"Last week I walked out of my house and saw this guy peeing in my gate. He had his penis stuck through the metal bars, pointed right at me. I tried not to look. He apologized drunkenly, but it was still pretty awkward." - Kate Crabtree, 26.

"Mostly we get people ringing our doorbell, just drunk and silly. It's at the point where if we're not expecting someone we don't even open the door anymore." - Jeff Powell, 44.

"It's pure entertainment. The other day I watched this lady pee her pants. It was great."
- Michelle Williams, 33.

"[This happened] the end of the season last fall at three in the morning. My bed is near the window and it was open because it was a nice night. A couple of guys pulled themselves up onto the ledge of my window. Their voices were slurred, and it sounded like they were in my room. They yelled, 'Hey, anyone asleep in there? Anyone naked in there?' I was so scared I went to my daughter's room and slept there." - Genevieve Costello, 42.

When George Bova created whitesoxinteractive.com in 1998 with the slogan "Totally Biased," he never imagined it would blossom into the mecca for Sox fans that it is today.

And in Chicago, where a city is divided by its baseball teams--the White Sox and the Cubs--blogs such as Bova's and other independent publications are entering the same league as the larger official media of the teams, making them take notice.

Obsessed
Bova's "Totally Biased" slant was an effort to combat the Chicago Tribune, or the Cubune, as Bova calls it. "I started White Sox Interactive because the prevailing notion in Chicago media was that few cared about the White Sox."

The Chicago Tribune is not an official publication of the Cubs, but because the Tribune Co. owns the team, many Sox fans view it as a mouthpiece for the Cubs. Thus, Bova attacks the Cubune nearly as often as he attacks the Cubs themselves.

In one article, Bova mentioned the famous Chicago Tribune headline that mistakenly read "Dewey Defeats Truman." "Harry Truman laughed at your paper's pretensions to journalistic integrity... and right here in Chicago we're still laughing at you today."

But as obsessive and intense as whitesoxinteractive.com seems, Bova himself admits it's just a hobby site, meant to give White Sox fans a place where the media is biased in their favor. "We're trying to provide something different. And frankly I think that's the key to our success," Bova said.

But fellow blogger Al Yellon, a Cubs fan and creator of bleedcubbieblue.com, has entirely different motives. "I just want to root for my team," Yellon said.

This spirit has become almost the motto of the Web site, which maintains a positive attitude throughout. "I like to be positive. I like to try and see the best in things, even when things are looking bad," Yellon said.

In one post, dated from July 13, 2005, Yellon described his angst as a lifelong Cubs fan who had not yet seen a World Series win, ending on a positive note. "Would it change us? It might. It just might. Damn, all I want is to find out how that feels. Onward. It begins again tomorrow."

Not that bleedcubbieblue.com isn't opinionated. Yellon said he feels free to talk about everything from injured players to poor seasons. "I think that I can say things that are my personal opinion, whereas I think the official sites tend to sugarcoat things at times," he said.

Despite his opinions, Yellon said his Web site exists solely to cheer on the Cubs, not bash the White Sox. "We don't exist to knock the Sox. That's so far from our radar screen," Yellon said. "I'm focused on my team--not them."

The Hawk
But for every dove, there's a hawk. Enter Brad Zibung, whose satirical online and print newspaper, the Heckler, pokes fun at all Chicago sports teams, with a heavy bias towards the Cubs.

Although Zibung is a big Cubs fan, writing a satirical sports publication requires a slight distancing from the loyal fan mindset. "I think we come up with better material when we're not thinking like fans," Zibung said.

The April 2006 issue of the Heckler.

This thinking is what fosters some of the ridiculous articles in the Heckler like the one posted on May 15 that linked the St. Louis Cardinals' mascot with the bird flu.

Official sources like mlb.com, the Web site for each team in the major league, often skew the news in the positive direction, Zibung said, so he doesn't consider them as good as the Chicago Tribune or the Chicago Sun-Times.

"If you go to cubs.com and try to find something on Kerry Wood's injury, it's always positive--it's very pro-team," Zibung said. "We publish what the fans are really thinking," he added.

Unbiased and Objective
If the independent blogs and publications write what the fans are really thinking, then the official publications are writing what the organizations want to think.

Scott Merkin, a writer for mlb.com who covers the White Sox, said that the main advantage independent blogs had over official sources was the emotion they could put into their writing. "We obviously can't do that," he said.

"The fan sites are good, they give people a chance to vent, and if not vent, celebrate!" he added.

Being a beat writer means that Merkin writes about everything in the world of the Chicago White Sox. "I pretty much cover everything. I do more features during spring training, more breaking news in season," Merkin said.

Of course, these two ends of the spectrum often meet, like in Merkin's story about Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle's sliding antics on the tarp during a rain delay in Toronto. The pitcher, having slid during rain delays for the past four years, was finally fined for it.

Although he writes exclusively about the Sox, he said he still needs to stay objective and unbiased in his writing. "We have the same objective as the Tribune, Sun-Times and Daily Herald," Merkin said.

However, objectivity is certainly not the goal of Vine Line, the official monthly magazine of the Cubs.

"We're about celebrating the Cubs culture and promoting our team," said Lena McDonagh, the director of publications for the Cubs.

Despite the White Sox's World Series victory, McDonagh said Vine Line hasn't suffered. "We really haven't seen an effect as of yet," she said. "In 2005 we hit an all-time high in paid subscription."

And like many organizations, Vine Line will be increasingly online in the future. "We know that new media is going to be integral to our growth. Knowing that many people are being driven to the Internet for news and information, I think it's the natural progression," McDonagh said.

Although McDonagh acknowledges the importance of the Internet for Vine Line, she doesn't view any of the personal Web sites or fan blogs that pop up as competition of any sort.

Battling the 800-pound gorilla
Brooks Boyer isn't afraid to admit that the Cubs have an advantage. Despite the Sox's active marketing approach and now recent World Series win, they still have to work harder to attract fans.

"They could do absolutely nothing and they would still sell out most of their games," Boyer said.

As the vice president of marketing for the Sox, Boyer has a plan. The Web site for the Chicago White Sox includes not only two online fan clubs--one for adults and one for kids--but also Vice President of Communications Scott Reifert's blog about his experiences with the team.

This is in an effort to gain an edge against their crosstown rivals, the Cubs. "They're an 800-pound gorilla, and we have to be smarter and more aggressive," Boyer said.

The blog is also an effort to bridge the gap between the official publications and the independent blogging world. "It's just a good way to communicate with our fans," Boyer said.

Scott Reifert, who tries to write for the blog daily, started it in June of 2005. "I thought it was an interesting way to communicate directly with people. It also gave us an opportunity to have a competitive voice in the marketplace," Reifert said.

Reifert said it is this direct communication with the fans that not only keeps them coming back to the site, but also fosters a sense of loyalty. "Our fans want to feel like the players connect with them," he said.

For example, a fan once wrote to Reifert asking why Joe Crede had stopped wearing batting gloves, so Reifert found out from the third baseman himself that he stopped wearing them at the suggestion of fellow player Paul Konerko.

Reifert also cited building the brand image of the Sox as a hard-working team because Chicago is a city that values work ethic. "Do we have to work harder than the Cubs? Sure we do, but I wouldn't have it any other way," he said.

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Alexis Jeffries is a sophomore magazine major in the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. A native of Los Angeles, Calif., she is currently the editor in chief of BlackBoard Magazine, the black student publication on campus. She is also the vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists, Historian/Journalist for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the 2005-2006 Chicago representative for VIBE Magazine's College Advisory Board. She is also a member of the Emma Bowen Foundation for Minority Interest in Media, through which she has gained professional experience in broadcast journalism since her junior year of high school. In the near future, Ms. Jeffries plans to become a magazine editor at a top entertainment magazine, and start her own publishing house for African American magazines. Ms. Jeffries can be reached at a-jeffries@northwestern.edu

Jake Laub, 19, came from Monterey, Calif., this year to attend Medill and join the Ballet Chicago Studio Company. He still doesn't know if in three years he will be on stage or in the newsroom. Right now it's a bit of both.

Marisol Mastrangelo is a Medill sophomore from Chicago, Ill., and was thrilled to work on a topic that focused on two of her hometown neighborhoods. Growing up on the North Side of the city, she was excited to have the opportunity to write about Bridgeport because she was unfamiliar with the area. "I had no idea Bridgeport had such a rich history and was a beautiful neighborhood," she said. After working on the project, she said she will definitely be going back to the South Side more often.

"There is a continuing mantra, generally coming from White Sox fans who say that the White Sox don't get as much coverage as the Cubs," said George Knue, head of the Chicago Tribune's interactive sports department. "I hear it all the time."

Knue, who is in charge of chicagosports.com and chicagotribune.com/sports, said that while the Cubs may get more media coverage than the Sox on any given day, it is not because of bias. Rather, Knue said decisions are based entirely on newsworthiness, and therefore coverage should not be perpetually equal.

"Assume, for example, the Cubs decide they're going to trade [starting pitcher] Kerry Wood, and the same day the White Sox don't play," Knue said. "You'd figure that in the next day's paper there'd be more Kerry Wood stories than White Sox stories, because news dictates."

Tribune sports editor Bill Adee said his decisions on what to print are also based primarily on newsworthiness, but that he still has trouble convincing the general public of that.

"People call me and say, 'in today's paper, you had three Sox stories and four Cubs stories,'" Adee said. "And I say, 'yeah, well there were more interesting things about the Cubs today then there were about the White Sox.' But they don't get that."

The Tribune Factor

Adee, who served as sports editor for the Chicago Sun-Times before switching to the Tribune, said many White Sox fans are more inclined to perceive a bias in his paper because the Tribune Company owns the Cubs.

"I didn't get accused of a bias when I made the same decisions at the Sun-Times that I do at the Tribune," said Adee, who transferred to the Tribune in 1993.

Knue said he also faces accusations of bias on a regular basis.

"There's a presumption of bias, but the bias doesn't exist," he said. "If I had a nickel for every time I've argued that point over the last dozen years, I'd be a millionaire."

Reasons for Accusations of Bias

Knue said part of the reason he faces such continual scrutiny is because he sees no way to empirically prove or disprove the perception of bias.

"What's the way to prove there isn't a disparity? What's the measure that people should be shooting for?" Knue said. "When these discussions come, are people really saying that at all times there should be the same number of White Sox and Cubs stories in the newspaper? Personally, I don't think that's logical.

"It's kind of like the general sense in the world that the media is liberal. It's been repeated so many times by so many different people that it's just assumed to be true. There isn't any studying, there isn't any questioning, there isn't any answering. There's just an assumption that it's true."

Knue said that his daily traffic reports for chicagosports.com indicate that the Cubs generate "significantly more" attention than the White Sox, and admitted that this can sometimes tempt him to skew the coverage towards the Cubs.

"I'm a business. One of my jobs is to get traffic. I'd be stupid to ignore the Cubs," Knue said. "But I'm aware of the potential for this to drive me in directions I don't want to go. It's chicagosports.com, not 'chicagocubs.com Lite.'"

Adee said that he also has to take into consideration his own evidence (a combination of readership studies and daily Web site traffic reports) that the Cubs are more likely to help him sell papers.

"In a span of 20 years, I've seen good teams, bad teams, both good, one good and one bad," Adee said. "But at the end of the day, there's always more interest in the Cubs than the Sox. That's just a fact."

Fan Interest and Other Factors

Following former Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa's home run chase in 1998 and the Cubs' playoff run in 2003, the Cubs have developed a considerably larger fan base than the White Sox, and therefore compose a larger portion of Chicago readers. However, Adee said that newsworthiness is still a far more important factor in deciding which team to cover, and right now that criterion consistently favors the White Sox.

"Right now, any Sox game is more important," Adee said. "They're the world champions, and they're in first place. They're the hot team. But it evens out."

Dave Eanet, sports director for WGN Radio, said he agreed that the hotter team has the advantage in the coverage battle, but that winning is not the sole criterion.

"A lot of other factors go into it," Eanet said. "Which team is home, who's out on the West Coast, what time the games are, who's on WGN and who's on Comcast [Sports Net]."

Until recently, WGN had solely broadcast Cubs games on its national superstation, but in the past few years they've broadcast more and more White Sox games, Eanet said. According to WGN's Web site, it will broadcast 74 Cubs games nationally this year, as opposed to 31 for the White Sox.

Eanet said this still has mostly to do with the Cubs generating a higher viewership.

"I think up until the last week or so, the TV ratings tended to be higher for the Cubs than the Sox," Eanet said, citing the Cubs' recent losing streak and late games on the West Coast as reasons why this might be.

Striking a Balance

Adee said that regardless of which team is more popular, he still does all he can to keep fans of both teams happy.

"I think people would be surprised with how much time we spend wrestling with it," he said. "It doesn't do us any good to shut off part of Chicago by insulting Sox fans, so we go out of our way to try and do things right."

Knue said he does not think the constant influx of criticism is showing any signs of slowing. But although he sometimes gets tired of constantly having to deflect assertions of bias, he said he still views the scrutiny over balance as a positive thing.

"It's something that is probably never going to go away, and maybe shouldn't go away," he said. "There's nothing wrong with having yourself questioned by the public. It keeps you on your toes and makes you smarter."

Abby Lerner, 20, is a Medill sophomore majoring in magazine journalism and psychology. She grew up in Mission Hills, Kansas, where she enjoys visiting her family as often as possible. At Northwestern Abby is the editor-in-chief of Nexus Magazine, and she showcases her passion for dance by performing through NU's dance and musical theatre programs. Abby looks forward to spending this summer studying in Prague. She can be contacted by e-mail at s-lerner@northwestern.edu.

Ryan Morton, 19, is a recent Medill sophomore transfer majoring in broadcast journalism and political science. He is a die-hard Cubs fan, but greatly respects last year's White Sox for completing four straight games like they would have in the Golden Age (not a big fan of modern baseball, meaning post-dh). Here at NU, Ryan is Sports Co-Director of WNUR, the nation's largest campus radio station. He's partly in charge of nearly 70 sports broadcasts every year. He also writes for the Northwestern Alumni Magazine and sings in the Jubilate Childrens Choir. He can be reached by e-mail at r-morton@northwestern.edu.

By Ryan Morton
Author can be reached at r-morton@northwestern.edu

It's October in Chicago. Light snow combines with harsh winds to cover the west side of the city, but the game must go on. Despite the flurries, thousands of fans pack into the Cubs' ballpark.

The police ready themselves for a busy afternoon. They arrest eight men for scalping tickets, while elsewhere two teenagers are caught robbing a grocery store to afford those highly sought seats. Even Alderman Charles Martin, a White Sox fan, is arrested for fighting with a Cubs fan.

The World Series had arrived in Chicago. The city would never be the same again.

That was the scene on Oct. 9, 1906, according to Eric Enders' "100 Years of the World Series." One full century later, the bitter rivalry between two clubs separated by 9.7 miles remains as strong, if not stronger, as it did in 1906.

Over the course of those 100 seasons, the demographics of the rivalry have changed slightly. Scandals, long droughts, longer droughts, stadium renovations and recent successes have shifted some fans from one side to the other. The character of the rivalry, however, remains intact. It defines Chicagoans from birth, as they will continually be asked, "Cubs or Sox?"

The Early Years
The intense rivalry between the North Side and South Side clubs began decades before the 1906 World Series. In 1876, the White Stockings (ironically the franchise that would eventually be nicknamed the Cubs) established a monopoly on the city of Chicago. For the next 25 years, numerous attempts were made by other major league owners to add a second team to the Chicago landscape. None lasted more than a year, as detailed in "Total Ballclubs" by Nicholas Acocella and Donald Dewey.

Finally, in 1900, Charles Comiskey (who had played for one of those failed Chicago teams), persuaded the National League to allow him to create a new franchise off of Lake Michigan. James Hart, the owner of Chicago's National League club (called the Colts at this time), agreed conditionally: the AL team must play south of 35th Street and it must not use the name "Chicago."

Comiskey agreed to both terms, but immediately began what would become one of baseball's greatest rivalries by choosing a team nickname purely to spite Hart: the White Stockings, a nickname most Chicago fans still associated with the National League team, Acocella and Dewey wrote in "Total Ballclubs."

Comiskey also managed to take some of the National League team's greatest players away from them in the early years. The first Chicago baseball turncoat, Hall of Fame pitcher Clark Griffith, followed a 24-win season with the Cubs (Colts at the time) by moving across town to the White Sox. Many teammates began to follow, a trend that would eventually lead to over 160 players in 105 years playing for both the Cubs and the Sox.

The Losing Traditions
Much of the rivalry between the Cubs and the Sox actually stems from their parallel histories. A few years of dominance, followed by nearly a century of failure.

Both teams were very successful for the first few decades of the 20th century. After the Sox beat them four games to two in 1906, the Cubs won back-to-back World Series titles in 1907 and 1908. The White Sox won their second championship in 1917.

In 1919, the White Sox had another prime opportunity to win the World Series, until at least six players chose to throw the games. The Black Sox, as they were dubbed, disgraced the White Sox franchise, helping the Cubs gain more popularity and respect.

Despite his involvement with the 1919 Black Sox, Shoeless Joe Jackson's outstanding career is still honored by the Chicago White Sox. A picture of Jackson is seen here on the side of U.S. Cellular Field.

The North Siders also helped themselves by playing well enough to compete in five championships between 1926 and 1950. According to Charles Billington, author of "Wrigley Field's Last World Series," the Cubs out drew the White Sox in 22 of those 25 seasons. However, their World Series appearance in 1945 would prove to be a crucial moment in Cubs history: the last time they ever reached the championship.

The late 1940s also helped begin a shift of fans back from the North Side to the South Side. Throughout the 1950s the White Sox were arguably the most popular team in Chicago, dubbed the "go go White Sox," finishing 2nd or 3rd on a regular basis, and going to a World Series in 1959. In the 17 years between 1951 and 1968, the Sox out drew the Cubs 15 times.

Starting in the 1970s, however, the fans turned back to Wrigley once again. Even though both teams in Chicago seemed to have an affinity for losing, the history of the Chicago Cubs (scandal free with ivy) tended to appeal more to the younger crowd, according to Billington.

The new generation in the 1970s and 1980s also benefited from constant exposure to the Cubs. WGN televised every single Cubs game, creating yet another iconic figure for North Side fans, broadcaster Jack Brickhouse.

"I would come home from school, and I would run down Drake Avenue," said David Kaplan, sports talk show host on WGN radio. "I'd get home at 3:15, and the Cubs would be in the 5th inning. I loved Jack Brickhouse. So I was hooked at an early age."

Meanwhile, the White Sox were nowhere to be found on television. When their owners finally decided to broadcast the games, they chose cable television as their medium, a much less accessible luxury in those days compared to today.

The one advantage the Sox had in terms of broadcasting would eventually go down in history as a Cub favorite. Harry Caray worked on the air from 1971-1981 for the White Sox. While at Comiskey he became famous for his wide-brim glasses, his "Holy Cow," and his singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. When he left for Wrigley in 1982, though, all those White Sox originals went with him, joining the lore of the ivy on the North Side.

Some have tried to blame both teams' misfortune on curses. The Cubs suffered from the Billy Goat Curse, a fabled story surrounding the 1945 World Series, while the White Sox were plagued by the 1919 World Series fix, dubbed the Black Sox Curse.

In 2005 the Sox finally shed those demons by winning the World Series, 99 years after their first victory. By ending their losing tradition first, a new dimension has been added to the Chicago rivalry.

"Cubs fans are becoming much more demanding," said Dan McGrath, associate managing editor of the Chicago Tribune sports section. "They're not the lovable losers anymore. They want the team to win. The White Sox sent a pretty strong message that they want to be the number one team in Chicago."

The Six Games
In 1997, the rules of the Chicago rivalry completely changed as the White Sox and Cubs finally had an opportunity to play for city bragging rights. Interleague play had begun.

Before that year the two teams had only officially faced each other for those six games in October back in 1906. Over the course of the next 90 years, there would be a "crosstown classic" exhibition game played when both teams had a day off, but it lacked any real importance.

"Those games were pretty much just for the fans," Billington said in an interview. "They were the ones who really cared. It didn't mean much to the players."

Interleague play has now given the teams a chance to play for real stakes during the season (as well as a guaranteed sold-out weekend for each club). The intensity of the crosstown classic was recently seen at U.S. Cellular Field, when Cubs catcher Michael Barrett punched White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski. This led to a benches-clearing brawl and four ejections. The White Sox are 27-24 in nine seasons playing against the Cubs.

The newly heated rivalry has created a number of incidents during the past decade. Another example came in June of 2002, when following a crosstown series in Wrigley Field, a four-foot-wide patch of ivy was found poisoned. Many blamed the White Sox fans, even the Chicago Tribune.

Wally Smith, a program vendor at Wrigley Field, has seen a number of fights break out between Cubs and Sox fans in his 22 years working at the ballpark.

"They turned them [interleague games] into day games over night games to calm down the fights," Smith said. "There's less drinking, less fighting."

After nine years of interleague play, the series stands with a slight lead for the White Sox, 27-24 after the most recent series, when the South Siders won two of three games. There are three more games on the North Side starting in late June, though, so the Cubs could tie it.

With so much history culminating in this 100-year anniversary, how would Chicago react to another "L" series?

"I can't imagine what it would be like to have a World Series in this town with both Cubs and Sox in it," Kaplan said. "I think it would be awesome. I just don't want to ever be on the losing side, because that one would be hard. I'd probably have to move."

Knue, who is in charge of chicagosports.com and chicagotribune.com/sports, said that while the Cubs may get more media coverage than the Sox on any given day, it is not because of bias. Rather, Knue said decisions are based entirely on newsworthiness, and therefore coverage should not be perpetually equal.

"Assume, for example, the Cubs decide they're going to trade [starting pitcher] Kerry Wood, and the same day the White Sox don't play," Knue said. "You'd figure that in the next day's paper there'd be more Kerry Wood stories than White Sox stories, because news dictates."

Tribune sports editor Bill Adee said his decisions on what to print are also based primarily on newsworthiness, but that he still has trouble convincing the general public of that.

"People call me and say, 'in today's paper, you had three Sox stories and four Cubs stories,'" Adee said. "And I say, 'yeah, well there were more interesting things about the Cubs today then there were about the White Sox.' But they don't get that."

The Tribune Factor
Adee, who served as sports editor for the Chicago Sun-Times before switching to the Tribune, said many White Sox fans are more inclined to perceive a bias in his paper because the Tribune Company owns the Cubs.

"I didn't get accused of a bias when I made the same decisions at the Sun-Times that I do at the Tribune," said Adee, who transferred to the Tribune in 1993.

Knue said he also faces accusations of bias on a regular basis.
"There's a presumption of bias, but the bias doesn't exist," he said. "If I had a nickel for every time I've argued that point over the last dozen years, I'd be a millionaire."

Reasons for Accusations of Bias
Knue said part of the reason he faces such continual scrutiny is because he sees no way to empirically prove or disprove the perception of bias.

"What's the way to prove there isn't a disparity? What's the measure that people should be shooting for?" Knue said. "When these discussions come, are people really saying that at all times there should be the same number of White Sox and Cubs stories in the newspaper? Personally, I don't think that's logical.

"It's kind of like the general sense in the world that the media is liberal. It's been repeated so many times by so many different people that it's just assumed to be true. There isn't any studying, there isn't any questioning, there isn't any answering. There's just an assumption that it's true."

Knue said that his daily traffic reports for chicagosports.com indicate that the Cubs generate "significantly more" attention than the White Sox, and admitted that this can sometimes tempt him to skew the coverage towards the Cubs.

"I'm a business. One of my jobs is to get traffic. I'd be stupid to ignore the Cubs," Knue said. "But I'm aware of the potential for this to drive me in directions I don't want to go. It's chicagosports.com, not 'chicagocubs.com Lite.'"

Adee said that he also has to take into consideration his own evidence (a combination of readership studies and daily Web site traffic reports) that the Cubs are more likely to help him sell papers.

"In a span of 20 years, I've seen good teams, bad teams, both good, one good and one bad," Adee said. "But at the end of the day, there's always more interest in the Cubs than the Sox. That's just a fact."

Fan Interest and Other Factors
Following former Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa's home run chase in 1998 and the Cubs' playoff run in 2003, the Cubs have developed a considerably larger fan base than the White Sox, and therefore compose a larger portion of Chicago readers. However, Adee said that newsworthiness is still a far more important factor in deciding which team to cover, and right now that criterion consistently favors the White Sox.

"Right now, any Sox game is more important," Adee said. "They're the world champions, and they're in first place. They're the hot team. But it evens out."

Dave Eanet, sports director for WGN Radio, said he agreed that the hotter team has the advantage in the coverage battle, but that winning is not the sole criterion.

"A lot of other factors go into it," Eanet said. "Which team is home, who's out on the West Coast, what time the games are, who's on WGN and who's on Comcast [Sports Net]."

Until recently, WGN had solely broadcast Cubs games on its national superstation, but in the past few years they've broadcast more and more White Sox games, Eanet said. According to WGN's Web site, it will broadcast 74 Cubs games nationally this year, as opposed to 31 for the White Sox.

Eanet said this still has mostly to do with the Cubs generating a higher viewership.

"I think up until the last week or so, the TV ratings tended to be higher for the Cubs than the Sox," Eanet said, citing the Cubs' recent losing streak and late games on the West Coast as reasons why this might be.

Striking a Balance
Adee said that regardless of which team is more popular, he still does all he can to keep fans of both teams happy.

"I think people would be surprised with how much time we spend wrestling with it," he said. "It doesn't do us any good to shut off part of Chicago by insulting Sox fans, so we go out of our way to try and do things right."
Knue said he does not think the constant influx of criticism is showing any signs of slowing. But although he sometimes gets tired of constantly having to deflect assertions of bias, he said he still views the scrutiny over balance as a positive thing.

"It's something that is probably never going to go away, and maybe shouldn't go away," he said. "There's nothing wrong with having yourself questioned by the public. It keeps you on your toes and makes you smarter."

"Last week I walked out of my house and saw this guy peeing in my gate. He had his penis stuck through the metal bars, pointed right at me. I tried not to look. He apologized drunkenly, but it was still pretty awkward." - Kate Crabtree, 26.

"Mostly we get people ringing our doorbell, just drunk and silly. It's at the point where if we're not expecting someone we don't even open the door anymore." - Jeff Powell, 44.

"It's pure entertainment. The other day I watched this lady pee her pants. It was great."
- Michelle Williams, 33.

"[This happened] the end of the season last fall at three in the morning. My bed is near the window and it was open because it was a nice night. A couple of guys pulled themselves up onto the ledge of my window. Their voices were slurred, and it sounded like they were in my room. They yelled, 'Hey, anyone asleep in there? Anyone naked in there?' I was so scared I went to my daughter's room and slept there." - Genevieve Costello, 42.

Wrigley Field in Chicago. Photo by Alexis Jeffries.

In a town where there are tons of restaurants, bars and baby strollers, residents of the famous Wrigleyville area in Chicago are envied by many across the nation. While many of the residents are Chicago Cubs fans and love the shopping and nightlife, others are not as fond of the noise-ridden, drunken party scene involving many college students and baseball fanatics.

Four Wrigleyville residents, some newcomers to the community and some lifelong members, tell us what it's really like to live in this community and whether or not living so close to Wrigley Field is really what it's cracked up to be.

Stacy Wemnlund

"My grandfather pretty much raised me, and he raised me to be a Sox fan," says blond-haired and sunglasses-sporting Stacy Wemnlund, as she walks her dog down School Street while chatting with her best friend from out of town.

Wemnlund, 30, says she was raised as a Chicago White Sox fan in the north suburbs of Chicago and has always enjoyed living in Wrigleyville despite her preference for the White Sox. She was convinced the White Sox were the team to root for after her grandfather told her the story of how he was hit by a truck while playing stick ball at a young age. Two White Sox players came to visit him in the hospital, and from then on, he was a devoted fan.
"His favorite quote was, 'The last time I've been to Wrigley was to watch the Sox play!' Wemnlund says as she chuckles.

A resident for 10 years, Wemnlund first moved to the area from Palatine, Ill., when she began college at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"I moved in with a friend of mine," says Wemnlund, who enjoyed the area while in college because of bar-hopping with friends and the close proximity to Wrigley Field.

Wemnlund liked the liveliness of the area so much during college that she decided to stay following graduation, but only after meeting her future husband in a bar where she waitresses.

"I was a waitress at Justin's, and he was a regular," Wemnlund says. "It turned out that he lived right across the street from me, so when we got married, I moved into his apartment across the street from my old one."

Stacy Wemnlund, 30, walking her dog in Lakeview/Wrigleyville. Photo by Alexis Jeffries.

Walking quickly past homes with Cubs banners flying, Wemnlund and her friend race to keep up with her dog, while the sunshine peaks through the tree-lined street on this warm spring day.

Wemnland's husband is an avid Cubs fan, which she says makes for fun and friendly competition in the household.

"It's so funny because my husband is a diehard Cubs fan raised on the South Side, and I'm a diehard Sox fan raised on the North Side," Wemnlund says. "He grew up going to Wrigley, and I grew up going to Comiskey. It makes for a lot of interesting times when we're watching baseball at home."

Despite her loyalty to another team, Wemnlund says she really enjoys living in the area, even when it gets a little wild.

"It's crazy on the weekends and on game days, but I don't really mind it," she says. "It's loud often, and parking is difficult to deal with, but for the most part, it's a nice change from Palatine."

She says that she would like to eventually raise a family in the area, but the cost of living may make that goal of hers unattainable. As a Chicago public school teacher at Kanoon Magnet School in the Little Village area of Chicago, Wemnlund says she must live in the city of Chicago in order to work in the schools, and moving out of Chicago to start a family wouldn't be possible.

"I'd love to raise a family here, but I'd also like to get enough for my money, and that probably won't happen," Wemnlund says.

As she controls her fast-moving dog and slows down to a more walker-friendly pace, she continues her conversation with her friend, reminiscing on old times and memories.

"This is a great community," Wemnlund says. "I wouldn't want to leave, and for the most part, I don't plan on it."

William Gulyban

"The ballpark is a big pain in the ass," William Gulyban says.

Sitting on his front porch on Newport Avenue in Wrigleyville keeping a watchful eye on his daughter's black Labrador retriever pestering pedestrians, William Gulyban, 73, is enjoying the life of a 14-years-retired great-grandfather. With baby blue-colored steps leading to a custom-made door engraved with a "G" for Gulyban, the brick home on Newport Avenue is reminiscent of a single family home perfect for "The Brady Bunch." The family dog continues to race up and down the street after pedestrians while Gulyban sits in his lawn chair donning a baseball cap and sun glasses, watching the neighborhood like a protective citizen and making sure his block stays as peaceful as it has been for the past 38 years he has lived there. Yet, Gulyban is quick to say that the community hasn't been peaceful; it has been a hassle.

Since moving to Wrigleyville in 1968, Gulyban has seen the community change drastically, having watched small family-owned business and factories that lined every block become demolished and turned into residential apartments and condos with bars and restaurants on every corner.

William Gulyban, 73, in front of his home in Wrigleyville. Photo by Alexis Jeffries.

Gulyban, a retired sheet metal worker, first moved to Wrigleyville with his wife Mary and three young children when he found the perfect home for sale. Wrigleyville's convenient location to his job provided an additional reason why Gulyban decided this was the best place to raise his family.

"The house was for sale, and my job was close, so this was the area we figured was best to raise the kids," says Gulyban, who chose to stay in the area following his wife's death only a year after moving to Wrigleyville.

Not a baseball fan or a fan of the Wrigleyville community, Gulyban says he never supported the Cubs the way many community members did. He says that "the area isn't bad to live in," but lack of parking, the inability for local parents to put their children in Wrigleyville/Lakeview schools due to costs an overcrowding, and the increase in housing prices have brought the community to a place he would have preferred it never to have gone.

"I liked it the old way," Gulyban says as he leans forward to investigate the cause of the loud honking from cars down the street. "This area used to be mostly working people with families, and now it is all office workers. If they have kids, they have to send their kids to schools far away because these private schools are too expensive. It's a real pain to live here now."

Gulyban, who raised his children in the same house he still resides in, says that years ago he was able to send his children to schools down the street from their home and things were quieter back in the day. He acknowledges that he stays in Wrigleyville because he owns his home and doesn't feel the need to sell it, despite his negative feelings about the area. His daughter also lives with him to support him in "my old age," he says, so he doesn't plan on leaving unless his daughter decides to go as well.

"Heck, she'll probably stay here until I'm gone, so if neither of us plans to leave, we'll both be here awhile," Gulyban says.

As he opens the door to the house to let the dog inside, he turns to admire the neighborhood he has called home for the past 38 years, despite the negative aspects.

"It's a pain," Gulyban says, "but I still like it here."

Matt Lorenz

As his 2-year-old blond-haired son Dillon gallops down the street in front of him, Matt Lorenz, 29, pushes a blue baby stroller down the bumpy sidewalk on Cornelia Street headed toward his apartment. A resident of Wrigleyville for only six months, Lorenz moved from the Detroit area because of new job offers for both him and his wife in Chicago. Lorenz was looking for a neighborhood to raise his young family in, and he and his wife chose Wrigleyville for its liveliness and large number of other young families in the neighborhood, as well as its affordability.

Matt Lorenz, 29, taking a walk with his children in Wrigleyville. Photo by Alexis Jeffries.

"Some people say this area is expensive, and it is, but our rent was cheaper because our apartment is kind of a dump," says Lorenz, a mechanical engineer. "It's perfect for us because there are lots of families here."

A fan of Wrigleyville's nightlife, Lorenz says he likes the area because of the restaurants he takes his family to and the bars he and his friends hang out in when they visit Chicago. Although his family's first Cubs game is still a month away, Lorenz says that his children may grow to be Cubs fans simply because they live in Chicago and the Cubs are highly respected in the area.

"I'm a Tigers fan, but my kids will probably be different," Lorenz says as he signals Dillon to stay closer and not run off.

Even as an admirer of Wrigleyville, Lorenz acknowledges that the noise from cars, the train and game attendees was an unwelcomed adjustment that he and his wife had to deal with when moving into the area.

"At one point, we were waking up at 2 a.m. every day because of the noise," he says. "But that's what comes with the territory."

Lorenz's family enjoys the vibrant atmosphere that Wrigleyville provides, although he admits the area wasn't their first choice. He and his wife are making plans to move in the near future.

"We want to move closer to the water by the end of the summer," Lorenz says.

As he pushes the stroller up to his apartment door with Dillon by his side, Lorenz and Dillon wave goodbye to the community they now call home.

Tara Ellsin

"I found an apartment here, and I had family here, so it was a good match," Tara Ellsin says as she reties her multi-colored head scarf and readjusts her T-shirt reading "Las Vegas: Roll with Me Babe".

As she bends down to pick up her dog's droppings from the nearest bush, Ellsin, 27, is taking a walk around Wrigleyville on her day off, something she says wasn't as fun to do in her former neighborhood in Wheaton, Ill. As a Wrigleyville resident for less than a year, Ellsin, 27, says she loves the nightlife, bars and close proximity to her job as a hair stylist in Lincoln Park. She moved to the neighborhood in the winter when rent prices were lower than usual. Cheap rent solidified her decision to move to Wrigleyville despite her dislike for the parking situation.

Tara Ellsin, 27, walking her dog on a sunny Thursday morning in Wrigleyville. Photo by Alexis Jeffries.

"Parking is bad, but since I had cheap rent, I figured 'why not?' It's cheap, so I can deal with it," Ellsin says.
Ellsin explained that she was more than happy to relocate from Wheaton to Wrigleyville because there was more nightlife for a younger crowd.

"I like this area better because there's more to do," she says. "I like the bars and restaurants, especially Tango Sur because it's always busy."

Ellsin says that she doesn't mind the noise because her area of Wrigleyville is relatively quiet and farther away from the stadium. However, she acknowledges that "you can sometimes hear the games when the Cubs make a big score, and that can be irritating."

"I feel safe, and young people love this area and so do older people," she says. "It's just a really great community."

Who's more popular? The White Sox grabbed the title and more fans in Soxtober of 2005; but the North Side favorite, the Cubs, stay trendy no matter what.

Our stories discuss media coverage given to each team, the rise of independent fan blogs and newspapers versus official PR, and what's hot for the new season's sporting apparel.

In our broadcast segment, Cubs and White Sox fans take sides over the baseball rivalry. Learn how the White Sox's recent World Series victory has affected fan attendance and how ticket sales relate to each team's popularity.

Gina Morgano is a rising junior at Northwestern University majoring in journalism and vocal performance and pursuing a certificate in music theatre. She grew up rooting for her home team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since coming to college, Gina has been extremely frustrated by Chicago's baseball scene. She can't decide which team she likes better!

White Sox fans shop for merchandise and apparel outside of U.S. Cellular Field one half-hour before a June afternoon game.

It's baseball season. Walking down any street in Chicago, the city's passion for baseball is unmistakable in shades of red, white and blue - and black.

A red letter "C." A scripted "Sox" in white. A blue hat with a little bear on it. A black shirt that says, "2005 World Series Champions."

Wearing red and blue for the Cubs and black and white for the White Sox, fans show off their spirit in everything from traditional baseball hats to tight-fitting, spaghetti-strap tank tops. In addition to team-colored merchandise, stores and vendors offer pink, green and vintage-looking throwback apparel.

Since the White Sox's 2005 World Series victory, the Chicago baseball rivalry has gotten only stronger. Fans compete not just for wins on the field, but for wins off the field, as well. Team popularity and trendiness are being talked about almost as much as win/loss records.

The Shoe Fits, If You Can Find It

Someone wears a Cubs baseball hat on the El in downtown Chicago. Right next to him, another person wears a White Sox hat. On buses, in newspapers and in store windows, signs of these two Chicago teams are everywhere.

At U.S. Cellular Field, however, signs of White Sox team spirit are not as prevalent as one might think. Three hours before a recent weekday game, hardly any fans wandered around the ballpark and only one vendor was beginning to set up a merchandise stand. One half-hour before another recent home game, however, the scene was much different. The park was alive with fans, vendors and live music.

Fans generally arrive later to White Sox games than to Cubs games for several reasons. First of all, there is not much to do in the ballpark's surrounding neighborhood. U.S. Cellular Field is less accessible than Wrigley Field by public transportation, and the parking lots do not open until close to game time. Furthermore, most White Sox merchandise is sold inside the ballpark, rather than by outside vendors. Thus, there is little opportunity for pre-game shopping extravaganzas.

On a recent weekday at Wrigley Field, however, fans and vendors were everywhere three hours before game time. Wrigleyville's abundance of shops, bars and restaurants opened their doors for the enjoyment of excited fans and potential customers.

This difference in the ballparks' surroundings displays an inconsistency in supply and demand for Cubs and White Sox game day merchandise.

The Right Style, the Right Player, the Right Jersey

Traditional hats and jerseys continue to be the most popular selling items for both teams.

At Wrigleyville Sports, employee John Moorehouse said, "One day everybody will be in here buying hats; another day everybody will be in here buying jerseys." The 1914 Cubbies hat is one of the store's most popular, he said. It has a washed look and is a cotton, fitted hat.

The old look seems to be the new trend. Throwback Mitchell & Ness jerseys, which are replicas of historic team jerseys, are also selling well, he said. As the season starts out, fans are gravitating towards specific players' jerseys. Especially in style are those of former Cubs players Ryne Sandberg and Ron Santo. "Sandberg's always popular," Moorehouse said. "[Derrek] Lee and [Juan] Pierre are the most popular current players."

Moorehouse wishes the store carried some jerseys that are not currently in stock, especially that of outfielder Matt Murton. "We'd love to have him right now," he said, "but we weren't sure how popular he was going to be. We're a little behind on our order. Everybody wants him now, which is a little unexpected."

At Chicago Sports and Novelty near Wrigley Field, employee Paul Vieraitis said that the popularity of players' jerseys varies by month. No one player is consistently the most popular.

Vieraitis wishes the store carried the jerseys of current Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster and Hall of Fame member Ernie Banks. "We didn't think they would be a popular item," he said.

Jason Winter, the Web manager of ChicagoSport.com, said that a new shipment of items usually arrives within a week should a player become unexpectedly popular.

"The Cubs are usually a better sell, but, with the Sox recent success, the Sox merchandise is starting to catch up to the Cubs," he said. "Sox player T-shirts are selling real well right now, especially Jim Thome and Joe Crede."

Chicago Sport orders merchandise for Chicago Sports and Novelty's 11 retail locations from such companies as Nike, Dynasty and Majestic. All merchandise is licensed by the NBA, MLB, NFL or NHL.

"I have input into the purchasing decisions," Winter said, "but I am not the final decision maker. We have one purchasing manager who is in charge of the buying for all our stores and the Web site."

Green May Be the New Pink

In addition to team apparel, Chicago Sport also carries novelty items such as shot glasses, flip flops and clocks. Most of the merchandise is pretty standard, Winter said, but the company also carries Cubs and White Sox thong underwear.

Vieraitis of Chicago Sports and Novelty said that green has been an extremely popular color this season. Among the store's green items are a shirt that says Chicago in fancy lettering, displaying no team preference, and a pastel green Cubs hat with green rhinestones outlining the symbolic letter "C."

At Wrigleyville Sports, Cubs merchandise for women includes everything from garters to lingerie to pink mobiles for baby girls. Producers of both teams' merchandise have a line of pink apparel targeted at female fans.

"A little more than half of the women really love the pink merchandise, and the other half are disgusted by it because it's not the team's colors," said Moorehouse of Wrigleyville Sports. "It's one or the other; no one is in between."

Are You a Trendy Fan?

Chicago Cubs and White Sox fans are often defined by their dress. It is a widely held belief that Cubs fans are trendier than White Sox fans.

Moorehouse disagrees with the stereotype. "I don't always see a huge difference in the way fans dress, compared to the team," he said. The only distinction in fan apparel, he said, is the obvious difference in team colors.

Vieraitis of Chicago Sports and Novelty described the typical dress of a Cubs fan. "Obviously, a lot of blue," he said. "Maybe they dress crazier a lot of times than sometimes Sox fans."

Vieraitis doesn't believe, however, that the Cubs trendiness comes from their style of dress. Most of their trendiness comes, instead, from their non-baseball related activities and their seemingly fickle mindset. "What they drink, where they go, what they like to do," he said. "They're willing to jump ship if their team's doing bad and cheer louder if their team's doing good."

Wrigley Field's "Bud Lite Bleachers"

Some people carve their initials into tree bark, some write their names in wet cement, and some label their favorite pint of Ben and Jerry's in the freezer, so nobody else gets their hands on it.

Anheuser-Busch marks its territory by buying naming rights. A power player in the name game, the brewing company has secured the naming rights to the renovated bleacher seats at Chicago's Wrigley Field.

Anheuser-Busch buying the naming rights to the bleachers this past March is a recent contribution to Wrigley Field's growing display of corporate sponsorship. Anheuser-Busch has been a sponsor of the Cubs at Wrigley and Cubs baseball on WGN-TV for 25 years. The birth of the "Bud Light Bleachers" is a product of the blooming relationship between the Cubs and Anheuser-Busch.

This Bud's for you?

Like a proud papa, Tony Ponturo, the vice president of Global Media and Sports Marketing for Anheuser-Busch Inc., boasted about the Bud Light Bleachers.

"The Chicago Cubs are one of the most storied teams in baseball, with a tremendously loyal fan base and one of the greatest venues in all of sports. We're excited to offer this new feature-the Bud Light Bleachers-to Cubs fans," Ponturo said in a press release.

But many of the loyal fans Ponturo mentions are only half as excited as he thinks they should be.

Some Cubs' fans fear that their beloved, ivy-covered stadium will become a billboard-covered advertisement. Tourists come to visit Wrigley Field even if there isn't a Cubs game that day.

"I've been to some of the older ballparks such as Yankee Stadium, Comiskey and Cleveland's Municipal Stadium, and I've seen many others on TV such as Forbes, Crosley and Tiger's Stadium," long-time Cubs fan Mark Strickler said.

"But diehard fans and tradition set Wrigley aside from the newer baseball parks," Strickler, a 49-year-old former native of Chicago, said.

David Strauss, the owner of Sluggers Bar in Wrigleyville, says that Wrigley has become a destination for native Chicagoans and visitors alike because of the stadium's authentic feel.

"It's an automatic attraction," Strauss said when talking about Wrigley Field.

The Cubs use the money paid by advertisers like Anheuser-Busch to maintain Wrigley for its many visitors.

John F. McDonough, the senior vice president of marketing and broadcasting for the Cubs, addressed the deal with Anheuser-Busch in a statement given during a Cubs press conference.

"The bleachers at Wrigley Field represent the ultimate fan experience in Major League Baseball. We are proud to have the prestigious Bud Light brand join us in this partnership as we enhance our fans' experience," McDonough said.

Ol' Wrigley feels pressure to conform

Old-fashioned Wrigley may be taking a cue from its South Side rival, The Cell. Only 25 minutes apart on the L, Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field are very different types of stadiums. The Cell, which was built in 1990, is newer and features more visual sponsorship. The digital scoreboard with McDonald's and Miller Lite ads on it strongly contrasts with the hand-operated, advertisement- free scoreboard at Wrigley.

Slowly but surely however, Wrigley is becoming more commercial.

John Scabadoni, a Wrigley vendor, has witnessed Wrigley's changes.

"They've been commercializing the stadium slowly over the years since 1996, whether it's the ad space behind home plate, or the more glitzy scoreboard that has advertisements," said Scabadoni.

Fans are noticing the commercialization as well.

"I have attended approximately half of the home games and there are signs everywhere now. MBNA sponsors the smoking pavilion, Cingular wireless has signage all over the upper deck. There are ads on all four of the electronic scoreboards in left and right field, as well as in center," said Byron Clarke, 23, who attends almost all the weekend home games.

"Throw in the rotating signboard behind home plate, and the fact is that you can't look anywhere in the park without seeing advertising of some sort," said Clarke.

Cubs' fans recognize that Wrigley, like other baseball parks, needs corporate sponsorship in order to survive.

"Commercialism is an inevitable trend in American sports. Sports franchises today have higher labor costs, and they must offset these costs. I don't like it, but that's the way it is in today's world," Strickler said.

$ Is it all about the Benjamins?

According to sportsrevenues.com, U.S. Cellular purchased the naming rights to US Cellular Field for $60 million. The official amount that Anheuser-Busch paid for the naming rights to the Wrigley bleachers was not disclosed to the public, but transactions like this can be lucrative for both brewer and seller, if and only if they do their homework and have luck on their side.

Former chief equity analyst, Robert Walberg explained in his MSN "Street Patrol" column (2004) that buying the naming rights to a stadium or one of its parts does not guarantee success.

PSINet, an internet service provider, paid millions for the naming rights to the stadium where the Baltimore Ravens play. However the company went bankrupt in 2001.

"Today, with the company [PSINet] buried in debt, the stock trades at less than 25 cents," Walberg said.

A company is more likely to profit from owning naming rights if the stadium is nice and the team does well.

"Safeco Field is a beautiful ballpark," Walberg said.

When the Seattle Mariners were playing well, Safeco prospered.

"Safeco wasn't a household name, so investing in naming rights to gain public awareness was a good idea," Walberg said.

In addition to the bleachers at Wrigley, Anheuser-Busch has the naming rights to Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. The company has had the naming rights since 1953.

Selling the naming rights to Anheuser-Busch may be an attempt to help the struggling Tribune Company, which owns the Cubs and Wrigley Field. A table released by the Tribune Company shows that from 2005 to 2006, net income for the company went down 28.1 percent.

Some fans empathize with the Tribune Company, but will not tolerate renaming the ballpark or increasing ticket prices.

"As long as they don't try renaming the stadium, I'm OK with naming parts of the seating areas. The Tribune Company has a right to make money off the team, and naming the bleachers is a better way of doing that than hiking the already ridiculous ticket prices," Clarke said.