Second City always first in taking sides

CHICAGO -- Q: How can you tell a Cubs fan from a Blue Jays fan on the streets of the American League playoffs?

A: You can't. They're both wearing Blue Jays T-shirts.

That's the latest Second City baseball joke. Only it's a true story.

Ordinarily, a city with a team in the playoffs is a city united. Not this year. Not here.

"A real Cubs fan is heartbroken about the White Sox making the playoffs," Kevin Hickey was saying on the phone last night, before the Blue Jays and White Sox played Game 1 at Comiskey Park. "There's going to be resentment. Jealousy. A few fights."

Hickey pitched in relief for the Orioles a few years ago, and now he works in the Baysox's front office, but his heart will always belong to the south side of Chicago, where, like just about everyone, he grew up cheering for the Sox.

There are two teams in each of the nation's three biggest cities, but only in this one can you break down the cheering along clear geographical and social lines. The Cubs own the north side of town, where, for the most part, the living is a little easier. The Sox are the kings of the working-class south side.

"Cubs fans are more sophisticated," said Hickey, who worked in a steel mill before turning pro. "In my days, they were the ones wearing John Lennon glasses and going to Woodstock. We were the dead-end kids. The angels with dirty faces. We were the Slick Mahoneys. They were 'Mr. Chips goes to Washington.' And we were tougher. Much tougher. You went to a Sox game and you were liable to see policemen dangling from the upper deck."

The only rule agreed upon by both sides was that there would be none of this cheering for both teams. Impossible!

"It's an either-or thing," Hickey said. "One of those blood oath things. Generally you're born a certain way."

Of course, if they ever made everyone cast a ballot, it would be a landslide. The Cubs are the ones with the monied, well-connected fans. The landmark ballpark. The Superstation following.

"Yeah," Hickey admitted, a bit glumly, "it's a Cubs town."

True, the Sox have shot to the top of baseball's merchandising list with their new black-and-white colors, but that's just fashion, not fandom. Even in a championship season, the Sox remain the Second City's Second Team.