Clueless Sportswriters Sow Doubt
More proof that the Tribune is utterly clueless about the White Sox and their fans: In a story published Friday, Jan. 26, under the headline, "Williams Enters Lion's Den," Tribune sportswriter Mark Gonzales wrote, "General manager Ken Williams will bring much welcomed relief to douse the verbal flames directed at him Friday when sold-out SoxFest opens."
Lion's Den. Verbal Flames. A lot of Sox fans found those bold predictions perplexing, because Sox fans have been largely supportive of Williams' moves during this off-season. Gonzales was under the false impression that Sox fans had it out for Williams. But no lion's den materialized. No verbal flames either.
Here's Mark Gonzales 24 hours later, after SoxFest actually opened: "With the exception of a few catcalls, supporters politely asked general manager Ken Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen, who was wearing a blue No. 13 Bears jersey with his name on the back, about the Sox's trades and about their future during a question-and-answer session."
Not only was there no lion's den, there's some question whether there were any "catcalls," since no one but Mark Gonzales seemed to hear them, and he seems more invested in maintaining his feline-themed fantasy of fan discord than in accurately covering the team.
Unlike Tribune sportswriters, Sox fans seem to understand, by and large, the sense of investing in young pitching, as Williams is doing, and the folly of trying to buy a World Series, as the Tribune is trying to do for its precious Cubbies. But how would Tribune sportswriters know that? Sox fans are invisible to Tribune eyes, as the Tribune amply demonstrated when it failed to notice the 1.75 million Sox fans on the streets of Chicago on October 28, 2005. Tribune writers can only seem to get a handle on the Cubbie culture that's headquartered inside their tower. That's Chicago to them, and the rest of us — most Chicagoans, that is — are just alien and incomprehensible.
Also, these guys have no idea what a World Series championship does to cement the relationship between a team and its fans. Why do they have no idea? Because they can't see past the Cubs.
Meanwhile, across the newsroom, Rick Morrissey writes, "Let's Be Honest: Grossman is Far from Super QB." And under that headline? Paragraph after paragraph of observations of the obvious, thinly rationalized as criticism of other, too-positive media.
No one in Chicago needs to be reminded of Rex Grossman's inconsistency. It's been the biggest story of the season, often overshadowing coverage of this team's achievements. We've all lived through it, and we all felt it viscerally as recently as last Sunday. So why raise again the obvious doubts about Grossman one week before the Super Bowl? It seems that Morrissey just doesn't know what to do with his column, so he does what any Tribune writer does when in doubt: sow that doubt elsewhere and sow it where doubt is most harmful.
Lion's Den. Verbal Flames. A lot of Sox fans found those bold predictions perplexing, because Sox fans have been largely supportive of Williams' moves during this off-season. Gonzales was under the false impression that Sox fans had it out for Williams. But no lion's den materialized. No verbal flames either.
Here's Mark Gonzales 24 hours later, after SoxFest actually opened: "With the exception of a few catcalls, supporters politely asked general manager Ken Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen, who was wearing a blue No. 13 Bears jersey with his name on the back, about the Sox's trades and about their future during a question-and-answer session."
Not only was there no lion's den, there's some question whether there were any "catcalls," since no one but Mark Gonzales seemed to hear them, and he seems more invested in maintaining his feline-themed fantasy of fan discord than in accurately covering the team.
Unlike Tribune sportswriters, Sox fans seem to understand, by and large, the sense of investing in young pitching, as Williams is doing, and the folly of trying to buy a World Series, as the Tribune is trying to do for its precious Cubbies. But how would Tribune sportswriters know that? Sox fans are invisible to Tribune eyes, as the Tribune amply demonstrated when it failed to notice the 1.75 million Sox fans on the streets of Chicago on October 28, 2005. Tribune writers can only seem to get a handle on the Cubbie culture that's headquartered inside their tower. That's Chicago to them, and the rest of us — most Chicagoans, that is — are just alien and incomprehensible.
Also, these guys have no idea what a World Series championship does to cement the relationship between a team and its fans. Why do they have no idea? Because they can't see past the Cubs.
Meanwhile, across the newsroom, Rick Morrissey writes, "Let's Be Honest: Grossman is Far from Super QB." And under that headline? Paragraph after paragraph of observations of the obvious, thinly rationalized as criticism of other, too-positive media.
No one in Chicago needs to be reminded of Rex Grossman's inconsistency. It's been the biggest story of the season, often overshadowing coverage of this team's achievements. We've all lived through it, and we all felt it viscerally as recently as last Sunday. So why raise again the obvious doubts about Grossman one week before the Super Bowl? It seems that Morrissey just doesn't know what to do with his column, so he does what any Tribune writer does when in doubt: sow that doubt elsewhere and sow it where doubt is most harmful.
Labels: Chicago Tribune
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