Are the White Sox back?
Time will tell.
Are White Sox fans back?
Oh, absolutely.
A lively Rate Field crowd for the Crosstown opener with the Cubs on Friday night told the story, an environment players were looking forward to hours before anyone was let in the gates.
“The excitement in the stadium, the excitement out on the field is going to be real,” outfielder Jarred Kelenic said.
It got real quick, when shortstop Colson Montgomery blasted his 12th home run in the second inning off righty Edward Cabrera, the Cubs’ big offseason pitching acquisition.
That’s a Colson Montgomery home run! pic.twitter.com/0xZOWmJqHR
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 16, 2026
Big fly. Big cheers. Big fireworks.
Are the White Sox big time again?
The buildup for this weekend’s intracity showdown has felt like something that has been missing from the Chicago baseball buffet for years. Even in casual conversations over the last week, White Sox fans showed their excitement by offering up their rekindled viewing habits, one saying he has watched more games this year than in the previous three combined. Another talked up Crosstown as a “big series.” In May.
Meanwhile, as White Sox players dressed before the game, MLB Network had this graphic on screen: “Is this the most anticipated Cubs-White Sox matchup in 20 years?”
Roll the obligatory A.J. Pierzynski punch footage.
You can’t accuse folks of being overzealous, though, not with the way these White Sox have actually won.
“The fan base has been awesome. They’re very dedicated,” outfielder Sam Antonacci said before the game. “When you put a winning performance out there on the field, they should get rewarded with those types of things. If we’re not putting winning performances out there, we’re giving it our all, and the fans are starting to see that if we’re losing, we’re going down with all our heart.”
It’s a little bit of a hard-to-comprehend reality for anyone who watched this franchise rack up 324 losses the last three seasons.
But the Sox indeed started Friday above .500, just a game out of first place in the AL Central and owners of a playoff spot.
The Cubs are worth plenty of buzz in their own right, one of baseball’s best teams with a pair of double-digit win streaks under their belts after just a month and a half. It’s World Series or bust on the North Side, where October baseball would be no surprise.
At the other end of the Red Line, however, this is a new feeling — or at least a long-dormant one — a good feeling for long-suffering fans ready to usher in a meaningful summer by wrestling bragging rights from their blue-clad neighbors.
“No,” Antonacci said, asked if he’d have an eye on the stands this weekend. “Unless there’s a fight going on. Which there might be.”
Playoffs for the South Siders? We’ll see. Being just a game or two north of even does not yet allow Chris Getz to declare victory in his long-gestating rebuilding effort. These Sox need to show they’re worth more than just a couple of months of attention.
But doesn’t a high-octane date with the championship-seeking Cubs seem like a good way to find out if they are or not?
“We’re playing playoff baseball right now,” Kelenic said. “That’s super exciting for us, the guys in here. It’s exciting for the organization, for sure. We definitely know who we’re playing against. We know the type of team that we are.”