Cubs-Sox Feud: Healthy Competition or Class War?

July 30, 2008 — -- Some call it the Crosstown Classic, others the Windy City Showdown, but no matter what the nickname, one thing is for sure: It's always intense when bitter rivals Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox face off.

And as was the case a few weeks ago, the bad blood doesn't just play out at the teams' stadiums or on the baseball diamond.

On July 19, three Cubs fans allegedly beat up a White Sox fan at a toddler's birthday party so severely that the man lost his eye, according to the Associated Press.

According to the report, the fight allegedly started with the Cubs fans teasing Robert Steele for being a Sox fan, claiming that the team's fans "had missing teeth."

And while sports historians told ABCNews.com that this type of violence between Chicago baseball fans isn't all that common, insults like the one used at the party are symptomatic of a baseball rivalry that has deep roots in the fans' varying socioeconomic status.

"You have this class and cultural clash between blue-collar and white-collar fans," said Richard Davies, a professor of history at the University of Nevada–Reno and a sports historian for more than 15 years.

"What you have is the upper-middle-class professional group who is located near Wrigley field on the north side of town and are Cubs fans," said Davies, "And on the South Side you have minorities, ethnics and working-blue-collar folks who root for the White Sox."

"So what you get is this underlying cultural conflict that is probably behind [a lot of the fights]," added Davies, who wrote "Sports in American Life: A History."

Ball Game or Class War?

Benjy Lipsman, a native Chicagoan and sports blogger for Chicagoist.com, told ABCNews.com that much of the interaction between Cubs and Sox fans is based on preconceived stereotypes, many of which may not even be true.

"Cubs fans tend to be more upper-class and yuppie types, and the Sox fans are more blue-collar, mullet-wearing and tattoo-wearing types," said Lipsman, who said that despite growing up on the North Shore of Chicago, he is a tried-and-true Sox fan.

Cubs fans also have somewhat of a reputation for being fair-weather fans, according to Lipsman.

"There's a knock against Cubs fans for being more into the Wrigley Field 'scene' than in the game of baseball," he said.

"Like the other stereotypes, it's to be taken with some grain of salt," said Lipsman, who added that fans may play into the stereotypes more often than not.

Even so, Lipsman agrees that arguments between fans can "definitely get heated," and a lot of the resentment is on the part of the outnumbered Sox fans.

"In terms of popularity, the Cubs are much more so," said Lipsman. "Those who are Sox fans have always felt like the stepchild of town because our team has always been the afterthought."

Glenn Stout, the author of "The Cubs: the Complete Story of Chicago Cubs Baseball," said the two teams' stadiums may also be a source of the fans' tension.

Wrigley Field, the Cubs' northside home since 1916, has long been considered a baseball shrine -- one of the few remaining stadiums from its era and an iconic Chicago landmark.

"The Cubs benefited from Wrigley Field being in a nicer part of town than the White Sox stadium, which was in an African-American area that saw riots in the '60s and gave some white fans pause," said Stout.

"The White Sox have since got a new ballpark -- U.S. Cellular Field. It's still kind of paled in comparison to Wrigley," added Stout.

Davies agrees and adds that the Cubs are known for "owning the town" ever since the White Sox blew their chance at the World Series in 1919, when eight members of the team were banned from professional baseball on accusations that they took bribes to lose games against the Cincinnati Reds, after which they were dubbed the "Black Sox."

"The Black Sox scandal certainly set the Sox back a great deal, and historically the Chicago Tribune has been a Cubs mouthpiece forever," said Davies.

In fact the newspaper's parent company, The Tribune Company, also owns the Cubs.

"The Cubs have much greater attendance, they control the town," Davies added.

2008 Season Gives Teams Something to Fight Over

What is unique about the Cubs-Sox rivalry, say baseball experts, is that, unlike the rivalry tensions between other baseball teams such as the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, it is not rooted in league competition.

While the Red Sox and Yankees face off against each other 18 times a year and battle annually for Major League Baseball's American League East divisional title, the White Sox and Cubs are in different leagues and rarely play each other.

But this year's postseason, said Davies, could actually give fans reason to argue other than their cultlike team allegiances. Both teams are leading their respective divisions and have a shot of making it to the World Series.

"The tensions are heightened this year because there's a very good chance of an all-Chicago World Series," said Davies. "They may not be the biggest rivals on the field because they're in different leagues, but when it comes to postseason honors they're definitely huge rivals."

A postseason showdown, said Stout, could be just what the teams need to prove their strength.

"What they need now is to meet in the post-season," said Stout. "That's what sustains true rivalry."