Pope Leo was spotted at the 2005 World Series, a rare moment of triumph for the pride of Chicago’s South Side.
Stanley Brown was up late on Thursday, monitoring all the news about the new pope, Leo XIV, including revelations that he grew up as a Chicago White Sox baseball fan. As soon as Mr. Brown heard that, he knew something very important.
“If he’s a White Sox fan, then he can identify with suffering,” said Mr. Brown, 72, a village trustee in Dolton, Ill., the town where the pope grew up. “But it doesn’t matter how bad they are, we stay loyal as Sox fans. That’s not something you just give up.”
Chicago has long been divided between its two baseball teams, the White Sox on the South Side and the Cubs on the north. Both are known more for losing than winning over their century-plus histories. But the Northsiders usually attracted more attention as the cuddly, lovable Cubbies, with their boutique stadium, afternoon games, celebrity renditions of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and the hand-operated scoreboard at Wrigley Field.
The White Sox, playing inside a less charming stadium in a grittier part of town, are far from chic. But there is an unmistakable pride held by their fans, especially now.
The Cubs may have won the World Series more recently, in 2016, and may be considered a more fashionable brand. But the White Sox have the pope.
“That tells you he’s a real person,” said Courtney White, an athletic coordinator for youth sports in Dolton. “I mean, he’s from Dolton and he’s a White Sox fan. You can’t get more real than that.”
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