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CNN Live Saturday

Cubs, Sox Fans Square off in Chicago

Aired September 13, 2003 - 12:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR: People in Chicago agree on a lot of things, like the city is windy, the pizza is great and the winter can be rough.
But when it comes to baseball, well, that's where the harmony ends, as CNN's Aaron Brown explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With venison sausage on the barbecue, this White Sox fan was a bit shy about showing his face on camera. He was not shy about sharing his opinion of Cubs fans. This is, after all, Chicago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't have this at Wrigley, because Wrigley is all yuppie scums, and they all eat sushi. And they're all vegetarians.

BROWN: That's the way it's been most of this summer in Chicago. Both of the city's traditionally horrible baseball teams, the White Sox and the Cubs are battling for first place. The rivalry between the fans, even the announcers, could hardly be more intense.

KEN HARRELSON, WHITE SOX BROADCASTER: I tell you, I'm pulling for the Cubs. I'm pulling for them for two reasons. First of all, for the city. I'm pulling for them because I think they're going to get there, and then just to kick their butts big time in the World Series.

STEVE STONE, CUBS BROADCASTER: I think that Ken Harrelson has shown over the years that he is a very bad evaluator. And I don't think he can show the three pitchers we have at the top.

BROWN: The personality of Chicago fans seemed etched mostly by where their teams play: the Cubs at Wrigley Field, a small historic, ivy-covered ballpark in the heart of Chicago's tonier north side. And the White Sox, well, they play at a brand-new park, U.S. Cellular Field, pretty much off by itself in the grittier south side of the city.

Over all, there is no question which team carries the city's heart.

JAY MARIOTTE, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": It's a Cubs town and the White Sox just live in it. And that's the way it is. It's reality. I don't think it's fair.

BROWN: Even though the mayor, Richard Daly, is a big-time White Sox fan, the city does seem to bleed Cubs blue-and-white.

MARIOTTE: You've got to understand Chicago. I think there are more people who grew up here and never leave here per capita than any city in America. So it's generational. Your Cubdom is generational. Your Soxdom is generational. When you're out of the womb and that doctor is there with you, it's Cubs or Sox.

If both teams get to the World Series, the earth beneath us will start shaking.

BROWN: That's because fans of both teams are far more used to losing than winning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you get accustomed it to after awhile. We never worry about it. All we do is switch to the Bears in September and then let them lose the first five or six games.

HARVEY KIRKPATRICK, WHITE SOX FAN: I'm from the north side. And I actually have been a fan for, hate to admit it, over 50 years. There's so much electricity in this city, it's not to be believed.

BROWN: It would be nice to think that fans of both teams would want the other to win. But sitting in the stands at Wrigley the other day, a White Sox fan who wanted nothing at all to do with being pleasant.

DON NILLES, WHITE SOX FAN: I really do support the White Sox, and I'm here to see the Cubs lose.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 13, 2003 - 12:51   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR: People in Chicago agree on a lot of things, like the city is windy, the pizza is great and the winter can be rough.
But when it comes to baseball, well, that's where the harmony ends, as CNN's Aaron Brown explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With venison sausage on the barbecue, this White Sox fan was a bit shy about showing his face on camera. He was not shy about sharing his opinion of Cubs fans. This is, after all, Chicago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't have this at Wrigley, because Wrigley is all yuppie scums, and they all eat sushi. And they're all vegetarians.

BROWN: That's the way it's been most of this summer in Chicago. Both of the city's traditionally horrible baseball teams, the White Sox and the Cubs are battling for first place. The rivalry between the fans, even the announcers, could hardly be more intense.

KEN HARRELSON, WHITE SOX BROADCASTER: I tell you, I'm pulling for the Cubs. I'm pulling for them for two reasons. First of all, for the city. I'm pulling for them because I think they're going to get there, and then just to kick their butts big time in the World Series.

STEVE STONE, CUBS BROADCASTER: I think that Ken Harrelson has shown over the years that he is a very bad evaluator. And I don't think he can show the three pitchers we have at the top.

BROWN: The personality of Chicago fans seemed etched mostly by where their teams play: the Cubs at Wrigley Field, a small historic, ivy-covered ballpark in the heart of Chicago's tonier north side. And the White Sox, well, they play at a brand-new park, U.S. Cellular Field, pretty much off by itself in the grittier south side of the city.

Over all, there is no question which team carries the city's heart.

JAY MARIOTTE, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": It's a Cubs town and the White Sox just live in it. And that's the way it is. It's reality. I don't think it's fair.

BROWN: Even though the mayor, Richard Daly, is a big-time White Sox fan, the city does seem to bleed Cubs blue-and-white.

MARIOTTE: You've got to understand Chicago. I think there are more people who grew up here and never leave here per capita than any city in America. So it's generational. Your Cubdom is generational. Your Soxdom is generational. When you're out of the womb and that doctor is there with you, it's Cubs or Sox.

If both teams get to the World Series, the earth beneath us will start shaking.

BROWN: That's because fans of both teams are far more used to losing than winning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you get accustomed it to after awhile. We never worry about it. All we do is switch to the Bears in September and then let them lose the first five or six games.

HARVEY KIRKPATRICK, WHITE SOX FAN: I'm from the north side. And I actually have been a fan for, hate to admit it, over 50 years. There's so much electricity in this city, it's not to be believed.

BROWN: It would be nice to think that fans of both teams would want the other to win. But sitting in the stands at Wrigley the other day, a White Sox fan who wanted nothing at all to do with being pleasant.

DON NILLES, WHITE SOX FAN: I really do support the White Sox, and I'm here to see the Cubs lose.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com