The Chicago White Sox recently returned to Chicago with a disappointing end to a dream season. Of course, being a Cub fan I could not help but let out a tiny smile and tell my dad, a Sox fan, "I told you so." After enduring a season of Cub (although sometimes deserved) bashing, I could only feel glad that the Sox had finally stumbled.

However, after looking at the crushed look on the faces of the Sox youth I realized how painful this was for them. I then began to think why I should feel glad when the "kids" had just been scarred with something that would take them a lifetime or at least a season to forget? This is not an occasion to point and laugh at this team, this is a time when we must reflect on the great year the Sox had and prepare ourselves for next year.

This Sox team showed us some great potential. Their battling spirit is something that we could all learn from. The kids showed us determination unmatched by, I believe, any other team in baseball. Their tenacity was apparent as they were battling against the odds their entire season. These are all qualities that I did not, or refused to, see before I saw their faces.

What is this intense rivalry between the Cubs and the Sox really bringing us? Why must we admire one team so much that we begin to despise the other? The cross-town classic is considered one of the most highly contested series in baseball. This competition is not something that is necessarily negative, but when carried beyond certain limits, competition can often act as a catalyst for several negative things. When the stakes are raised so high that we feel the need to hate the other team, we have gone too far. It is one thing to cheer for your team, but quite another to hate the opposing team. This, however, is exactly how fans treat the cross-town classic. In order to prove ourselves true fans we need to hate either the Cubs or Sox. This not only places undue emphasis on the game but also creates a divide in the city.

It will be all too long until the spring rolls along. However, I see myself as a new person next spring. As the Cubs wake from their winter hibernation I will cheer for them yet again. But this time, I will not deride the Sox. I will be a Chicago fan, not just a Cubs fan. Until then I always have the pitfalls of the Bears to help me prepare for the pitfalls of the Cubs.