Mrs. My Sox Summer (aka Wife #2)

Most of you know “My Sox Summer” well. You know he is a die hard Sox fan. You may also know he has, an obsession for — I mean a “collection of” — bobbleheads, an affinity for White Sox giveaways, and all the glory a thrift store can provide. He’s also a stay at home Dad to his spunky one year old daughter (“Little Miss Shortstop”).  He has a heart of gold and an unwavering authenticity that often gains him new friends from all avenues of life. What you may or may not know is…there’s a Mrs. My Sox Summer, ME!  Although I haven’t made many plate appearances as of late, I am on the 40-man roster of the 108. They usually bring me up for big games like Opening Day and Elvis Night. But on my off days, I’m just along for the ride that is being the wife of a 108er.

To begin, I thought it might be helpful to know a little bit about how we came to be Mr. & Mrs. My Sox Summer. We owe our relationship to three things:
1) Northern IL University where we first met in 1999;
2) Facebook where we reconnected in 2010 after 10 years of radio silence, and
3) The White Sox.
I invited Jacob to come to the Hensleys’ (formerly annual) Patio party in 2011 for our first date. Now, I’m no rookie here. I knew what I was doing when I made that invitation. White Sox? Unlimited beer?  Fried chicken? No-brainer!  And I was right. That game truly was the first day of the rest of our lives. We certainly didn’t know it during our completely inappropriate make out sesh in Bacardi at the Park, but soon we would be having 50-game summers and family walks to the park from our home in Bridgeport.

Given this foundation that I helped lay with that first date, it’s no surprise that we both thought we were marrying a die hard White Sox fan. It didn’t take too long for My Sox Summer to realize he was actually marrying someone who liked to drink beer and talk to friends at White Sox games more so than a die hard fan. And slowly, but surely, I started to realize the White Sox would be a huge part of our marriage. Just how big you ask?

During the summer of 2012, MSS decided he wanted to go to as many Sox games as possible on a limited budget, and he made it to 54 for under $500.  He had a lot of supporters for the feat and met a lot of great people along the way. It’s also when he started to get to know the other 108ers. For the next three seasons, MSS spent 40 – 50 home games per season at Sox park. Did I say 40-50 games? Yes, 40-50 GAMES!

Depending on your position, that could seem like a lot of games or not a lot of games, but let me put it in perspective. It’s nearly every other Friday, Saturday, Sunday ALL SUMMER. It definitely put me into the #2 spot in the wife line-up. White Sox becomes Wife #1 starting in April, and I become Wife #2 until October. Not to worry though, we have a good run in the off-season and our win expectancy is high.

In fact, on this special day — Father’s Day — I thought it important to share what I like most about being Mrs. My Sox Summer.

His passion – I have never had the level of commitment to anything like My Sox Summer does for the White Sox. Good, bad, ugly. hot, cold, snow, or rain – he’s loyal to them.

His time with good friends. MSS grew up in Illinois, but he isn’t from Chicago. After college, he spent 10 years living out west. He wasn’t exactly set up for a strong social network when he moved here. But luckily, he’s fit right in with Beefloaf, Chorizy-E, Slumpbuster, and Biguns.  I’m happy he gets to spend every other Friday, Saturday and Sunday with them. 😉  Honestly, especially after a few [dozen] Modelos and a couple of vodka lemonades, MSS is a lovey guy, and he loves these guys.

His ability to make new friends simply by sharing a love of the White Sox. I mentioned it earlier, and many of you know, but My Sox Summer can (and usually does) make friends with just about anyone.

There’s Evelyn, the very sweet lady who works at the Italian Beef stand near 108. She is one of the first people who got to meet our daughter because MSS saw her on 31st working her second job as a crossing guard and insisted we stop so she could meet the baby.

There are the ticket reps and salespeople inside the White Sox organization who know me and Little Miss Shortstop before we ever even meet them. When I do meet them they act like they’ve known me forever.

There are the guys from Grandstand who always have a handshake for MSS and a “let’s take home a win” as we walk by.

There are new friends who share his love of the White Sox and bobbleheads, and who’ve become great friends.

Sharing the love of the game. When he takes our daughter to the games and shares his love of the White Sox with her. She can’t say much yet, but some form of “Go, Go White Sox” is in the repertoire. She claps anytime baseball is on tv, and she happily lulls herself to sleep to the sound of the fireworks during home games.

All in all, being Mrs. My Sox Summer is not so bad, and I’ll take the sacrifice bunt for the good of our family’s MVP. 😉

Happy Father’s Day, MSS! We love you! See you in the 108!

-Mrs. MSS