He may have grown up in the shadow of the White Sox’s Comiskey Park on the South Side, but Mayor Richard Daley is planning a rally Monday to toast his team’s crosstown rivals, the National League Central Division champion Chicago Cubs.
“I just want to congratulate the whole Cubs organization,” Daley said. “It’s been a great, exciting season.”
Daley, a White Sox fan, even put on a bright-blue Cubs hat during the announcement. Their success, he added, is good for the city.
“We hope they’ll go to the World Series this year,” Daley said.
The rally is scheduled for noon at Daley Plaza. He encouraged people across the city to attend and celebrate.
During the dedication, an organizer for the event put the Cubs hat on Daley’s head.
“This is a first,” Daley said. “Notice I took it off right away.”
Daley said he is a natural Sox fan because he grew up three blocks from where they played, but he has plenty of friends who are Cubs fans. Having a Chicago sports team on the national stage is a good thing, he said.
“The Cubs are coming along — they’re a hot team,” he said. “It’s exciting for Chicago.”
It is not the first time the mayor has embraced the city’s North Side baseball team. In 2003, the last time the Cubs were in the playoffs, Daley made a friendly wager with the mayor of Miami as the team faced off against the Florida Marlins.
Upon the Cubs’ defeat, Daley promised to treat Miami to Connie’s Pizza, Eli’s Cheesecake, Jay’s Potato Chips, La Preferida Mexican Food, Robinson’s Ribs, Buona Beef, Vienna Hot Dogs, popcorn and peanuts from Nuts on Clark, 95 packs of Wrigley Gum (one for every year since the Cubs’ last won a postseason series) and Goose Island Root Beer to wash it down.
Daley, a White Sox season ticket-holder at U.S. Cellular Field, went to a few of the Cubs playoff games in 2003.
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efitzsimmons@tribune.com
