As I have said many times, I like to feed the trolls over on Reddit from time to time.  About a year ago, when the article came out about Chance dissing the Sox (or vice versa), a poster said something that stuck in my head for awhile.  He stated that Chance would have elevated the Sox hat in status, I fully disagreed.  I also stated that aside from maybe the Yankees and Dodgers, you would be hard pressed to find a more iconic hat.  The White Sox hat is an icon. Wanna know why? Read on.

The Change. 

Things were looking good for the White Sox in 1990, except our uniforms.  We had this stud rocking this red,white, blue wonder –

They were just about to open up New Comiskey Park, and of course they needed a 3rd uniform change in 9 years.  I remember seeing the new uni’s in the paper the day after the last game. I wanted one really bad, it was a game changer.  From what I can remember, there was a huge run on merch, as a Sox fan it was shocking to see so many people rocking a Sox cap or shirt.  Pretty sure I also remember the Sox taking some crap for switching to a Black, White and Grey scheme. Which fell right in line with the Kings and the Raiders as top selling stuff for anyone that wanted to look like they were in a gang (or actually be in a gang).

Did they do that on purpose?  I would wager that they did. It was a smart move that made them (and the MLB) a ton of money.  It defined them as the bad guys on the southside wearing black.  The previous uniform “C”, wasn’t something that was feared.  It looked very similar to the boys up north, just didn’t fit our team.  Old English Font.  Black. Pinstripes. That fit better.

“Got my chrome to the side of his White Sox hat.”

How did this hat become so popular? For one, it’s a sweet logo.  It was a take off of a previous logo used by the Sox (1959), but this one was more updated, rounded, smooth.  It was adopted by many people in popular culture.  Especially in hip-hop / Rap culture. Eazy-E. Dr. Dre. Tupac. Jay-Z. Chuck D. Ice-T. Ice Cube. Puff Daddy. Kanye West. Just to name a few.  And in case you didn’t notice, those are all the heavy hitters in rap. And I am sure I missed even more.

The new guys like Chance seem to rock it these days too, including west coaster Kendrick Lamar. And a bunch of people that I don’t even know who they are.

Singer Justin Bieber poses for a portrait in West Hollywood, Calif., Thursday, May 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

arrives at the Pre-VMA Summer Soiree presented by Def Jam Rapstar and Kodak on September 11, 2010 in Brentwood, California.

It symbolizes a tough image. Hard working. Grinding. It tosses it back to the old school for the new guys.  It garners the respect. Many of the heavy hitters wore it during their early years, during the struggle. So while Chance has introduced it to a younger generation of rap fans, it was done long before he ever got in the game.

There is a serious amount of cachet that this hat demands. There are too many people to list that have worn this hat and will wear this hat.  It’s a classic in hip-hop / rap culture.  But was this hat only for the rappers?  Hell no.  In part two we’ll talk about those guys, especially one guy in particular, Eddie Vedder.

-MSS

Make sure you vote in our Twitter White Sox Personality Tournament! 8am to 8 pm the polls are open!  Today is the play in games and there have already been hundreds of votes!

Also, you may have noticed at our Prediction Show I was wearing a brand new hoodie that the good folks at 4th Shift Printing made up for us.  They will be available in the store by Friday! They are athletic cut so they make you look slim.  Even the fat guys like myself.  So keep a look out for that!