With Super Bowl Sunday in the rearview mirror, sports fans can hit cruise control for the next eight days.

But on Feb. 13, everything starts back up again, as pitchers and catchers report for MLB spring training. And with spring training just around the corner, baseball fans around the Chicago area can bring out their jerseys and best insults.

Let the Cubs-Sox bashing begin again.

And it appears this season there will be plenty of bashing to be done.

Die-hard Cubs fans are excited about their NL Central division title last year, despite the poor playoff performance against Arizona. With the additions of outfielder Kosuke Fukudome and starting pitcher Jon Lieber, the Cubs will surely be in contention again this season to win their usually weak division.

The Sox, on the other hand, are coming off a subpar season. And once again, they will have to deal with arguably one of the best divisions in baseball with Clevland and Detroit. The addition of outfielder Nick Swisher and relief pitcher Octavio Dotel gives Sox fans hope of being able to be more competitive.

While students are usually finished with school by the time the annual Windy City Showdown comes around in May and June, they still start showing off their pride and allegiances early and often. With both the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks struggling mightily, the idea of baseball season can’t come soon enough.

The offseason may seem like nothing but a break to a casual fan. But die-hard fans, including students such as myself, sit on ESPN.com for hours a day to kill time and check on the latest rumors and transactions of their favorite teams.

And with every year since it happened, Sox fans will continue to show off their World Series jackets and hats in attempts to make all the Cubs fans run into a hole and cry.

Cubs fans will continue with their never-dying hope that this year will be next year. And with this year’s 100th anniversary of their last World Series title, that hope will be stronger than ever.

Bars will slowly start to see more people during the day attempting to catch a few innings of the game after classes. And as the season progresses, the great debate between Cubs and Sox fans will only grow more heated until the season series begins.

No matter where your heart lies, as a die-hard South Sider or a “This is our year” North Sider, the idea of baseball being this close will surely bring a flood of black and blue to NIU very soon.