In the aftermath of the New England Patriots' first Super Bowl title in 2002, Bill Simmons wrote in his "Rules for being a true fan" column:
12. After your team wins a championship, they immediately get a five-year grace period: You can't complain about anything that happens with your team (trades, draft picks, salary-cap cuts, coaching moves) for five years. There are no exceptions. For instance, the Pats could finish 0-80 over the next five years and I wouldn't say a peep. That's just the way it is. You win the Super Bowl, you go on cruise control for five years. Everything else is gravy.
Well folks, the five-year grace period for the White Sox is up today. Oct. 26, 2010 marks the wood anniversary of the White Sox winning their first World Series in 88 years. Having lived those five years, I think we can throw out the concept of any kind of established honeymoon.
In one sense, the grace period was over years ago. In another, it may never expire.
Whether or not their team won a recent title, paying customers deserve the company's best shot at creating an enjoyable product. If it doesn't result in wins, it should reflect that attitude in other ways (cheaper ticket prices, better promotions/distractions, more connections between the players and the fan base).
The White Sox do it by attempting to make a run for the division title every year (except for the secret rebuilding year of 2007), whether or not that's the best idea for the long-term health of the franchise. In fact, they kind of put all their eggs in this basket. They certainly charge championship prices, and Kenny Williams' attitude toward the common paying fan can turn Yankee-grade cold when the attendance numbers drop during a bleak, fan-murdering rut.
[Lengthy aside] I think the White Sox struggle with connecting to the average fan, waaaaaay more than they should. They have the pieces to be a lot friendlier than they are. Their players have fine personal reputations, so much so that acquiring Manny Ramirez was almost immoral to some people. Scott Reifert and Southpaw have frequent bursts of pleasant engagement on Twitter, and also through White Sox Charities. They have taken baby steps to increase access for us blogger/independent media types. Throughout my years of blogging, I've heard a lot of great stories from fans on how well individual members of the franchise -- players, coaches, employees, executives -- treated them in various encounters. From what I can tell, there is very little face-to-face big-timing going on.
But when it comes to the most important issue in every professional relationship -- money -- they're not very good at bridging the gap. For the last few years, it's gone like this:
- Williams will voice concerns when the gate receipts are down as summer rolls around.
- Sox fans, whether in writing or with their feet, tell the organization the cost is prohibitive for repeat business.
- The marketing department announces a raise in ticket prices after the season.
- At the end of the winter, the Sox introduce a new marketing campaign emphasizing hard work instead of fun at the ol' ballpark.
And the cycle repeats, of course. This year had a neat wrinkle, as Brooks Boyer said the Sox were attempting to scalp their own tickets prior to the announcement about price increases.
Obviously, they have a business model, and the plight of the common fan falls behind the TV deal, corporate sponsorships, suite sales and the season-ticket owners. That's just reality, and if you want to go to a place where the five-games-a-year fan is a higher priority, you'll have to go see the Kane County Cougars. But I still think the Sox can work on their messages from the top, because it masks a lot of the good deeds being done on the ground level. Most fans aren't all that tuned in to find out about the smaller gestures. [/Lengthy aside]
When you live solely by stressing the quality and effort on the field, and then Williams makes a clearly wrong move that undermines his chances for years (like the second Nick Swisher trade, and potentially the Dan Hudson trade), I don't think any kind of grace period should cover that. A title makes it easier to shrug off subsequent iffy decisions (like the Jose Contreras extension), but too much money is involved to stand idly by as the guy in charge shoots his product in the foot.
But on the other hand, when Juan Uribe fired the ball to Paul Konerko for the final out five years ago to the day, it definitely changed something about how my brain functions as a baseball fan.
There aren't many advantages to rooting for a historically insignificant franchise. It's harder to get national recognition, it's harder to find good historical reference material, and it's harder to find the more interesting merchandise.
But being able to savor victories is one of the benefits. From what I can tell in the office, I enjoyed an 88-win season without a playoff appearance more than Yankees fans enjoyed reaching the ALCS, and I honestly don't think I would want the roles reversed.
Maybe I'll start to get tired of the 2005 White Sox if they turn into the 1985 Bears, when they're honored every five years and serve as the comparison for every decent White Sox team, complete with Jon Garland occasionally surfacing to say the starters lack heart. Right now, I can still remember what it was like when 1917 was the last championship year listed. That really sucked. This doesn't, and so the grace period is extended indefinitely in this sense.
We know it could be a lot worse. I keep thinking of thedevastating series of events in the mid-1990s -- the loss to the BlueJays in the '93 ALCS, the Jerry Reinsdorf-supported strike that killed apotentially historic season, the White Flag trade. That was the last best chance for too many Sox fans. Millions upon millions of die-hards up and died before seeing a championship in their lifetimes.
Five years later, that realization isn't any less real. And I don't think it should ever be.
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Minor league roundup:
- Peoria 5, Scottsdale 4
- Jared Mitchell is now hitless in his last 15 at-bats after going 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Eduardo Escobar also went 0-for-4.
- Anthony Carter pitched another perfect inning, but only struck out one this time.
