on Baseball and mediocrity

Dave Winer writes about his beloved Mets and rooting for the Yankees.

A funny bit about White Sox baseball from a Cubs fan. It's something like what a Mets fan might say about the Yankees, except a Mets fan would never, ever, ever root for the Yankees. It could never happen. A fate worse than death!

Last year, the baseball world was all aflutter because the Red Sox were about to end the curse. Babe Ruth was sold to the hated Yankees in 1919 and they have never won since. After many years, even decades, after many close, close calls, they finally broke the curse. Better yet, they did it while climbing over those same hated Yankees in one of the great comebacks in sporting history.

I don't watch baseball anymore, not since the strike, but even I could not avoid the conversations that sprang up around the BoSox. I don't even live in the U.S.

That brings us to this year. And the White Sox.

Chicago has gone even longer than Boston had without winning the Series. Their last championship interrupted a string of wins by the mighty Red Sox of the teens. They last won in 1917. That's 88 years ago.

Despite that, nobody cares. Nobody cheers. The Cubbies play on the other side of the city and everybody loves them.

How does a team go one hundred years and not find anybody to cheer for them. In my whole life, I've only met one person, a month ago, who ever cheered for the White Sox.

That is something special.