Fontenot to Giants

[Sammy Sofa]

The gap between World Series victories is what defines the Cubs, and the fans of the organization. Without that, the Cubs are just another sucky team. They wouldn't be "The Loveable Losers"....they would be "The Losers". We'd be the San Fransisco Giants, and nobody outside of the north side of Chicago would care.

 

Nah, I disagree with that. The Cubs have the fanbase they do due to the size of the city they play in, their longevity and, most of all, WGN TV and radio.

 

Anyone who defines themselves as a Cubs fan by the team's futility is just the worst.

 

It's not the futility, it's the desire to end the futility. If you were right, I would have been a fan of the Braves instead of the Cubs, because the Braves are on TV almost every day in the south, and have been for decades. Where are all the White Sox fans? Based on your criteria, wouldn't they have the 3rd or 4th largest fan base? I think they fall in the 20ish range?

 

White Sox don't have national coverage and the Braves had national coverage for like a blip compared to what the Cubs have had between WGN TV and radio. Atlanta is also a much smaller market and city than Chicago and they've only had the Braves for 44 years.

[Guancous]

A Pirate fan isn trying to talk us off the ledge. The Cubs make me feel like I'm walking into work with a black eye and telling everyone I walked into a wall.

 

I wouldn't trade Steve Bartman for Dave Littlefield though.

[Guest]

I think you have that backwards. Dave Littlefield is currently working for the Cubs and Bartman probably isn't a Cub fan anymore.

[dew1679666265]

I think you have that backwards. Dave Littlefield is currently working for the Cubs and Bartman probably isn't a Cub fan anymore.

 

I heard Bartman was still a Cub fan, actually.

[Jake]

A Pirate fan isn trying to talk us off the ledge. The Cubs make me feel like I'm walking into work with a black eye and telling everyone I walked into a wall.

 

I wouldn't trade Steve Bartman for Dave Littlefield though.

 

In some sense, you did.

[KingCubsFan]

The gap between World Series victories is what defines the Cubs, and the fans of the organization. Without that, the Cubs are just another sucky team. They wouldn't be "The Loveable Losers"....they would be "The Losers". We'd be the San Fransisco Giants, and nobody outside of the north side of Chicago would care.

 

Nah, I disagree with that. The Cubs have the fanbase they do due to the size of the city they play in, their longevity and, most of all, WGN TV and radio.

 

Anyone who defines themselves as a Cubs fan by the team's futility is just the worst.

 

It's not the futility, it's the desire to end the futility. If you were right, I would have been a fan of the Braves instead of the Cubs, because the Braves are on TV almost every day in the south, and have been for decades. Where are all the White Sox fans? Based on your criteria, wouldn't they have the 3rd or 4th largest fan base? I think they fall in the 20ish range?

 

White Sox don't have national coverage and the Braves had national coverage for like a blip compared to what the Cubs have had between WGN TV and radio. Atlanta is also a much smaller market and city than Chicago and they've only had the Braves for 44 years.

White Sox games on WGN are broadcast nationally just like Cubs game.

[SouthSideRyan]

The gap between World Series victories is what defines the Cubs, and the fans of the organization. Without that, the Cubs are just another sucky team. They wouldn't be "The Loveable Losers"....they would be "The Losers". We'd be the San Fransisco Giants, and nobody outside of the north side of Chicago would care.

 

Nah, I disagree with that. The Cubs have the fanbase they do due to the size of the city they play in, their longevity and, most of all, WGN TV and radio.

 

Anyone who defines themselves as a Cubs fan by the team's futility is just the worst.

 

It's not the futility, it's the desire to end the futility. If you were right, I would have been a fan of the Braves instead of the Cubs, because the Braves are on TV almost every day in the south, and have been for decades. Where are all the White Sox fans? Based on your criteria, wouldn't they have the 3rd or 4th largest fan base? I think they fall in the 20ish range?

 

White Sox don't have national coverage and the Braves had national coverage for like a blip compared to what the Cubs have had between WGN TV and radio. Atlanta is also a much smaller market and city than Chicago and they've only had the Braves for 44 years.

White Sox games on WGN are broadcast nationally just like Cubs game.

 

They weren't on WGN for a long time, they were on closed-circuit, then Chicago only cable, which is why the Cubs are popular and the White Sox are not

Edited August 13, 2010 by SouthSideRyan

[jersey cubs fan]

White Sox games on WGN are broadcast nationally just like Cubs game.

 

They weren't on WGN for a long-time, they were on closed-circuit, then Chicago only cable, which is why the Cubs are popular and the White Sox are not

 

And by the time CWS went to WGN the national aspect of WGN was smaller. I know people in PA, NY and NJ that had WGN growing up, but it's not out here anymore and hasn't been since I came here in the late 90s.

[Sammy Sofa]

White Sox games on WGN are broadcast nationally just like Cubs game.

 

No, not all of them, since there's WGN and then there's WGN America. Besides, the point was looking for the reasons why the Cubs have such a large, historic fanbase. The Cubs have a long history of national or multi-regional coverage because of WGN radio and TV dating back decades and across generations. The White Sox do not, so unless you expect them to somehow magically catch up with the relative smattering of games they have on WGN America and the mighty Midwest broadcasting power that is the Score, you brought up a very moot point.

[Sammy Sofa]

White Sox games on WGN are broadcast nationally just like Cubs game.

 

They weren't on WGN for a long-time, they were on closed-circuit, then Chicago only cable, which is why the Cubs are popular and the White Sox are not

 

And by the time CWS went to WGN the national aspect of WGN was smaller. I know people in PA, NY and NJ that had WGN growing up, but it's not out here anymore and hasn't been since I came here in the late 90s.

 

WGN is still available on most of the East Coast, but it's WGN America.

[Little Slide Rooter]

The gap between World Series victories is what defines the Cubs, and the fans of the organization. Without that, the Cubs are just another sucky team. They wouldn't be "The Loveable Losers"....they would be "The Losers". We'd be the San Fransisco Giants, and nobody outside of the north side of Chicago would care.

 

Nah, I disagree with that. The Cubs have the fanbase they do due to the size of the city they play in, their longevity and, most of all, WGN TV and radio.

 

Anyone who defines themselves as a Cubs fan by the team's futility is just the worst.

 

It's not the futility, it's the desire to end the futility. If you were right, I would have been a fan of the Braves instead of the Cubs, because the Braves are on TV almost every day in the south, and have been for decades. Where are all the White Sox fans? Based on your criteria, wouldn't they have the 3rd or 4th largest fan base? I think they fall in the 20ish range?

 

White Sox don't have national coverage and the Braves had national coverage for like a blip compared to what the Cubs have had between WGN TV and radio. Atlanta is also a much smaller market and city than Chicago and they've only had the Braves for 44 years.

 

The drought is what makes the Cubs the Cubs. Its what gives the an international appeal. If it werent the case, and theyd won the series in say '69 or '84, wed likely still have a solid fan base, as the Cubs are a big market team. However, the 100+ year drought gives them an appeal and history that no other team has. If it werent for the drought, the Cubs would probably have a decent big market fan base like the Dodgers or Phillies, but nothing like it is now. Another reason that the Cubs and White Sox have such a massive gap between fan bases is the location. Wrigley and Wrigleyville attract a crowd themselves, incuding people who have no interest in baseball otherwise, as opposed the the White Sox, who may as well be the Gary White Sox, because they play in an area without the curb appeal of Wrigleyville. Keep in mind, before 2005, the Sox were on a 90 something year drought, and when they made the series, nobody gave a damn, making the Sox/Astros series the lowest rated World Series since the inception of televison ratings.

[Sammy Sofa]

That was completely expected.

[chopsx9]

They weren't on WGN for a long time, they were on closed-circuit, then Chicago only cable, which is why the Cubs are popular and the White Sox are not

 

To be fair that is only one of the reasons.