There are rivalries that develop naturally over time and there are contrived rivalries.
Watching the Cubs and White Sox battle at Wrigley Field. it’s obvious in which category this so-called rivalry falls. The Cubbies and the White Sox, while sharing the same city for more than 100 years, do not have the same kind of natural rivalry the Cardinals share with the Cubbies.
Having spent a good portion of my childhood in an area of Illinois that’s split evenly between Cubs and Cardinals fans, I know about that rivalry. I’m interested in seeing how the contrived White Sox-Cubs rivalry stacks up in comparison.
It doesn’t.
Oh, the crowds are loud and the cheers and jeers are all there. But it’s not the same. Neither team’s season depends on how they do in these few interleague contests. The history isn’t there either.
The fans walk out of Wrigley arm in arm in a lot of cases – a Sox fan and a Cubs fan. But Cardinals-Cubs games can get downright nasty. Sure, the games might not be as ugly as Red Sox-Yankees games, but then, Midwesterners are more laid back – they aren’t as nasty as a rule – at least not until they’re filled with enough Old Style.
I really miss the animosity.

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