Fans "Touched" By White Sox Trophy
Some Cubs fans think I've carried this White Sox thing too far. But I was compelled to carry it even further by bringing something quite precious--it's my precious--into the Tribune Tower.My precious is crafted with silver and gold, but it's made of hopes and dreams.
I did little to earn it except to sit with my cousin George, eating brats and drinking beer on the South Side. Yet I boldly carried it deep into the heart of Cubs Nation, purifying the newsroom, holding it aloft, chanting in Byzantine fashion:"It has come! It is here! But beware and approach with love and fear!"My precious weighs about 30 pounds. Men and women want to touch it, to hold it, to love it. One woman on Michigan Avenue almost traded her infant for it. The only ones who shied away are dedicated Cubs fans. If they touch it, they will surely burst into flames.
It's the White Sox World Championship Trophy from the 2005 World Series.The Sox brought it to me on Thursday. They said they felt compelled to bring it here, since I'm a crazed fan. But I've been around long enough now to know when I'm being used as a Trojan Horse, to bring the precious into the core of Tribune Co., which owns the Cubs.I didn't care. It's my precious.
"We thought we should bring it to you," said Christopher Short, of Cushman/Amberg Communications Inc., the public relations firm handling the trophy tour. "Could we bring it by? Do you need clearance?"Clearance? What's that old adage, it's better to beg forgiveness than to ask for permission? So I told Short to meet me in the morning with the trophy.
It arrived at about 9:30 a.m. A plucky band of Sox fans on the Cubs Nation payroll gathered outside and began cheering as White Sox official Katie Kirby walked on Michigan Avenue carrying the trophy.Reverently, we removed the cover, a robin's egg blue chamois. Once it was exposed to the light, pedestrians stopped in awe. A woman with an infant in a stroller pushed into the crowd. She brought forth the babe and held it out to us, while making pleading sounds. I figured she wanted to trade it for the Sox trophy. I was about to call the Department of Children and Family Services."Could you take a picture of my baby?" she asked, touching the child's head to the precious. "Please?"
Tribsters and civilians crowded around, passing the trophy amongst us, gently. Drivers slowed down to stare, and those on the sidewalk took snapshots of it with cameras, and with their cell phones, while calling their friends to tell them what they were doing. Other Sox fans heard about it and came out of the Tower. Some had tears in their eyes, their hands were extended, politely.Sadly, there was this one weirdo who couldn't control himself. He had difficulty handing it off, and kept circling around to grab it again, until someone else asked for it. Then he'd grab it again, and growl at anyone who came near. Later, he held it aloft while chanting.
"You were pretty crazed, especially with the chanting, but that's not the weirdest response when the trophy has been out in public," said Kirby.What's the weirdest?"Well, I can't say," she said.You must! In the interests of journalism, what is it?"There seems to be the urge for some people to lick it, or at least, to pretend to lick it," Kirby said. "Based on my observation, the urge for people to pretend to lick it is quite overwhelming."I'm not licking it. I don't mind playing the deranged fan, but I draw the line at licking a trophy just for a column. I'd kiss it and hug it, but never lick it."That's why we knew we could trust it with you," she said.
However, I did do something ridiculous, but it was the precious that made me do it. I barged into a meeting packed with Tribune executives, daring senior bosses to touch the Sox trophy. As competitive Cubs fans, they politely declined.I must accept this. Remember that at Wrigley a couple of years ago, I was the one talking to Steve Bartman. Then, I was not filled with sadness, but with glee. So if the Cubs had won the Series, I couldn't touch the trophy either, since naturally, I'd burst into flames. But the Sox won, didn't they?Still, I don't want to carry this too far. It's only a game. But I can't seem to let it go.
I did little to earn it except to sit with my cousin George, eating brats and drinking beer on the South Side. Yet I boldly carried it deep into the heart of Cubs Nation, purifying the newsroom, holding it aloft, chanting in Byzantine fashion:"It has come! It is here! But beware and approach with love and fear!"My precious weighs about 30 pounds. Men and women want to touch it, to hold it, to love it. One woman on Michigan Avenue almost traded her infant for it. The only ones who shied away are dedicated Cubs fans. If they touch it, they will surely burst into flames.
It's the White Sox World Championship Trophy from the 2005 World Series.The Sox brought it to me on Thursday. They said they felt compelled to bring it here, since I'm a crazed fan. But I've been around long enough now to know when I'm being used as a Trojan Horse, to bring the precious into the core of Tribune Co., which owns the Cubs.I didn't care. It's my precious.
"We thought we should bring it to you," said Christopher Short, of Cushman/Amberg Communications Inc., the public relations firm handling the trophy tour. "Could we bring it by? Do you need clearance?"Clearance? What's that old adage, it's better to beg forgiveness than to ask for permission? So I told Short to meet me in the morning with the trophy.
It arrived at about 9:30 a.m. A plucky band of Sox fans on the Cubs Nation payroll gathered outside and began cheering as White Sox official Katie Kirby walked on Michigan Avenue carrying the trophy.Reverently, we removed the cover, a robin's egg blue chamois. Once it was exposed to the light, pedestrians stopped in awe. A woman with an infant in a stroller pushed into the crowd. She brought forth the babe and held it out to us, while making pleading sounds. I figured she wanted to trade it for the Sox trophy. I was about to call the Department of Children and Family Services."Could you take a picture of my baby?" she asked, touching the child's head to the precious. "Please?"
Tribsters and civilians crowded around, passing the trophy amongst us, gently. Drivers slowed down to stare, and those on the sidewalk took snapshots of it with cameras, and with their cell phones, while calling their friends to tell them what they were doing. Other Sox fans heard about it and came out of the Tower. Some had tears in their eyes, their hands were extended, politely.Sadly, there was this one weirdo who couldn't control himself. He had difficulty handing it off, and kept circling around to grab it again, until someone else asked for it. Then he'd grab it again, and growl at anyone who came near. Later, he held it aloft while chanting.
"You were pretty crazed, especially with the chanting, but that's not the weirdest response when the trophy has been out in public," said Kirby.What's the weirdest?"Well, I can't say," she said.You must! In the interests of journalism, what is it?"There seems to be the urge for some people to lick it, or at least, to pretend to lick it," Kirby said. "Based on my observation, the urge for people to pretend to lick it is quite overwhelming."I'm not licking it. I don't mind playing the deranged fan, but I draw the line at licking a trophy just for a column. I'd kiss it and hug it, but never lick it."That's why we knew we could trust it with you," she said.
However, I did do something ridiculous, but it was the precious that made me do it. I barged into a meeting packed with Tribune executives, daring senior bosses to touch the Sox trophy. As competitive Cubs fans, they politely declined.I must accept this. Remember that at Wrigley a couple of years ago, I was the one talking to Steve Bartman. Then, I was not filled with sadness, but with glee. So if the Cubs had won the Series, I couldn't touch the trophy either, since naturally, I'd burst into flames. But the Sox won, didn't they?Still, I don't want to carry this too far. It's only a game. But I can't seem to let it go.
posted by White Sox Baseball at
3:20 PM
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