Baffoe: Cubs Bring Good Vibes To The South Side, Too

By Tim Baffoe--

(CBS) I like much of Steve Goodman's catalogue, but I think were he -- a very self-deprecating guy in his day -- alive today to see the Chicago Cubs finally in the World Series, he'd admit the song is cheesy and uncreative. (And "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request" is far more poetic and better.)

That's beside the lyrics in 2016 being nonsensical -- "The Cubs are gonna win today" played after a win. "You can catch it all on WGN"-- and Comcast Sports Net and ABC7 and ESPN and exclusively on the radio on 670 The Score (cash register noise).

And yet Friday morning as my first class of ninth-graders funneled out of my classroom like calves toward their second class of the day, the PA system blared "Go Cubs Go," and I didn't quite hate it as usual. Most of the kids in the hallway had a little more spring in their steps, either the blue blood pumping through their veins in what would otherwise be a lethargic trudge between classes or because the very vocal (as though there are any other) White Sox fans were joshing their peers or attempting to replace the lyrics with something more vulgar.

On Thursday, our school offered an optional Cubs-themed dress-down day in lieu of the regular school uniform. Understand that we are located deep in White Sox territory on the Southwest Side, pulling enrollment from Beverly, Morgan Park, Mt. Greenwood, Englewood, Bridgeport, Canaryville, Auburn-Gresham, Midway and the rest of the tribal territories of black and white rather than blue and red. When the Cubs theme was announced at the end of the school day Wednesday, a freshman hung around after the room had emptied.

"So can I wear Sox stuff tomorrow?" Connor asked.

"I don't think that's part of the deal," I smiled.

Connor sighed and left but quickly poked his head back in -- "What about Cleveland?"

"Have a good day, Connor."

On Thursday, there was a ton of blue in the halls. Sure, some of it was the civic mortal sin of "bandwagon" miscegenation -- imagine, teenagers glomming on to something popular, for shame -- but most of it was Cubs fans, including faculty like me, letting their figurative W freak flags fly in otherwise hostile territory. In a Kyle Schwarber shirsey, freshman Alex -- who's not one to strike up conversation -- said to me without prompting, "I like your shorts, Mr. Baffoe."

A math teacher and White Sox fan wore a Derrek Lee jersey. "He always seemed like a really good guy" was his defense.

Vibes the past two days were good, not that our school isn't a positive place otherwise. But it had a lot less of the minimum-security prison spectre that lurks in every American high school. The trolls who a day prior were claiming the Cubs would be swept by Cleveland after losing Game 1 were mumbling more than gloating. High-fives and fist bumps were exchanged, and kids told me to "Try not to suck" in a much different tone than usual.

"You notice all the W flags on cars in Mt. Greenwood lately?" freshman Trevor asked.

I had. As I drive my pizza delivery routes from Oak Lawn in the west to the eastern edge of the 19th Ward, cars with little white and blue Ws are peppered throughout.

"They gonna do it?" I am constantly asked unprompted by customers. "Gosh, I really hope they do it. And I'm a Sox fan."

One or more homes on almost every block features a W jutting from a pole on brick bungalow or draped over a picture window on a raised ranch. They fly next to random Trump posters and the eerily less random #BlueLivesMatter flags. Cubs logos sit next to the various lawn signs promoting various Democrats who will easily garner the most votes in this corner of the city and advertisements promoting peace and neighborhood watches as one inches closer to where the city's violence is most prominent.

Up and down Western Avenue as I drive, I see Kris Bryant jerseys and Kerry Wood shirseys and blue pinstripes all over the sidewalks. The marquees at Fox's Pizza, Sean's Rhino Bar, Dinger's -- otherwise very Sox-y haunts in the famously long stretch of South Side taverns -- are all celebrating the Cubs postseason run. The exception is McNally's, as it's always been the exception and refuses to give any love whatsoever to the Cubs, perpetually getting creative on its marquee, flying an L flag behind the bar after Cubs losses and maybe giving away a free drink or two when a Cubs opponent homers. There is even a GoFundMe attempting to purchase McNally's (which is for sale) in order to knock it down for the sake of Cubs fans.

Such a bit of unwavering rivalry between White Sox and Cubs fans, illogical as it may be, feels like home to this lifelong South Sider. What feels even more refreshingly comfortable is the embracing of the Cubs down here where for most of my life I was conditioned to believe I was out of place and damaged goods.

And if my school wants to play that stupid "Go Cubs Go" song again between classes, I won't complain.

Tim Baffoe is a columnist for CBSChicago.com. Follow Tim on Twitter @TimBaffoe. The views expressed on this page are those of the author, not CBS Local Chicago or our affiliated television and radio stations.

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