Here is the email conversation that led to this post, enjoy.
Bert Kolson
How much does that hurt the sox losing their most known entity?
Do you think that hurts their fan base?
Do you think that hurts their fan base?
Have they mentioned any names for replacement?
Do you still think they’re Chicago’s team even though the Cubs had 3 million in attendance this year and had a terrible team?
Sef Sam Holy
Do you think Ozzie Guillen going to the Marlins hurts the White Sox fan base? I think that’s a dumb question. Who was a White Sox fan because of their manager? Girls in other cities? White Sox fans care about winning, they show up to the Cell when the Sox are good. So no, I don’t think losing a character like Ozzie will affect attendance next season.
The names they have mentioned have been Buddy Bell, Sandy Alomar Jr, and Dave Martinez.
And I think today is a great example of why today is a White Sox town, look at the coverage this is getting in Chicago, and nationally. In the middle of a playoff race where two teams are choking away leads with two days left in the season, and baseball playoffs 4 days away, the baseball world’s biggest story is what the White Sox are going to do for their manager job. I don’t even think the Pinella situation with the Cubs that occurred last year even got ESPNChicago.com coverage, let alone, Good Morning America coverage the way Guillen was.
You emailing me about this also proves this is a White Sox town. Considering you haven’t sent one email out about the Cubs this year, you, and everyone else in Chicago pays more attention to the White Sox nowadays, more than they do with the Cubs. We already conceded that the Cubs will outdraw the White Sox when we had this discussion earlier this season. People go to Wrigley Field for an experience, it has nothing to do with more people being Cubs fans than Sox fans in the Chicagoland area. That’s like me saying, “Even with this horrible Sox team, they still finished 8-10 games ahead of the Cubs this year proving that this is a White Sox town.”
The debate is based on more than just attendance.
Scott Yasko
Even with the fear of being called a "stupid woman" for not having the same opinion as someone, I have to disagree with everyone in this case entirely.
Chicago is not a Sox or a Cubs town, it's a winning town. The team that is ALWAYS most popular is the one that has the best reputation of "what have you done for me lately." I saw this phenomenon when the Sox won the series in 05 and even again when the Hawks won the cup last year. People gravitate to where the fun and excitement is and nowhere is that more true than in Chicago.
When the Cubs were inches away in 03, they dominated the city; when the Sox won in 05, Konerko jerseys were everywhere; and last year, there were Hawk fans, who didn't even know what a blue line was 2 months before, hoisting Lord Stanley's cup.
Winning is a fad that the casual fan (the overwhelming majority) leaches on to. The die hard's bleed our team's colors and we wouldn't be designated as such if we didn't see the situation through blinders. The bottom line comes down to human nature: and everybody gravitates towards "the cool kid." And when a newer, cooler kid comes along, well, he takes all that love and attention away.
And as far as media coverage goes, Seth, I'm sorry man, but you're looking through blinders there too. Zambrano's final breakdown got just as much pub as Ozzie's exit this year, and Pinella stepping down last year was everywhere as well. And again, it's the “what have you done for me lately mentality” that blurs your vision as to the amount of media coverage given. This whole Guillen situation came out of nowhere and was a shock to Sox fans' systems, and perhaps that's why you see it as getting more coverage; but I humbly disagree.
As far as the effect on the team's outcome: minimal. A manager is only responsible for a handful of victories/losses a year and really are grossly overvalued in the American League.
Personally, I love Ozzie, and I'm going to miss him as a presence and voice around the organization. He wasn't always right and didn't always show tact, but he was passionate and fun, and more MLB personalities should be as approachable. So Monster, don't call him a clown or I'll send Seth with a bat over to your house.
Chicago is not a Sox or a Cubs town, it's a winning town. The team that is ALWAYS most popular is the one that has the best reputation of "what have you done for me lately." I saw this phenomenon when the Sox won the series in 05 and even again when the Hawks won the cup last year. People gravitate to where the fun and excitement is and nowhere is that more true than in Chicago.
When the Cubs were inches away in 03, they dominated the city; when the Sox won in 05, Konerko jerseys were everywhere; and last year, there were Hawk fans, who didn't even know what a blue line was 2 months before, hoisting Lord Stanley's cup.
Winning is a fad that the casual fan (the overwhelming majority) leaches on to. The die hard's bleed our team's colors and we wouldn't be designated as such if we didn't see the situation through blinders. The bottom line comes down to human nature: and everybody gravitates towards "the cool kid." And when a newer, cooler kid comes along, well, he takes all that love and attention away.
And as far as media coverage goes, Seth, I'm sorry man, but you're looking through blinders there too. Zambrano's final breakdown got just as much pub as Ozzie's exit this year, and Pinella stepping down last year was everywhere as well. And again, it's the “what have you done for me lately mentality” that blurs your vision as to the amount of media coverage given. This whole Guillen situation came out of nowhere and was a shock to Sox fans' systems, and perhaps that's why you see it as getting more coverage; but I humbly disagree.
As far as the effect on the team's outcome: minimal. A manager is only responsible for a handful of victories/losses a year and really are grossly overvalued in the American League.
Personally, I love Ozzie, and I'm going to miss him as a presence and voice around the organization. He wasn't always right and didn't always show tact, but he was passionate and fun, and more MLB personalities should be as approachable. So Monster, don't call him a clown or I'll send Seth with a bat over to your house.
C-Murder
The White Sox are not just a sports team, they are a brand. Over time, and especially In the years after the 05 world series, Ozzie became the brand.
He is one of those rare polarizing figures that can do that, similar to Ditka in a way, but with Twitter. 15% of why the Marlins hired him was for his managing ability (as good as he may be) and 85% was for his aura; his ability to build a new Marlins/Ozzie brand. It has very little to do with baseball.
The Sox were much more relevant in losing seasons because of Ozzie and his personality. When you are relevant, when you are getting attention, it's good for a brand. Losing him forces the Sox to rely much more on winning and on its players to stay relevant. Ozzie was just a nice distraction when things were not going well. It looks like the Sox new brand ambassador is going to have to be a player.
The Bulls brand is D-Rose, the Cubs are Wrigley Field, and the Sox (more recently) were built around Ozzie. You won't be able to easily quantify what losing Ozzie really means, but it will be interesting to see if the Sox upward arrow of general interest (locally and nationally) will continue without him.
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