Chicago native Robert Francis Prevost, the newly installed pontiff, is a lifelong Sox fan.
Last season, the Chicago White Sox broke the record for losing the most games with a 41-121 record, surpassing the 1962 Mets. This season doesn’t look any better, with the Sox having a record of 14-33 (.298) as of May 18, sitting 17 games out of first place.
But now the team is in line for divine intervention. Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, is a die-hard White Sox fan.
Pope Leo’s brother set the record straight, saying he has always been a White Sox fan. There’s video proof of the Pope attending Game One of the 2005 World Series at U.S. Cellular Field. “He was never, ever a Cubs fan,” John Prevost declared. So I don’t know where that came from. Our mother was a Cubs fan, our dad was a Cardinals fan, and all of our aunts on my mother’s side (all from the city’s north side) were Cubs fans.”
Photo courtesy Chicago Tribune
As bad as the White Sox are, they are praying that maybe things will turn around for them and they will start winning. Last season, White Sox fans wore brown paper bags over their heads to signify how bad the season was, and they took to social media to vent their frustration.
The fans are taking it to a new level this season, dressing as the pope at home games and wearing apparel with pope graphics. The Sox will even unveil a graphic near his 2005 World Series seat commemorating the pope’s Chicago heritage and hold a mass in his honor.
White Sox GM Chris Getz told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, “It has been exciting to have someone of that significance be a White Sox fan. Since he’s been announced to become the Pope, the White Sox have tacked on some wins. So perhaps a higher power is on our side.’’
The Sox congratulated Prevost upon his election to the papacy and sent a pinstripe White Sox jersey with his name on it and a hat to Rome. The team also said, “The Pontiff is always welcome at his ballpark.”
