I have to admit I agree with the editorial (“White Sox on cusp of historic record. Will home supporters get to see it?” Sept. 15) and Paul Sullivan’s column (“Past, present and future meld together on Sox’s road to infamy,” Sept. 15) both cheering on the White Sox to go for the worst record in baseball history. I am reminded of attending my first Northwestern University football game in 1981, when the Wildcats set the NCAA Division I consecutive-loss record. There were cheers of “We’re No. 1,” much to the dismay of the team’s players, which is certainly shared by the current White Sox players.
How times have changed.
The Sox are considering lowering ticket prices to encourage future attendance yet seeking public funding for a newer stadium. Meanwhile, NU has obviously taken lessons from the economics department, reducing supply to create demand while charging higher prices in the temporary Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, all in advance of building a new privately funded sports and entertainment center on the site of the hallowed Ryan Field, forever known as Dyche Stadium.
However, after going to games and cheering on NU the past 42 years (season ticket holder from 2015 to 2023), I may have to switch to the Sox, because at least they’re affordable.
— Chris Donovan, Oak Park
Don’t blame White Sox GM
The editorial on the White Sox incorrectly blames general manager Chris Getz for the White Sox’ disastrous season, along with owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Getz inherited this mess from his predecessors — after the season had already begun. Surely “consultant” Tony La Russa should not be off the list of culprits.
Let’s see what Getz can do for the team in the next two or three years. I don’t remember the Cubs winning the World Series the year Theo Epstein came to town.
— Rick Mullin, Brunswick, Maine
The Sox deserve relegation
In European soccer, a team that does poorly can be relegated, or sent down to a lower league, and replaced by a top team from that league. Should that be taken as an example?
Send the Sox, lock, stock and Jerry Reinsdorf, down to Triple A and install in their place the best Triple A team at Guaranteed Rate Field. That team could hardly do worse.
— David Brann, Lemont
Cubs have hurt themselves
As a boy, every day in the spring, I came home, turned on WGN-TV and watched the Cubs. I am certain that this was a similar situation for many, many people across the U.S. For more than 70 years, Cubs games were aired on WGN, garnering fans and supporters from all over the world. Records did not matter; we just wanted to see our beloved Cubs and have the potential to sing “Go Cubs Go.” They were the lovable losers, but we still got to see them.
Now, contrast that with today. Watching a Cubs game is like pulling teeth. Their games are rarely on national TV and usually are restricted to the Marquee Sports Network streaming platform. This is a head-scratcher for me. Sure, you can pay $19.99 a month to get access to watch the Cubs. But will you? I know that I did initially subscribe, and then I pulled the plug.
One, I am not paying for an app that I have to stream to a TV. Two, I am not paying to watch bad baseball. This move for the Cubs was a huge misstep in my opinion. A whole generation of potential Cubs fans is gone — poof. Are kids downloading the Marquee app to watch Cubs games? It’s just not realistic, even in the technological world we now live in. With less exposure, there are fewer eyes on the Cubs. You add in the overwhelming cost to go to a game, well, you get the idea.
The once-adored Cubs are now just another team in the MLB. It is extremely disappointing and unfortunate. My kids do not watch the Cubs anymore. Their friends do not watch the Cubs. Multiply that by thousands, and your fan base continues to dwindle.
Management really needs to address this head on and get the Cubs games back on network TV.
— Padraic Stanton, Chicago
Bears keep repeating error
As a mom and grandmother, I’ve never been a big fan of football, not wanting my sons or grandsons to endure concussions. But I understand football, so I watch games with some interest. When I was in ninth grade, most players on the football team were assigned to my homeroom. Our homeroom teacher was soft-spoken Ms. S, the home economics teacher. The football players, who towered over her, created chaos day after day. After several weeks of school, Ms. S. fled the room in tears, never to be seen again.
The football coach was sent in as the replacement homeroom teacher. For the rest of the year during every homeroom, we were all required to pay strict attention to the next game’s play strategies. Or listen to critiques of the previous game. I began to watch the Friday night games with understanding and interest.
Here’s the main underlying lesson: You cannot keep doing the same thing and hope for a different outcome. The Bears cannot keep bringing on board the youngest, least experienced player as quarterback, expecting a correction of the shortcomings of the offensive team.
— Kathryn Williams, Chicago
Images of Italian Americans
In her review of the HBO docuseries “Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos” (Sept. 14), Nina Metz uses the word “myopic” to describe “Sopranos” creator Chase’s view of Italian Americans. I commend Metz for bringing up the issue of Italian stereotypes at all. A great majority of Americans, Italian or otherwise, still see these images as perfectly normal.
Her calling out the filmmaker for not confronting Chase on this issue represents true progress. Brava!
A colleague of mine once used a vivid metaphor, fun house mirrors, when referring to Italian American characters in movies and on TV. Carnivalgoers walk past these mirrors and see their reflections — but how accurate are these images?
People recognize bits and pieces of themselves, but their features have been distorted. This is how Italian Americans — those who are truly familiar with their history and culture — view Hollywood’s view of us. We see gross distortions. That is what “The Sopranos” represents.
Let’s imagine that these fun house mirrors are straightened into objective mirrors that reflect reality. Instead of seeing extremes between goons (pick your favorite mob movie) or buffoons (think of endless TV sitcoms with “dumb Joey” characters), people would see a complex and positive heritage.
We would see political writer Filippo Mazzei, who provided his close friend and neighbor, Thomas Jefferson, with input for the Declaration of Independence. We would see Salvatore Catalano, the heroic sailor who aided a new nation, the United States, in its war against the Barbary pirates. We would see Adelina Patti, a renowned opera singer, invited to the White House by President Abraham Lincoln.
We would see that, over the last 150 years, Italian immigrants have brought their talents to a myriad of things now considered “American,” such as the Bank of America (A.P. Giannini), Planters peanuts (Amedeo Obici), Tropicana orange juice (Anthony Rossi), the Radio Flyer red wagon (Antonio Pasin) and the voice of Snow White in the classic Walt Disney animated film (Adriana Caselotti).
What do any of these real-life Italian Americans have to do with the murderous thugs, gum-chewing bimbos and intellectually challenged muscle heads perpetuated by popular media?
How do we close this Grand Canyon gap between shows such as “The Sopranos” and the historical reality of the Italian American experience? One answer is to replace those fun house mirrors with real ones.
Metz’s observation is a wonderful invitation to start doing exactly that.
Let the refocusing begin!
— Bill Dal Cerro, senior analyst, Italic Institute of America, Chicago
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