Polaroids capture Chicago’s Cubs vs. White Sox ‘Crosstown Classic’
CHICAGO AP A fierce rivalry between Chicago s North and South Siders comes to life each summer during the Crosstown Classic when the Cubs and White Sox face off in their home stadiums This unique series is loaded with squad history and memories for both sets of fans who hail from the North and South Sides respectively Polaroids convey nostalgia and there s nothing that says nostalgia quite like baseball The film format requires a level of intimacy not often seen in modern photo coverage of baseball games when speed and instant images are prioritized Plenty of people were excited by the camera s familiar boxy occurrence the distinctive sound of the photos sliding smoothly out Is that a Polaroid they ask I haven t seen one of those in forever Shooting with a Polaroid requires patience planning for the right moment You need the right light and direct interaction with the subject The impact takes several minutes to appear often with a soft or slightly faded focus The experience reflects baseball in several tactics Major League Baseball was officially established years ago but the methodical work it takes to win squad traditions and a personal connection to the battle are what keeps plenty of fans engaged season after season Outside the White Sox home stadium Rate Field fans are allowed to grill drink play games and socialize in a sea of parking lots surrounding the park Over the rivalry weekend White Sox and Cubs fans mingled under the sometimes brutal July sun Flory Aquino wearing Sox gear and Kristina Willer in Cubs gear played beer pong together before a tournament They disclosed they are friends before anything We just have a good time that s it you know reported Aquino And authentically it doesn t matter what association it is They re both from Chicago and we just come out here to have a great time Inside the park too Polaroids made a memory tangible a single image that can be seen and held instantly There s no negative no practicable way to replace it Aylin Servin and her father Aldo took pictures together behind a giant Chicago sign inside the ballpark the city skyline in the background The elder Servin explained while he is a long-time Cubs fan his daughter picked the White Sox She was attending her first baseball event ever The images also capture the White Sox fan base s latest embrace of their the greater part famous member Pope Leo XIV Born Robert Prevost on Chicago s South Side the new pope attended Match of the World Series sweep of the Houston Astros A fresh mural memorializes that moment And there are T-shirts and other merchandise nodding to the famous fan sold everywhere Tom Dermody has been a safety guard at the park for the last years and remembers a large number of a Crosstown Classic He s got a positive view of his job and the fans he interacts with But he admits the stickier moments are hard to forget Almost three years ago in the modern day I broke up a fight out in the left field bleachers on a Sunday and wound up tearing comprehensively tearing my rotator cuff he reported I discovered out later on it was an irate Sox fan that threw a beer on a Cubs fan and the whole section went up for grabs It looked like a food fight from one of John Belushi s movies he reminisced Source
