CTA Tattler

I have to agree with you on all points but one -- drunken Cub fans are:

1. A great reminder to me, personally, why it is never a good idea to get sh**faced and go out in public...keeps me relatively sober.

2. Cheap and hilarious entertainment...the things I have seen coming home from work on evenings that coincide with the end of a Cubs game have been truly amusing. Drunk happy people are funny. very funny.

Rule #8:

Whether you're going north or south, make sure to ONLY use the Red Line Addison station after the game, as all other nearby stations are extremely dangerous. Walking to the Sheridan el stop especially is not advised, because it is haunted. And it's a really long walk (4 city blocks) and your feet might get tired. Much better to wait at Addison for a 30 minutes, packed like a sardine among a bunch of other loud, drunk impatient people, as the bored and weary CTA employees slowly allow you up the stairs. Seriously, whatever you do, don't walk to Sheridan. Thanks.

I veto Rule #8. :) You can walk to Belmont instead (it's not that far) and pick up the Red Line before the Addison crush, or if you're going to Evanston (as I do), you can take the Purple Express if it's running.

My favorite/worst post-Cubs game-experience was after a Cubs win on a hot summer day. The train was packed and I was standing near the rear door. About two seats in front of me, a guy was rocking back and forth, looking a little worse for the wear and sort of moaning a little bit.

Then, suddenly, he just let out a moan and projectile vomited all over the floor in front of him. Amazingly, the agile folks in front of him didn't get hit. He stumbled off the train at the next stop, while the rest of us sort of looked around in bewilderment and laughter. It smelled so bad that I moved to the car in front of me. The experience did succeed in building some "L" camaraderie, however!

oh, m. you are classique. lovely.

and tom. that is HORRIFIYING. i am a tandem thrower-upper. i don't know if i would have survived. it might have been 'stand by me' all over again.

I just want to protect innocent people from using the haunted Sheridan el stop after games. The dozens of Wrigley Field employees who appear to be walking toward the Sheridan stop are actually walking to Holiday Club for a post-game get-together.

I really dont appreciate the racist undertones of point #7. I know you are all high and mighty on the north side but your generalization that ALL white sox fans are white AND from the south side AND that said white people are afraidof /dislike black people (you racist), well, my dear, makes you a flippin hypocrite.

Bleu: Sorry if I offended you, but I really don't think my comment #7 is racist.

What it is is true. And the sad truth is that Chicago is a very segregated town, and the Red Line south of 35th Street on game days certainly reflects that.

I never said that all Sox fans are white and from the South Side, nor did I say all white people are afraid of or dislike black people. What I am saying is that from my own experience in riding the Red Line train from the North Side (yes, I am a white North Sider who likes the White Sox) to Sox Park, I see many white people who look very uncomfortable. And again, it's very sad. Because as I also wrote, the people riding that train are like anybody else -- working stiffs just trying to get home.

I hardly think that's a racist comment.

You definitely did imply that Sox fans are white by addressing them simply as "Sox Fans."

Please. Are we going to pretend that there are not racial issues in Chicago? Are we going to pretend that white people who moved out of Bridgeport or Canaryville may not reflect unease taking the subway to the Sox game? Are you kidding?

Are we going to pretend that white people who grew up on the North Side and are for some unfathomable reason going to a Sox game, are comfortable with or used to an el car the population of which is majority black? They are not.

Not every statement that addresses race is "racist."

David, thanks for having my back.

One reason racism persists is because people are afraid to talk about it. One reason people are afraid to talk about it is because people like Bleu will call you a racist if you talk about it!

No, just if you talk about it in a weird way. There are ways to talk about race without putting down anyone.

As another Northsider/Sox fan, I assumed you were talking about the suburbanites who take Metra into the Loop, then take the Red Line south to the ballpark who are afraid of the black people on the train. Because I've seen exactly what you're talking about.