I live on the South Side, and I’m a Cubs fan. How did this happen, you ask? My Grandpa was a Cubs fan, and I was watching the Cubbies in the 1984 playoffs when I was a few months old, dressed in Cubs gear.

As you may have suspected, the Sox making it to the World Series brings about mixed emotions in me. A lot of Cubs fans and Sox fans alike expect nothing but animosity from Cubs fans. I took enough shit from Sox fans when the Cubbies choked and threw away their World Series hopes a few years ago. But I’m not angry at the Sox, nor am I angry at Sox fans. I’m happy for both. I hate Ozzie as a manager, but I like most of the team, and they had one hell of a year. They deserve to go to the Series, and I applaud them. And I’m happy for my friends who are Sox fans, even the ones who gave me grief.

A bunch of people are probably saying that I’m not a real Cubs fan. But I am. I was there the year we started 0 -14, watching every game because we were bound to win one of them. I shed tears when we lost in the playoffs – they were very manly tears, mind you. I’m a Cubbie fan to the core. Hell, I want to get the Cubs logo tattooed on me, I just don’t have the cash. And I’m bitter as hell that the Sox got to the Series.

Anyway, here’s my thinking on the Sox in the World Series. Cubs fans shouldn’t be mad at the Sox, they should be mad at the damn Cubs. We (yes, we fans are an integral part of the Cubs organization) choke year after year. Some may blame it on injuries, some on Steve Bartman, but it boils down to the will to win, and we haven’t had it lately. Hell, Derrek Lee was the saving grace of the Cubs this year, everyone else just fell short.

I do want to make a few things clear, though. As much as I’m happy for the Sox and the city of Chicago, it’s incredibly hard to actually root for the Sox. Watching the games, I find myself getting excited that a Chicago team is doing so well, but I silently cheer when they screw up. I can’t bring myself to verbalize my excitement. And I don’t actually cheer for the team, but, rather, I single people out. I’ll applaud the starting pitcher for throwing a gem, or comment on a great play from Konerko or a clutch hit from Crede.

I’m pretty bitter, but that bitterness is mostly caused by jealousy. Jealousy because my damn team can’t play up to its level of talent and get themselves even to the playoffs. It’s hard for me to say this, but I hope the Sox keep up their level of play. That’s the closest this Cubs fan will get to cheering for them because, unlike many fans on both sides, I’m a Cubs fan, not an anti-Sox fan.

Paul Wagner is the Editor in Chief of the Buzz and a senior in LAS. He can be reached at [email protected].