Polling place
The Cubs-White Sox interleague rivalry dates back only to 1997, but it has had a few distinct periods. There were the early years, when both teams’ fan bases still felt the desperation of massive World Series droughts. There were the middle years, when Sox fans waved their 2005 flags around like weapons of trashtalking destruction. And there are the recent years, when Cubs fans have been able to do all the chest-puffing and chirping.
After 20-plus years, though, let’s give things an honest look: Does the rivalry still have all its potency and powers? Does it get fans’ blood pumping as hot as ever? That was the first of three Cubs-Sox topics in this week’s “Polling Place,” your weekly home for Chicago Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter.
“No way,” commented @estereo. “It felt like more was at stake during the early days of interleague. Cubs-Sox was a hot ticket in the early 2000s, from what I remember.”
In 2020? Not so hot. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that there are no tickets.
But there’s lots at stake this season. Why? Because, as @hotrodexpress astutely pointed out, “Both teams are in the hunt.”
That has a pretty nice ring to it, from where I sit. On to the polls: