One sport, one city, two teams. As the baseball season began on Sunday, so did the debate & who will finish better, the Cubs or White Sox?

Every year about this time, fans of the two teams begin arguing about why their team will finish with the better season. It happens back in my hometown and has continued to happen here at NIU.

Both the Cubs and White Sox have made some offseason moves to improve on where they finished a year ago. Things look brighter on the South Side, but North Siders have their usual positive outlook on things.

“I like the moves the Cubs have made,” said freshman operations management major Ben Eisenberg. “They definitely have improved, and thank God they kept Sammy. I feel very optimistic this year.”

However, the Cubs, in the eyes of many people on campus, aren’t going to raise eyebrows with their new-look team. This may be because they really do have a bad team, or it might be that there are more Sox fans on campus. However, typical Cubs fans still feel this could be their year.

In a realistic sense the Cubs just don’t have the type of team that can make a run at a division crown yet. Maybe in a few years they will reach that point, but they are going at it the wrong way. The Cubs are depending on older players to rebuild their program, unlike the White Sox, who took a chance on a bunch of talented young players who have performed marvelously.

Cubs fans believe the return of Kerry Wood and the addition of players like Todd Hundley can help their club. The North Siders have a lot to look forward to in the next few seasons as they have a very deep farm system. The White Sox have the better team and others on campus believe so, too.

“I’m looking forward to a great season on the South Side,” said senior business management major Roy Arredondo. “They have a lot of talent coming back and have more experience this season. I think they will advance far into the playoffs this year. The Cubs however should finish in the cellar.”

To do so, the White Sox will need to continue their torrid hitting from a season ago. With everyone returning from last season along with the addition of ace David Wells, they should only get better.

“I feel the White Sox are going to win it,” said freshman business administration major Kirk Bender. “They have everything going for them. I’m excited for the season to begin and for them to finish better than the Cubs.”

The young White Sox club is once again going into the season as the underdogs behind Cleveland, but this is better for them. This way the White Sox will have to prove they are for real.

Fans seem to be pretty split here at NIU, though many root on the Sox, believing they have a chance at making a title run, and others cheer on the Cubs as a sentimental favorite. Walking down the streets, you are likely to see just as many Cubs hats or coats as you are White Sox.

In the next few days expect to see the Cubs and Sox apparel around campus a lot more as fans are ready for war. Debate has already begun around campus and excitement is in the air. The greatest part of all is that the debate will still be going on when we come back to school in August.

The excitement already has began. I’ll be wearing my White Sox attire and rooting them on. I hope we will see the White Sox parading around Chicago in late October. As for the Cubs, let’s hope they give their fans some hope.