{"id":920,"date":"2009-05-15T00:58:15","date_gmt":"2009-05-15T05:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/?p=920"},"modified":"2009-05-15T00:58:15","modified_gmt":"2009-05-15T05:58:15","slug":"keep-your-enemies-close-assuming-you-have-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/920\/keep-your-enemies-close-assuming-you-have-one","title":{"rendered":"Keep Your Enemies Close, Assuming You Have One"},"content":{"rendered":"

What a difference a fast start makes. The Blue Jays, improbably still in first place, are creating quite a stir in Toronto. Freed from the shackles of playoff-bound sports teams, the city of Toronto quickly began banding around their surprising squad. The recent homecoming of a certain ex-pat<\/a>, decked in the colours of a sworn enemy, brought the best (and worst) out of Toronto. <\/p>\n

About that sworn enemy . . . it’s something of a lie. Sure, the Jays have rivals. Rivals that fill the building and angry up the blood. Despite lapsing into self-parody over recent years, the Red Sox and Yankees fill the role of Bad Guys to a tee; the perfect foil in the Jays altruistic battle against Evil and Economics. I still have a hard time mustering up true outrage and hatred for the Red Sox and Yankees. Familiarity often breeds contempt, but constant exposure to Yanks\/Sox somehow softens my feelings towards them. Stockholm Syndrome, if you would. <\/p>\n

The more I think about your White Sox, the more I realize I’m envious of their role in Chicago: that of the perpetual underdog. Judging by the steady attendance decline at the Cell (losing 3k per night since 2006<\/a>), even recent success won’t elevate the White Sox above also-rans in their own town. They are the unloved second child that harbours endless resentment over the preferential treatment given to the first born. No matter how much of a drunken disappointment. Marginalization breeds that resentment, but it also develops esprit de corps, the “fuck you, I’m a Sox fan” that this Jays fan can’t identify with. But I really, really want to. <\/p>\n

I wish for a true<\/em> rivalry, something close, constant, and real. A rivalry that will not only invigorate a town around a weekend series but spark heated discussion around a Thanksgiving dinner table, a practice tee, or an operating room. The Jays are Toronto’s second class citizen, lagging behind the very Cubbish Maple Leafs in coverage and overall love. But it’s not the same. <\/p>\n

Copping to Jays fandom will garner zero knowing looks across a bar, no defiant watercooler clique. Exclusion isn’t usually a galvanizing force, but drawing a measure of satisfaction by <\/em>not<\/em> being something is powerful. There is something so pure and so admirable about the way good White Sox fans feel about the Cubs, I want a piece of the action. Give me something to hate. <\/p>\n

——<\/p>\n

Drew aka Lloyd the Barber oversees operations for the outstanding Ghostrunner on First<\/a>. He lives in Toronto, which is a fine place to be right about now.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Games will make them champions, but something’s missing if the Jays are to be truly great. Our man in Toronto reports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[127,35,442,443,43,25],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":921,"href":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920\/revisions\/921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sox35th.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}