The 2024 White Sox: witnessing a first in a lifetime

The South Siders have hit the lowest of lows, yet it feels so familiar

I felt compelled to write this because I see many fans expressing similar frustrations on social media. Witnessing your team have their worst season during your existence on this earth is a strange feeling. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. In 40-plus years of fanning over White Sox baseball, it’s never been this bad, and I watched some pretty terrible play in the 1980s and 2010s.

It’s a shared sentiment, I know. Blown lead after blown lead, dumb move after dumb move. Many of us find ourselves saying, “Man, I need to find a new team,” or “I’m tuning out until they remember how to play fundamental baseball again.” And for those that can do that, I am envious because I know so many of us can’t. We try but end up turning on the game or checking the box score at the end of the day against our better judgment.

Over the years, I have done my best to surround myself with friends, family, and hobbies that bring joy to my life. I intentionally keep my circle small and attempt to rid myself of the toxicity that seeps into my world whenever I can, but these damn White Sox. It’s the unhealthy relationship I can’t kick.

Are we all just gluttons for punishment, or do the blinders that keep us in our South Side corner keep us from recognizing that most, if not all, sports fans feel this way at some time in their fandom? While this season is particularly bad and likely even ends up being historically the worst, might some recency bias be playing a part in our misery? Is being a White Sox fan really worse than, say, being a New York Mets fan? They have the highest payroll in the league, and they still suck. And personally I think playing second fiddle to the Yankees is way worse than dealing with the Cubs.

I know we’re bottom feeders this year, and the fall from grace that existed only a few years ago is truly terrible, but ARE we the most miserable fan base in baseball? I’m going to make a few arguments here that, while we have plenty to be annoyed and honestly pissed off about, this feeling isn’t exclusive to us and that there are some pretty great things about being a Sox fan.

1. In an era where fashion is paramount, we have cool-as-hell City Connect jerseys. The St. Louis Cardinals literally have the word Lou on their jerseys. Whenever I see one, all I can think of is the loo — the British slang for toilet. Imagine admiring our cool, black South Side pinstripes and then looking at your lavatory-themed one. If there’s one thing this franchise has done right over the years, it’s uniforms. Even those ugly shorts are still talked about.
2. In our lifetimes, most of us have seen the Sox win the World Series. That is something that five out of the 30 teams can’t say. It’s tough to win a championship for most teams that are not named the New York Yankees. But even the prized MLB franchise with 27 of them is in a 14-year drought. Sure, they look to be contenders this year, but for the wealthiest team to go 14 years, that should outline how challenging it is to win one.
3. We have a kick-ass fan community. For Chicago’s second team, think about how many creative fans we have and then consider how great they are. I’m definitely going to toot our South Side Sox horn here, but we push out an enormous amount of stuff about this team, including podcasts, minors, history, opinion, and analysis. You name it, we cover it. Of course, we’re in fantastic company with CHGO, the 108, Future Sox, Sox Machine, Sox on 35th, Good Guys Talk Back, and Locked on White Sox. I’m sure I left someone out, so my apologies, but that’s an incredible list. I think I’ve met in person or interacted on social media with at least one person from each of the groups, and I’ve learned something from all of them. That is a lot of content for a team that loses much more often than they win. There’s something for everyone here, that’s for sure.
4. Going to Guaranteed Rate Field is a good time. The food is fantastic, there really isn’t a bad seat in the house, you can buy a cheap ticket, it’s easy to get to, and the camaraderie at the park is second to none. There are neat giveaways and fun theme nights. If you can’t enjoy yourself when you go to the Rate, I don’t know what to tell you. You might have to look in the mirror and re-evaluate your life or something.
5. This misery will not last forever. If you’ve been a fan of this team long enough, you know there is an end in sight. Hopefully, most of us will be around to see that end. We have to be patient, and that sucks, I know, but the light is at the end of the tunnel. There will be brighter days for White Sox fans. Think about the poor Oakland A’s fans. Where is their light? Well, soon, it’ll shine brightly in Las Vegas, which stinks. With all the grumblings of the possibility that the Sox could move, it will never happen; rest assured.

So, in the meantime, we can all commiserate together, knowing and remembering that this is just a blip on our Sox fan radar screen. Strap it in for the rest of this season, though; we’ll all hope that our better days come sooner rather than later.