Who do you cheer for?

A hearty congratulations to the Houston Astros and their loyal fans. They outplayed my Cardinals and Roy Oswalt is indeed brilliant. But that Game 5 was still the stuff of legend.

So, now. It’s the White Sox and the Astros in the Series. Which to root for? Neither, really, for me, but I do know that the Chicago Cubs are the arch-rivals of the White Sox, and White Sox fans generally don’t see eye-to-eye with Cubs fans, ergo I will cheer for the White Sox. I also know that the great Chicago-based snare drummer, Jim Sim, is a Chisox fan. Jim’s a great guy, so he’s waited long enough for baseball glory.

Both the Astros and White Sox have marathon histories of also-running. In pipe band terms, the Astros are like Boghall & Bathgate: probably the best band never to have won a World title despite their consistency. Gotta have a soft spot for them.

The White Sox would be akin to, say, Polkemmet. While Polkemmet is currently a Grade 2 band, they’ve been around forever and have only touched on big-time success for a few fleeting moments. I have a lot of time for loyalty and determination, and White Sox fans, just like the Polkemmet band, have stuck with it through thick and thin.

While we’re making analogies, SFU would be the LA Dodgers (deep organization and the world’s most glamourous place to play); FMM is the Atlanta Braves (consistently rebuilding and making the grade); Shotts would be the New York Yankees (get or keep the best at any cost; the band a lot of people like to dislike); the 78th Frasers would be the Oakland A’s (always trying to do things just a bit differently and usually successful); and SLOT would be the Toronto Blue Jays (often seen as being a guest team at another nation’s games). I could go on.

It will be a great World Series. Go Polkemmet, er, I mean, White Sox!