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Comments

1. Chris | 20-Oct-05 at 3:57 pm | Permalink

   Well, I know that Brad is rooting for the Astros. Is anyone rooting for the other team? Anne, perhaps? Then we could have some exciting intra-blog trash talking.

   What city are the White Sox associated with? Perhaps I could pretend to root for them.

   And why do all these teams spell it “soxs”? Is there some fascinating story behind this?

2. anne | 20-Oct-05 at 4:42 pm | Permalink

   Chris, my god, man, you are such a weenie. They’re called the Sox because that’s cooler, circa 1900.

   First of all, the White Sox play in Chicago; they are one of the longest-lived teams in baseball. They haven’t been to the World Series in 46 years, the second-longest absence in baseball — second only to the Cubs, the other Chicago team. And the White Sox haven’t won a World Series since 1917.

   Two years after they won in 1917, the White Sox again went to the series. Some White Sox players were bribed by gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series. This was one of baseball’s lowest moments, the famous “Black Sox” scandal, after which 8 players including “Shoeless Joe” Jackson were banned forever from playing baseball (you may recall Shoeless Joe’s ghost playing a major part in the movie Field of Dreams). They have only been to the series once since then, and lost.

   The Astros have never even been to the World Series, let alone won it. (They were created more recently than the White Sox, to be fair: 44 years ago)

   And the Cardinals, the team the Astros beat last night to be able to go on to the World Series, are the team the Red Sox beat (swept) in the World Series last year — even though, both last year and this year, they had the best record in baseball. And their defeat by the Astros will be their last game in their old stadium; it’s being torn down. From USA Today: ‘Moments after the Astros recorded the last out, the remainder of the sellout crowd of 52,438 erupted in a standing ovation and soon started chanting, “Let’s go, Cardinals.” ‘

   So, whoever you’re rooting for, you’re on good ground. I will be pretty happy no matter who wins, and I won’t jinx the outcome by saying who I’d prefer.

3. Chris | 20-Oct-05 at 10:27 pm | Permalink

   Right then. Perhaps it’s safer if I don’t jinx the outcome by choosing a team to (pretend) root for.

4. anne | 20-Oct-05 at 11:13 pm | Permalink

   Pretend rooting is ok. Jinxing requires investment of hopes, fears, etc — it transforms that psychological energy into “choke rays” that propagate through air to the location of the game. These rays travel especially well through televisions and radios. If you don’t care at all, the jinx mechanism doesn’t have anything to work with.

5. Chris | 20-Oct-05 at 11:14 pm | Permalink

   Go White Sox!

6. Chris | 21-Oct-05 at 10:52 am | Permalink

   Go White Sox! (Day Two!)

   Ah, you know, I’m doing my best here, but I have to confess that sometimes sports fans seem a bit over the top.

7. anne | 21-Oct-05 at 11:20 am | Permalink

   Yah, I saw that too and couldn’t quite believe it. I actually can’t believe the judge went along with it. He decided the state would pay 3 extra years of upkeep costs on that guy, just so the guy could say he served the Larry Bird sentence? Will the state give me $100,000 or whatever, if I say I’m a big Larry Bird fan?

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