From the heartwarming to the celebratory, your Holiday Sox Stories were plentiful and proved that Sox Pride is indeed year-round. Enjoy the best of the best, and many thanks to all who shared your story with us!

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2005 was probably one of the most memorable years for our family. My family was lucky enough to go to a number of White Sox games, but I was also able to attend Game 2 of the World Series to see my beloved White Sox win! Although it was a cold and rainy Sunday night, it did not make a difference. My 2 children at the time, ages 5 and 3, had no choice but to be Sox fans, although their father tried very hard to convince them otherwise.

We chose to celebrate the White Sox victory through our Christmas cards. I have attached a copy of our card, and you can see how happy most of our family is!!!

Traci P.
Yorkville IL

Santa came early for 3 Sox Fans in Yorkville. GO SOX!

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After the White Sox Won the World Series, I took a picture of my wife and I. We had our White Sox jerseys and hats on, holding a World Series Champions pennant with lots of White Sox memorabilia and items around us. We had our hands up signaling that we were #1!!

Inside the card we wrote: "Wishing you a Championship Season"

Two years later, our friends and family ask if we are sending out a special card for the season.

We will do it again in 2008 when we are Champions of the World once again!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Rick R.

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I'm sure there are emails all the time about die-hard fans, but my family, especially my Dad, are the ultimate White Sox fans. My Dad grew up in Bridgeport just a few blocks from Comiskey Park. Since I and my older brother have been young kids, our Dad has instilled White Sox tradition and memories on us virtually every day. That is why our ultimate dream came true when the white sox won the World Series. We were also fortunate to all be at the game when Thome hit his 500th home run. Seeing the tears in my Dad's eyes during the moment made it priceless.

It seems like every Christmas, the White Sox memorabilia in our house doubles. It is a battle to see what interesting White Sox gift you can come up with now. In 2005, my brother, sister and I bought my Dad a leather World Series Champion coat. We also framed a huge picture with our ticket stubs and pictures from World Series Game 1, which we all attended - a day that will never be forgotten.

This year my Dad is getting the ultimate gift as my brother purchased a brick outside of U.S. Cellular field. The brick will read, "We lived the dream, World Series Game 1, Love your children - Brian, Jennifer and Scott." We cannot wait to see the reaction on his face when he finally gets to see it.

Our family truly did live the dream in 2005, and we continue to live the dream every holiday season when our family celebrates our love for the White Sox by decorating our house with more and more memorabilia. In the meantime, we consistently watch the World Series tapes from 2005 and live the moment like it is actually happening. We were just running around my brother's basement last weekend when Pauly hit the grand slam in the World Series. It was like it just happened.

Happy Holidays, White Sox fans. I love you, Dad, Mom, Scott, and Jen. Keep living the dream!

Brian S.
Rosemont, IL

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Born and raised on the South Side but now living in Athens, Georgia, I have a "White Sox" room complete with a 2005 World Series collage, a collector's edition autographed championship bat, commemorative balls, a Bo Jackson baseball, a Ray Durham baseball, the 2005 media guide, 2005 World Series program, a photo of my 3-year-old son, my 78-year-old father and myself (three generations of Sox fans) in White Sox gear, and a host of White Sox books (like "Sox in the City" and "The Wit and Wisdom of Ozzie Guillen") and 2005 commemorative magazines.

Joe D.
Athens, GA
Sox fan 1976-2007

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I'm 74 years old. I've been following the White Sox since I was a youngster. My buddy from grammar school (Tom Roche) - his family had season tickets to all the Sox games and would include me in on most Sunday games during the 1940s. I remember Whitey Platt, Luke Appling, Tony Cuccinello, Mike Tresh, etc. Life went on - college, army, marriage, my business. My company has season tickets and followed the Sox for many years.

Finally in 2005, we won it all. The first game against Houston on Saturday night - I was there with my wife, three sons and other members of my family. As we were entering the park, my son-in-law approached the TV people from CLTV and told them I was a Sox fan for at least 50 years and had seen 2 two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers (in the 1959 World Series). They interviewed me entering the park and asked how long I had been a Sox fan. I answered "All my life!" Then the interviewer asked me what I thought of the present team. I looked at her and started to cry. I could not stop and apologized to her, saying I was sorry. She replied, "Sorry for what?" That was the most sincere response I ever received. Of course we won the game and the next morning, my daughter called our house and told my wife, "Wake up Dad - He's the lead story in all of CLTV's stories on Sunday morning!"

GO SOX.

Bernie V.
Crete, IL

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My wife has made a "White Sox" Christmas tree each year since 2005. (I wonder why!) It's full of silver and black garland and Sox ornaments! Go Sox!!

Robert M.
Northbrook, IL

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I have two short stories both linked to my two favorite guys who are life-long, die-hard Sox fans.

Our first White Sox moment this year... For my dad's 64th birthday this year, my family including my brother and gramma were together enjoying the day. My dad is a softie, but it's impossible to buy presents for him that he likes. This year, he was speechless when he opened my present because he was crying as soon as he read it. I gave my dad one of the White Sox commemorative bricks for the monument with his name, my grampa's and my brother's name on the inscription. My pop said he "really liked it" through his tears. My brother is not emotional but looked really happy and said he really liked it, as well. My gramma spoke for my grampa, who passed away five years ago, saying "your grampa would be proud." It was one of those moments we won't forget as a family. My gramma passed away a month ago (three months after this), which only made this memory that much more special.

Our second White Sox moment this year... Over the summer, my brother came in to see a White Sox game with me. My family watches the Sox on television, but they don't drive the three hours from Moline, Illinois, very often to see a game - once a year or so. As I said above, my brother is not an emotional person. We were watching the Sox losing...then tie...then...finally...win the game on a home run by Jim Thome. The game we went to this summer was "that game" - Jim Thome's 500th home run! My brother said, "You know we just witnessed baseball history" and looked happier (literally) than I have ever seen him in his life. The whole ride back to my house in Downers Grove, he kept saying he would never be at a game that terrific in his life again. I reminded him that someday, maybe we would go see the White Sox in the World Series (so GO TEAM!).

Thank you for being such a big part of our lives.

Alicia M.
Downers Grove, IL

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This is not a happy holiday story, but it is our story. Our son, Andrew Kelly, became ill after returning home from the fall semester at NIU. Andrew never recovered from his illness (unknown) and died at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria on December 28, 2006, at the age of 20.

We had a tree in his room with a White Sox ornament on it. When he died, we were trying to decide what to bury him in. I brought out his "dress" clothes, and his friends and my daughter said "No way. That is not Andrew." So I brought out his White Sox jersey that his uncle had given him for high school graduation. Everyone agreed - the jersey. So Andrew basically had a White Sox wake and funeral. Most of the flowers and ribbons were in black and white (except for the one uncle that put in a Cubbie blue flower in his arrangement!). We also included the ornament from his tree in his casket. At the cemetery, we finished the service and then my daughter led everyone with a singing of "Take Me Out to The Ballgame." We wanted to send him off in style as he would have wanted it.

He was a very fortunate young man because he DID get to see his White Sox win a World Series. We are a fortunate family because he was our brother/son for 20 years, and the White Sox were always a part of our time together.

Sincerely,
Terri K.
La Salle, IL

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When I was teaching at Tidye A. Phillips Elementary School in Ford Heights, Illinois, in the mid 90s, I was a volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club of America. The White Sox were hosting a (holiday) party for all the clubs in the Chicagoland area and, luckily, I got to chaperone.

Most of the kids had never been to a baseball game before but were excited about the trip and going into Chicago. I was even more excited about the chance to see inside the ballpark and meet some of my favorite players! At that time, our school had a great choir, and during the whole bus trip up to the park we sang Christmas songs. When we arrived at the park, each group had to sing a Christmas song in order to "get into" the party. Little did I know that each group's singing was being "judged" by some of the Sox staff. Our group won and got a special prize, which made the whole trip even more special for the kids. What I remember most was meeting Ozzie Guillen, Frank Thomas and even Minnie Minoso.

It was a dream come true for this life-long Sox fan.

Carrie W.