Sox and the City: A Fan's Love Affair with the White Sox from the Heartbreak of '67 to the Wizards of Oz

by Richard Roeper

Book Overview

Over the last 40 years, Richard Roeper has attended White Sox games, watching as his team established a losing streak that was almost unparalleled in Major League Baseball history. In this account of what it was like to grow up a White Sox fan in a Cubs nation, Roeper covers the recent history of the organisation, from the heartbreak of 1967 and the South-Side Hit Men to the disco demolition and the magical 2005 season when they became world champions. Encapsulating what it means to be a baseball fan, root for the same sorry team no matter what, and find vindication, this history of the White Sox is flavoured with trivia; anecdotes about players, owners, and broadcasters; plus Roeper's own humorous and personal reminiscences.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1556526792
• ISBN13: 9781556526794
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Length: 223 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A True Sox Fan's Book

"Sox and the City" is a great read for any baseball lover, but particularly White Sox fans. They say that as a baseball fan you are wedded to one team for life, and live and die with them each season. Or to paraphrase one of those east coast baseball fans, baseball is not life or death, but the [White] Sox are! "Sox and the City" will most interest Chicagosns, of course. But all baseball fans might enjoy it. After all, being a White Sox fan in a city with more than one team, and an ancient generational rivalry (I won't name that OTHER team) is an experience few living baseball fans still know. the annual highs and lows (and finally triumph) that made the suffering all worth it. Only perhaps New Yorkers share the experience (and even the New York Mets are stand-ins for the old Yankees-Dodgers-Giants rivalry). If you love baseball, pick this one up!

Great look at White Sox baseball

Give movie critic Richard Roeper "Two Thumbs Up" for this upbeat look at rooting for the White Sox in a city where the more-popular Cubs have the advantage. Roeper describes his lifelong attachment to the Sox, recalling past baseball games, seasons, players, etc. He shows that the underdog White Sox typically draw smaller crowds and less media to their plainer arena on the city's non-glamorous South Side - add losing seasons to that mix and you can see why the Sox nearly moved to Milwaukee (1968), Seattle (1975), Denver (1980) and Florida (1988). Ironically, these hardships and the fortitude of Sox fans to endure them are rarely mentioned by a national media that fixates on the big-money Cubs and other glamour teams. Roeper concludes by describing part of the magical 2005 season, when the White Sox finally broke through and won the World Series - their first title in 88 years! That triumph cheered Chicago's long-suffering fans and attracted much-desired national attention. This lively and often humorous narrative could have been longer than 197 fast-reading pages. I felt the author underestimated how many people in Chicago root hard for both teams, but this is still an entertaining read for baseball fans here and across the nation.

Entertaining Book, Even if You are not a Sox Fan

Richard Roeper gives an entertaining overview of his love for the Chicago White Sox while adding interesting anecdotes about life in Chicago and in general. As a fellow White Sox fan, I found this book to be right on the money in explaining why Chicago became a Cubs town even when the Sox had a better team (poor judgement by Sox management and changing neighborhoods). Roeper shows his love for the White Sox and handles the subject with objectivity (when possible, given that he is a die-hard fan).

sox and the city

This is the ultimate read for any loyal White Sox fan. Winning the world series was a dream come true for me, and no one shares the magic of that wonderful season like Richard Roeper in this great book. Brought back many special memories of growing up a true sox fan in a cubs town, with the ultimate finale, a world series winner for our beloved white sox.

Sox & the City

timely & funny, as a long time Sox fan I could relate to many of the descriptions in Roeper's book. The book gives a different perspective from a so called non sportswriter or jock. I would highly recommend it for hard core Sox fans.