#500

This is the 500th poast to float through this blog over the (almost) 4 years of existence, so we figured we’d do a tree-way dance to celebrate it and tell yous about some of our favorite things of the past and possibly a look into the future.  Enjoy……

MySoxSummer

Favorite #108ing Moment

Might be one of the first “We Out Here” games, maybe pre-Sunday Soak days that stands out for many reasons.   You’ve seen this pic before and now you’ll know the whole MSS story.

Now, most Sundays we pre-game with the soak, but for some reason we didn’t even hang out before the game when this picture was taken.  Well, the brothers did, but I wasn’t invited. #Racist.  I had a buddy from high school that was going to the game and wanted to crush a few beers, so I went down a little early.  I had just picked up some Unsessionable from Rev Brewing and brought two of those bad boys with me as well as some other beers.  Unsessionable has a pretty high ABV, 10% as a matter of fact, and while I was walking around looking for my friend, I drank all the beers I had with me.  I planned on going in, but just then I ran into my buddy! What happened next is just another 108 legendary drinking story.  I am pretty sure I shotgunned about 4 beers before we went in.  Maybe drank 2 while all that shotgunning was happening just cause.  So if you are playing at home, I am about 10 beers in before entering the park. This just has to go well.

I get down to the 108 and both Chorizy and Loaf are also hammered.  So what do we do? Just keep the good times a rolling.  Beers start to go down slower for me, and it was the first game where I was 1000% sloshed by the 4th inning and was begging the game to hurry the fuck up.

Pretty sure I was on the edge of blackout, guessing the Sox lost, but we decided that more drinks needed to be had post game so we headed to ChiSox Bar and Grill.  Not surprisingly, I was denied entry.  I assume I was wobbling like a weeble-wobble and I am sure I was 100% understanding to the security guard.  I remember Loaf giving me the “What’s up?” look and I just put up my finger and told him to wait a minute.

In my mind I was cat like, Matt Albers rounding the bases like, and I walked to the west side of the patio and stepped over the wall. Sat down with the boys and asked them why they hadn’t ordered me a beer and some wings.  That was the hardest #108ing day I have ever had at the park.  Go me!

Favorite Blog Post (from the other guys)

I’ll be honest, I don’t even read much of our stuff.  Especially when Mr. Hand posts, but in this case it’s easily the MGD post by Chorizy.  It’s what started the 108 style of bitch posts, which has been taken to new heights with the Soak and the Podcast.  We dropped it on a Saturday and it went crazy.  I think it said in our minds, ok, we can really do this.  Read it here.

Best quote ever –

Please explain to me, who are these MGD drinkers?  Have you ever seen an actual human pulling a case of MGD off the shelf at the store? No.  Have you ever gone to anyone’s home and been offered an MGD?  No.  If someone offered you an MGD, you’d assume they had never had a beer in their life and just got whatever because they knew your drunk ass was coming over.

So thanks for setting the standard Chorizy.

What #108ing stuff are you looking forward to in the future?

Man.  More giving back to the community in which we live.  It was fucking awesome to see yous guys donate your hard earned money to see us shave dumb mustaches on our dumb faces. We’d all like to do more of that.

We will continue to bring you bigger and better pre-game and post-game events, starting with what we can do for next year’s SoxFest.  Each year we get bigger and better which only benefits yous.  I’d like to continue our partnership with the Goose Island folks and expand on the events we do together so we can get some really fun experiences for our fans as well as ourselves.  You guys should be rewarded for supporting us and we’re trying hard to make that happen.

Thank Yous….

First, thanks to the two guys I do this with.  They brought me into the friend circle and haven’t treated me like an outsider since day one.  As you get older it’s hard to find good friends, glad we all have this alcohol and White Sox problem.

Second, my family.  My wife. My girls.  You forgive me for 6 months of quick goodbyes and late nights.  I hope I make the other 6 worth it.

Third, my extended 108 family.  The other wives, you girls have been behind us since day 1. The OG’s – Slumpbuster and Big’Uns and the ambassadors – Wally $, Mr. Hand and Uncle Rico.  You guys help us make the experience unique and always show up when needed. The superfans- Too many to name. If I have hugged you, you are in this group.  Y’all show up, take pics, read our stuff, listen to the podcast, buy our merch, you guys are awesome.  The reason we even do this.  Thanks for keeping us moving forward.

Chorizy-E

Favorite #108ing Moment

When I think back to how this all started and one of the things that drew BeefLoaf and I to the seats in the 108, I can never forget the first game of the 2005 playoff run.  At the time, I was a broke AF record label manager and Polish w/ Extra Onions had an opportunity to get 4 tix in RF for $100 each.  I had about $101 in my bank account, so obviously I went.  Rent be damned!

The crew that ended up going was me, BeefLoaf, Polish w/ Extra Onions, and Jonny Love.  Four kids that grew up together in Bridgeport in the stands at the beginning of a run that we’d never forget.  I can’t even remember how many beers we drank at that game, but I do remember two key things:

1. The guy next to us tried to keep pace with us.  He ended up getting kicked out for trying to fight the four off-duty cops in front of us.
2. Me, Beef, and Polish had to walk to Donovan Park after the game to play softball on Slim Mick’s team.  When Slim Mick saw the condition we were in, he just shook his head.

The crew that attended that game has literally been friends for life, so that #108ing experience was one of my favorites despite it preceding #108ing.  If you need a pic of us doing it more recent, this was us at the Hawks game (part two of the Depaul bball/Blackhawks double header).

Favorite Blog Post (from the other guys)

My favorite post we’ve had is “Imagine a White Sox Network”

BeefLoaf really kind of set the tone for what this blog would be with this post.  This is from January of 2017.  It’s the essence of BeefLoaf: really thinking outside the box, a hilarious yet interesting concept, all bolded text for no reason, and grammar that would make your 6th grade English teacher throw you out the window.

Not to mention, a beautiful pic of Coop.

What #108ing stuff are you looking forward to in the future?

There is so much fun shit we’re working on and there are staples like the Road Watch Parties and Sox Fest After Parties, but what I’m really looking forward to is a playoff game in the 108.  If the Sox are playing meaningful baseball on 10/8 of an upcoming year, my liver might just go on strike.

Thank Yous….

The Wives

The biggest Thank You has to go to the wives.  They put up with a lot of shit like us recording podcasts late into the night, people sitting on your deck getting hammered til all hours of the morning, 30 family members lining up early to get bobbleheads.  We know we’re extremely fortunate to have our better halves, but it never hurts to say it, so Thank You to Quernzy, Mrs BeefLoaf, and Mama Summer.

The OGs

There are people who have been following and more importantly interacting since the start.  I am sure I will forget many, but Wally$, Aloha Mr Hand, Bobbles Jim, ClassyTom, SoxSidePride, Sleepy Harold, DudeSlater, Matt Bond, and NewSoxOrder come to mind when I think back.  Their interactions kept us going early on and keep us going today.  It’s really cool to find people as passionate about something as you are.

The Visitors

Thanks to everyone that comes by the 108 to hang out or even just to say hello.

The Tailgaters

We get invited to tailgates from time to time and it is always appreciated.  It’s a great place to talk Sox, relax, and do some real #108ing.  So thanks again to SoxSidePride as well as Jonnie Nonnie, Mister Mare and Josh Nelson

The Founders

SlumpBuster and Biguns.  The first #108ing moment was likely our trek to Shinnick’s after a game.  A few thousand high lifes later, I still consider these guys family.

The Guests

Thanks to everyone who has either been on the podcast or will be along with all of you have done interviews for us.

The Enablers

Baderbrau, Buffalo Wings and Rings, Lo-Rez, and Goose Island.  Give us booze, you make the list of those we are thankful for.  Special shout out to a guy named Justin Maynard who has been helping us since the beginning.

BeefLoaf

Favorite #108ing Moment

January 26th, 2018, SoxFest After Party our pal Josh Nelson from SoxMachine tapped us to be hosts with them for an anti-establishment SoxFest After Party at our old #SundaySoak sponsor (#RIPIP) Baderbrau, for those that attended, they know that Baderbrau had a back room which was perfect for an event like this, we were given our own bartender and the ability to do whatever we wanted.  It was our first BIG EVENT….this was way before our podcast, and probably before more than half of you knew who the fuck we are…..definitely before the #108Tourney made it’s first appearance on #WhiteSox twitter (that would be a couple of months later).  I was nervous, didn’t really know what to expect of this ting.  I didn’t know if 3 people would show (other than the panelists) or what.  As people started pouring in, it became apparent, this was going to be a fun event.  More and more people started showing up in 108 gear, which shocked the fuck outta me, but had me thrilled.  But the real triumph for us, more than our OG people showing, more than even being considered to be a part of such a thing, the real triumph was Chorizy.  They weren’t expecting a guy like Chorizy.

You see, we were the hosts (co-host, but it was our house) and due to that, we were going to have a person on the panel.  That person was Chorizy, now you all know what he can do, but back then, none of you knew what he could do, the #SundaySoak was very young and we didn’t have a podcast.  Chorizy announced his presence with authority and had the crowd rolling with each answer, in fact you could hear the collective crowd waiting for his next hilarious, but thoughtful answer to the panel questions.  That was a great night!!  Great friends, fun times and of course LOTS and LOTS of beer!

Favorite Blog Post (from the other guys)

#1 with a fucking bullet!!! If we as a collective 108 group contributed NOTHING ELSE to the internets, I’d be super fucking proud that MySoxSummer (with an assissist from Chorizy) dropped this dime on the world.  Classic 108 shit and still cited and sought after on #WhiteSox twitter.

The 108 Learning Annex – Bathroom Etiquette at the Ballpark.

What #108ing stuff are you looking forward to in the future?

We collectively have LOTS of fun stuff coming in the near and not so near term that I am very excited about, but let’s go a little outside the box here…..I’m excited for the blog / podcast / youtuber that looks at what we are doing, a total DIY thing, with basically no writing background, no video background and no podcast background (Chorizy is a musician on the side, but still) and says, I can do that, and creates some NEW and INTERESTING #WhiteSox content.  Something that we aren’t seeing right now.  I look forward to the person that reads this or some of our other weird blogs and says “Hey, if those idiots can do it, so can I!!!”

Much the way I would read the cool stuff from WSD, Fegan, Fornelli or Margalus and thought, you know what isn’t out there that someone should say.  Maybe that person or persons are already doing something and it just hasn’t clicked yet, or maybe that person is going to open up their first WordPress tomorrow and start, I dunno, but I look forward to that shit and I look forward to sharing a beer with that person to talk about their seminal blog post.

Thank Yous….

I was really dreading this section of the post…..because my thank yous are infinitesimal, anywho, here goes….

Obvious

White Sox fans, you beautiful, snarky, hard nosed, mufuckas….your sense of humor cracks me up on the fucking regular and has me thinking “HOW CAN I MAKE YOU FOLKS LAUGH?”  It’s the reason we do this, to meet you people in the stands, share a beer, talk about the White Sox and have a laugh.  The community is what it’s all about, it will never not be what this thing is about.

Not Obvious

The Stats Bros that try and bully the average fan with stats they really don’t even understand.  Those folks will always motivate me to work harder at exploring different angles and a deeper understanding of the game so that I can dunk on them, even when they don’t realize they are being dunked on.

The Ambassadors

We have grown out more ambassadors over time, but I’m talking specifically about Bobbles Jim, Wally$ & Aloha Mr Hand.  These dudes are up in the spot with us, hanging out through the languid periods of White Sox baseball that may or may not be the most thrilling, sharing a drink, a joke and ideas about the White Sox and what might be.  I personally appreciate your friendships so much!

Famous Twitter Folks

We’ve had some famous twitter folk be really fucking nice to us over the course of our blog.  As Shep Gordon would say in his excellent book “SuperMensch” he has “Coupons” with people he owes over the years.  There’s no doubt we owe a bunch of mufuckas, whether they came and did our podcast on the coldest day in Chicago in a decade or they showed up to an early tailgate that only had like 20 people and brought a case of beer like they were just one of the fellas, we owe them dudes and many more.

108 Family

Quernzy, thanks for teaching us how to use twitter, for recording our goofy podcast opens and for tolerating lots of late nights recording podcasts, spitballin’ ideas and Chorizy and I arguing with each other.

Bonita Steakie, for making me laugh and for putting up with all this silliness.  You probably lose out on some time playing with me because of this, but you rarely complain.

I always work to make you laugh and you are the barometer for me to make others laugh.  I love you so much!!

Mrs BeefLoaf, the 108 den mom (as MSS would say), the person that makes the #SundaySoak possible, the person that invites this Motley Crew into her home on the regular to drink beer and get ready for the White Sox game and last but certainly not least, my lovely wife.  Your support, compassion and understanding for all of this goofy is nothing short of amazing.

-BeefLoaf, Chorizy-E & MySoxSummer