White Sox playoff crowds bring Bridgeport to life
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Sox fans tailgate in Lot C before the Sox took on the Guardians at Rate Field. Photo: Justin Kaufmann/Axios
The energy outside Rate Field may not have propelled the Sox to an ALDS-clinching win, but it didn't stop fans from enjoying the moment.
The latest: The Sox played their first home game of this year's playoffs, losing to the Guardians 9-3.
- Game 4 starts at 7pm Thursday.
The big picture: The loss means Sox fans get another chance to converge on Bridgeport and cheer on the home team.
What they're saying: "They look like they're having a good time," Sox fan Roger Tovar tells Axios. "They're not worried about losing. It makes me happy to see them happy and just having fun out there."
- Tovar and his friends set up a tailgate along the wall of train tracks just west of the stadium, cooking up skirt steak, chorizo and other treats.
- "I didn't even have breakfast today, because I knew I'd get some good tacos."
State of play: When it comes to pregame festivities, Rate Field gives South Side fans a leg up on their counterparts to the north.
- The parking lots allow tailgating, bringing out the grills, coolers and lawn chairs.
Zoom in: The Sox may have lost, but Bridgeport won. Local bars like Cork & Kerry at the Park and Turtles were packed. Lines stretched down the block at places like Grandstand and 35th Street Red Hots before the game.
- Even neighbors were getting in on the action, taking a page from their Lakeview brethren and renting out garage spaces for $40 and up. Gas stations and office lots were charging more than $60 a space.
Zoom out: Rate Field is more like Wrigley Field than many Chicagoans give it credit for. Because of its proximity to the Dan Ryan, some non-Sox fans think the ballpark is isolated from the surrounding neighborhood.
Reality check: Walk a few blocks west and it's hard to discern Wallace Street from Racine Avenue on the North Side. Remarkably, Chicago has two major league ballparks embedded in residential neighborhoods.
- Even some Cubs fans took in the action, including Jeff Meza, who wore a Sox jersey he received as a gift for the occasion.
- "It's our DNA to support Chicago, bro," Meza tells Axios. "Win or lose, we gotta support our teams. Chicago's winning. So let's win today."
The bottom line: The Sox didn't win. But fans will be back today, giving the team — and Bridgeport — another boost.