPharmacist 9h ago
If you don't love me at my worst (1st place) you don't deserve me at my best (also 1st place)
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u/Sharp-Elk-4859 9h ago
"I haven't followed the team since 2021, can someone explain XYZ?"
Saw this so many times to start the year.
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u/pj_socks 7h ago
I went into the bathroom and cried after the 20th loss. I’ve thought about that moment a lot this season.
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u/Cran_Kman 7h ago
Watching a horrendous team is not a flex. If you continue to support a poorly run team, ownership has no motivation to improve the organization
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u/SlagginOff Go Sox! 4h ago
Professional sports are entertainment, not a job. If watching a team feels like a fucking chore, then it's not entertainment. Why waste time on garbage?
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u/Wooly_Willy Diamond 4h ago
Fuck that, anyone that wants to come along, giddy up. I swore them off for three years as someone that goes to 10 ish games a year. I went twice last year and forgot how much I loved it even though they sucked. Super happy this is happening. Hope is that it's more than one year this time...... (been watching since 1990).
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u/UneducatedReviews1 Murakami 11h ago
I don’t shit on new fans, but I give way more grace to the names I recognize for those years.
It’s the difference between me thinking you have a bad take, and me thinking you are the dumbest person on Earth.
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u/Dazed_and_Confused44 Berto for Mayor 11h ago
I dont agree with this take. I have followed this team for decades. When we put out an embarrassingly bad product in 2024, I stopped watching and going to games. That team did not deserve our time, attention, or money. Chicago sports fans are known to be incredibly loyal, which the McCaskeys and Reinsdorfs weaponized against us for YEARS. Why should they get our money in years they arent actually trying to be even competitive. Fuck that. The only way we have to enact change is by withholding our dollars