White Sox fan Sharon Bresnahan said her late sister, Sheryl, who died of a brain aneurysm in 2006, will be at the game in spirit. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
It wasn’t quite the ideal “taking in a ballgame” conditions as Sunday night — with overcast skies and chillier temperatures — but that didn’t deter White Sox fans.
Sharon Bresnahan took a minute Tuesday afternoon before Game 4 of the American League Division Series to admire the stone she and her twin sister bought after the 2005 World Series.
Before every game, she explains, she taps the stone that reads, in part, “Thx 05 White Sox Sharon & Sheryl.”
Bresnahan said her late sister, Sheryl, who died of a brain aneurysm in 2006, will be at the game in spirit.
“We’ve been lifelong White Sox fans, I brought her with me,” said Bresnahan, who pulled a photo of her twin out of her red purse. “We were here Sunday, we’re going to win again tonight.”
It wasn’t quite the ideal “taking in a ballgame” conditions as Sunday night — with overcast skies and chillier temperatures — but that didn’t deter White Sox fans from flocking by the thousands to Guaranteed Rate Field to cheer on their beloved team facing elimination.
Many took off work or skipped school to be at or near the ballpark, including Christian Pera, who said Tuesday’s game was “the most important part of the day.”
“We’re ready to have fun and bring home the win,” Pera, 28, said as he casually sipped on a beer.
Though he took off work, he and his colleague had to take a conference call from the tailgate.
“They said, ‘Maybe you guys should get off and we’ll talk later,'” said Pera, who works in real estate.
Pera said he’s prepared to take off Wednesday, too, if the Sox force a Game 5 in Houston.
“If they win, I’m going tomorrow,” said Pera, who’s prepared to book a flight to Texas. “Sox in five.”
Brad Neubauer, a high school teacher from Oswego, took a personal day for the Sox.
“It’s exciting. We’re pumped,” Neubauer said at a tailgate with a few other teachers who skipped school. “It’s been 13 years since we got to do this. We’re ready to see them come back and stick it to the Astros.”
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
White Sox fans boo a person wearing a Houston Astros jersey while tailgating outside Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday.
Many were hoping Guaranteed Rate Field will be as electric as it was Sunday night when the Sox came back and beat the Astros 12-6. The parking lots, where people were tailgating before the game, were certainly setting the tone for another exhilarating crowd.
Sox flags blew in the wind as people threw back a few beers before entering the ballpark. Children threw a foam football between rows of cars.
A loud roar of boos erupted from the back of Lot B at one point when a man, donning the jersey of Astros second basement Jose Altuve, walked through.
Christine Dziedzic was tailgating with her family, which included a half dozen grandchildren. Her husband took a few swigs out of a champagne bottle as she sipped on a seltzer.
“It’s my birthday, I’m 74 today and there’s no place I’d rather be than here and have the Sox give us a celebratory win,” said Dziedzic, of Bloomingdale.
Dziedzic said she’s a Sox fan thanks to her father. She’s married a die-hard fan and passed their love of the South Siders to her children.
“It’s just generational for us, so it’s just really exciting,” Dziedzic said. “It’s a family affair. Go White Sox and bring me a birthday win!”
