Even if the White Sox don’t make it out of the first round, the vivid memories of their 2005 World Series glory remain a potent force in their home neighborhood of Bridgeport.
Those rowdy, joyous triumphant game nights and the electric feeling among thousands of nightly revelers outside the Sox ballpark and neighborhood pubs seem at odds with the world still coping with a pandemic.
Any playoff run is bound to draw comparisons with the 2005 championship team, but some say the current run lacks the passion that seemed to infect the entire neighborhood.
“When it actually happened, it was overwhelming,” said Celine Flynn, one of nine family members who are co-owners of Bridgeport’s storied Shinnick’s Pub on Union Avenue.
“The neighborhood was unbelievable. And as they won a series and moved on to the next, it got even more energized,” she recalled.
The 83-year-old bar is one of the only White Sox bars still around from that charmed 2005 season. Most of the legendary Sox bars, Schaller’s Pump, Jimbo’s Lounge, The Catcher’s Inn and First Base are gone.
That winning season brought a special, almost magic aura to the normally subdued stockyard neighborhood that is home to the 11th Ward and legions of city workers, past and present.
Old men wept at the end of a long sports drought, families decorated their homes and yards in Sox flags and colors like they were celebrating their own special holiday. Even neighborhood kids too young to understand the angst of dashed sports dreams were on the streets banging pots and pans in celebration.
“I’ve never remembered being in the bar where the bar was chanting,” said Flynn, a lifelong Bridgeport resident who has worked at the bar since she was 19. “The whole bar was chanting ‘Let’s go White Sox.’ It really gave you goose bumps listening to everyone. Everyone was really into the game,” said Flynn, now in her 60s.
The tavern also became a destination for out-of-towners who found it on the internet. “People were coming from other states just to sit in a bar up close to the ballpark to watch the game,” Flynn said.
Popularity came at a cost as the new crowd brought in business but pushed out a lot of regulars. That’s when Flynn floated an idea with the family for a private party for Game 4, the clinching game.
“I’ll put a sign on the door. It will be all family and friends. I go ‘We waited all our lives for this,’ ” Flynn recalled. “And I’m not being mean or anything, we appreciate the business, but I wanted to celebrate with all our friends and that’s what it was. We knew everybody at the bar that night.”
The Sox swept the Houston Astros in four games, winning their third World Series championship and their first in 88 seasons. They are down 2-1 to those same Astros now.
“A lot of people at the bar said it was so memorable because it was with everyone you knew. Guys you grew up with. It’s hard to even explain,” Flynn said. “A lot of people said ‘I just wish my dad was here.’ “
Looking down the barrel of elimination, Flynn did recognize a spark in the Sox win Sunday night. “It’s not the same. I know men in their 80s and witnessed it for the very first time … they broke down when (the Sox) won. They were so emotional over it. I don’t think you see that this time. The energy, I didn’t see it, but I saw it last night.”
