How this White Sox player won over Cubs fans
Scott Merkin
@scottmerkinCHICAGO -- This is a story about Aaron Rowand, a White Sox fixture on the 2005 World Series championship squad, and how one basic gesture won over Cubs faithful at Wrigley Field.
It¡¯s just as much a tale of fandom in Chicago, involving the Cubs, White Sox and the Bears.
If you are a football supporter in this great city, then your allegiance naturally goes to the Bears, in-season, offseason or essentially all the time. If there¡¯s any doubt, check out the fervor surrounding Ben Johnson¡¯s hire this week as coach. One local station cut into regular programming with the news.
Baseball in Chicago has just as ardent of a support system. There are Cubs fans, who were out in force supporting their team at last weekend¡¯s Cubs Convention, and White Sox fans, who will be doing the same Friday and Saturday at the Ramova Theatre for SoxFest Live. The two sides never shall mix allegiance, at least not the true devotees.
They have the same goal in mind, which is to see their team win, whether it be a division title, a playoff series or in the case of the ¡¯05 White Sox and ¡¯16 Cubs, capturing historic World Series crowns. The White Sox fan base simply wants a group once again built for consistent success after the last two miserable seasons.
Cubs-White Sox always has been an intense crosstown rivalry, heightened when they're winning, and lessened slightly over the last few years with rebuilds on both sides of town. So, how did Rowand work his temporary magic over less-than-welcoming Wrigley fans over years of patrolling center field, including the South Siders' underrated dominance of ¡¯05, which Rowand spoke of recently to me?
He wore a Bears shirt underneath his batting practice jersey.
¡°Yeah, they would yell at me all the time,¡± Rowand said with a laugh. ¡°You are taking fly balls, and they are screaming that you [stink] and what not.
¡°Finally, after they berated me for a couple of games there, I just pulled my BP top up and I had my Bears jersey on. They were like, ¡®You are all right, Rowand. You are all right.¡¯¡±
During our early January conversation, Rowand praised Bears quarterback Caleb Williams as a strong presence and one he followed since Williams¡¯ USC collegiate days. He also expressed a preference for Ron Rivera to be the new coach, lamenting the fact Jim Harbaugh already had gone to the Chargers.
¡°I would love to see an ex-Bear,¡± Rowand said.
Johnson looks to be a strong hire.
Rowand also shared a story of being selected 35th overall by the White Sox in the 1998 MLB Draft and how he didn¡¯t hear a word after he was told, "Chicago." It was his Bears devotion quickly taking over.
¡°All I kept thinking was, ¡®Chicago? The Bears? I get to play in Chicago,¡¯¡± Rowand said. ¡°Little did I know I had to make my way there first. But as a young kid, I¡¯m thinking, ¡®Chicago? Bears?¡¯ Then I snapped back to it. But Chicago has always held a special place in my heart. It is the greatest city in the United States.¡±
Rowand resides in Las Vegas, but he hasn¡¯t given up his strong Bears fandom. White Sox fans hope Rowand¡¯s assessment about their gridiron counterpart rings true for them, far sooner than later.
¡°There were only one or two games that looked like we had a chance not to win [this past season],¡± Rowand said. ¡°I watch every game. I am diehard, and I always have been. I know it¡¯s been rough of late, but I think we are starting to project up.¡±