A couple of business things on Valentine’s day:  First, don’t forget, with spring in the air (it’s been like 40 degrees out with SUN. So balmy in fact that you want to run around with shorts on — at least maybe in Chicago where it has been sub-artic like recently), the White Sox tweet-up at Bob’s Inn on March 1, 2011. Go here and RSVP. Hope to see you at Bob’s Inn. And for all you runners out there, who just happen to be Bulls, Blackhawks and / or White Sox fans, registration is open for the Home Team Charity 10K race which begins at the United Center and ends at the Cell. Even if you happen to like the Cubs you should still come and run the race! Go Here for more details on the race.

In other news, I listen to a LOT of different music styles. At times, I feel I need to justify my musical tastes because I listen to things that are just not taken seriously. However, when I get too much crap, I do remind people that I majored in music so I feel I’m entitled to my “bad” musical tastes on occasion because I also have exceptional tastes as well. That is only relevant because today’s title is from “Boys Boys Boys” by Lady Gaga. Yes, she is viewed by many as beyond annoying, but I find her beats to be fun, particularly when running.

Anyway, since it is Valentine’s Day today, Monday Funday  and Pitchers and Catchers began reporting yesterday (squee!!!!) and will continue to do so over the next few days, I thought today would be a great day to say why WE LOVE THEM! The “THEM”, being the White Sox. I asked my followers on twitter to tell me why they like the team and here is a sampling of what they had to say. We all have our reasons for loving something or someone, and here are reasons to love the White Sox. Perhaps you are new to fandom and want to find a team. Let these reasons sway you into liking the boys on the South Side at 35th & Shields. Special thanks to all who took time out to tell me why you love the White Sox.

Helen says: I love the Sox because they can make me laugh when I don’t want to smile. They are an entertaining bunch and I look up to a lot of players.

Jenny says: I was born on the North Side of Chicago and raised downstate in Springfield, IL, where it would seem that there are only two baseball teams that exist – the Cardinals and the Cubs. Fans of those teams got to see their games televised, while my family listened to the White Sox on the radio. Each day, I’d curl up with my father on the couch and we’d read the sports section to rehash the games.  When at our family summer home in Northern Michigan, we were joined in this ritual by my grandfather, who was an incredibly devoted White Sox fan. He was a very reserved man and was not given to being overly passionate, but when it came to the White Sox, all bets were off, and he’d tell me stories for hours about games he’d been to at Comiskey over the years and discuss legendary players he’d seen in action. As my grandfather was not overly affectionate either, I cherished this time with him, when he’d forget I was an inconsequential female child and would spend hours talking baseball with me. One of the great heartbreaks of his life was that he never got to see them win a World Series. My grandfather, in particular, imbued me with a passion and dedication for South Side baseball.

Being a White Sox fan in Springfield wasn’t easy and lead to any number of playground fights as I defended my seemingly illogical taste in baseball with my fists.  People learned by 1st grade that making fun of the White Sox was not a winning proposition. That being said, I was the only child I knew who rooted for the White Sox in a town where everyone loved baseball – as long as it was NL baseball. It was a bit lonely, but only made me more resolute in my fandom.  Dad took me to a few games up in Chicago each year, and I can’t begin to tell you how I looked forward to those occasions.

After spending a few years in Ann Arbor, MI (where Tigers fans, surprisingly, were more respectful of the White Sox than anyone I’d ever known in Illinois), I moved to Chicago for college. I was thrilled to finally live in the city where my team played for, surely, I would finally be able to cease my endless defense of the White Sox. Wrong. So very wrong. It didn’t take long for me to learn that, if anything, there was even MORE dissing of my team by rabid Cubs fans that seemed to be everywhere. Once again, I felt as if I were being forced to defend the White Sox. At a certain point, you start to feel like the White Sox are the Rodney Dangerfield of baseball, especially when even the national sports media treats your team as an afterthought. All of this served to crystallize my passion and make me one of the most dedicated and unshakable White Sox fans around, a story I’m sure could be repeated by thousands of Sox fans, sadly.

As I went to Columbia and lived in the loop, I was able to spend a lot of time at the park. [I] wound up with free tickets [ ] and I took full advantage of it, spending countless days down at the park watching games and doing my homework. I got to know a lot of fans, and was always impressed by how much they actually cared about the game. Nothing thrills me more than the common sight of young children being taught how to keep box scores by their parents or grandparents, or the sight of a young fan standing up to cheer when their favorite player comes to bat. Back then, Fisk, Karkovice, Black Jack, Ozzie, Cora, Rockin’ Robin, Bo Jackson and, of course, a very young Frank Thomas, filled my days. It was a magical time to be a White Sox fan. The 94/95 MLB strike nearly broke my heart as I was certain that 1994 was the year we were going to the World Series. It would be another 11 years until we finally pulled it off. I watched the final game at [a North side White Sox haven bar]. Every person in the jam packed bar cried. Cops, pizza delivery guys, teamsters, EVERYONE cried and hugged and cheered until we lost our voices. I must have been kissed a thousand times by a thousand strangers that night, and I didn’t mind a bit. I thought of my grandfather and wished he had lived to see it finally happen. I thought this was when things would turn around and the White Sox would finally get the respect they deserved, but it seemed that the rest of the world forgot about it rather quickly and we went back to being Chicago’s “second” team, no matter how much we excelled, no matter how laughable baseball on the North side has become.

One of the central themes of being a Sox fan is clearly heartbreak. However, there is also passion and pride, instilled by all of the things I’ve already discussed. You can make fun of us, ignore us, put us down, and we come back again and again. White Sox fans NEVER give up, never stop believing. White Sox fans are real people, black, white, latino, old, young – we have one of the most diverse and dedicated fan-bases in all of MLB. White Sox fans care about the game itself, it’s a religion, and Comiskey, our temple. On the South Side, the idea of baseball as ‘the American past time’ is still truly being lived out. For all of these reasons, I’m so proud to be a White Sox fan.

Aaron says: my answers not too interesting…the short answer is they aren’t the cubs lol but also like them because I think overall they are a more down to earth hard working team. For the record, Aaron is a St. Louis Cardinals fan who ended up in Chicago for grad school. Being a Cardinals fans, obviously he isn’t going to root for his team’s biggest enemy.

Donna says: My dad was the greatest dad ever.  Ok, I know everyone says that, but he coached my softball teams, cheered me through high school and was so proud when I was the first one in the family to go to college.  Half way through college my dad got lung cancer (a non-smoker).  He was diagnosed in early August and was dead by December.  I was only 19 when he died, but he left me a wonderful appreciation for sport, namely the White Sox and the Blackhawks.  My dad took me to my first Sox game and fueled that love over and over by taking us to the left field upper deck at the old Comiskey.  He taught me how to keep a score card and never failed to answer my many questions about the game of baseball.  It was a bond we had–He made me a Sox fan.  Every time I go to a game I feel him with me and when they won the world series, I cried not only cause they won, but because I felt my dad was with me.  I love my dad for giving me the same passion he did. Silly maybe, but its one of the main reasons I love the Sox, it keeps me connected with my dad.  I am passing that love onto my kids, which I know my dad would love.  It is so cool to see them get excited to go to games, travel to Glendale for spring training, or get an autograph from their favorite player.  The Sox are part of my family.  I love that.

Shawn says: Because they are not the cubs. Understand that I live and die Braves. When I moved to Chicago, I was immersed in Chicago sports every day — newspapers, radio, television. As for why the White Sox, it really is pretty simple: they are not the Cubs. I am a Braves fan through and through, and therefore appreciate professionally run sports organizations that care about the product they put on the field. The White Sox care. The Cubs? Therefore, although I am a Braves fan at heart, I still cheer for and follow the Sox.

Dave says: As a kid I liked the cubs and sox but started liking the sox more because we went to Comiskey more often and the sox were usually a more competitive team and as a kid I had more fun at Comiskey than Wrigley. As I got older I finally fully switched to a sox fan because they were always more competitive and I got sick of all my cub fan friends that were idiots when it came to baseball.

Jen says: I love the White Sox because they’re always a constant in my life. Whenever I have a bad day, the White Sox never fail to cheer me up. I’m a huge sports fan, and I love all my teams. But the White Sox are the only team who will make me happy, even if they lose. Of course I hate it when they lose, but I always have a smile on my face when I talk about this team. I feel a connection to the players that I don’t feel with other sports. Somehow, they seem more accessible than other athletes, especially at spring training. Baseball season is during my favorite season:  summer. I see my favorite team play my favorite sport. I see my favorite athletes out there. I have such an amazing time at the ballpark, and the White Sox make it even more fun. I wouldn’t trade this team for the world.

And finally, SSHG says: I love them because first and foremost, baseball rarely lets me down. Even though I have a grandmother who got me into the game of baseball who is a Cubs fan, I found love with the White Sox. This team, in all the years I’ve watched, has had its share of bad boys play for them (think Albert Belle, Jose Canseco, etc.) but they also have a lot of good guys. Even the current resident agitator AJ Pierzynski, is a good guy. The team has always seemed down to earth and of such a nature that if I ran into the players at a bar, etc, I could have a drink with them and just shoot the breeze with them as though we’ve known each other for a really long time. I respect what they do on the field and even if they lose, I never get the sense that the players are there to just collect a few dollars, but that they actually care and want to win. This was especially evidenced by some of the guys who chose to come herein 2005 or guys who switch to agents who Ken Williams has an easier time working with than some notorious agents. I love other teams and how they do things, but the White Sox will always hold a special place in my heart.

If you have different reasons why you love the White Sox, feel free to share them in the comments.