<p>-
- PHOTO ESSAY: Polaroids capture Chicago Cubs vs. White Sox 'Crosstown Classic'</p>
<p>ERIN HOOLEY August 1, 2025 at 5:47 PM</p>
<p>1 / 18Cubs White Sox Polaroids Photo EssayRate Field is seen during a Chicago Cubs versus Chicago White Sox Crosstown Classic series baseball game Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>This unique series is loaded with team history and memories for both sets of fans, who hail from the North and South Sides respectively.</p>
<p>Polaroids convey nostalgia, and nothing 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.</p>
<p>Many people were excited by the camera's familiar boxy case, the distinctive sound of the photos sliding smoothly out.</p>
<p>"Is that a Polaroid?" they ask. "I haven't seen one of those in forever."</p>
<p>Shooting with a Polaroid requires patience, planning for the right moment. You need the right light and direct interaction with the subject. The result takes several minutes to appear, often with a soft or slightly faded focus.</p>
<p>The experience reflects baseball in many ways. Major League Baseball was officially established 149 years ago, but the methodical work it takes to win, team traditions and a personal connection to the game are what keeps many fans engaged season after season.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Flory Aquino, wearing Sox gear, and Kristina Willer, in Cubs gear, played beer pong together before a game. They said they are "friends before anything."</p>
<p>"We just have a good time, that's it, you know?" said Aquino. "And actually, it doesn't matter what team it is. They're both from Chicago, and we just come out here to have a great time."</p>
<p>Inside the park, too, Polaroids made a memory tangible — a single image that can be seen and held instantly. There's no negative, no possible way to replace it.</p>
<p>Aylin Servin, 8, and her father Aldo took pictures together behind a giant "Chicago" sign inside the ballpark, the city skyline in the background.</p>
<p>The elder Servin said while he is a long-time Cubs fan, his daughter picked the White Sox. She was attending her first baseball game ever.</p>
<p>The images also capture the White Sox fan base's recent embrace of their most famous member — Pope Leo XIV. Born Robert Prevost on Chicago's South Side, the new pope attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series sweep of the Houston Astros.</p>
<p>A fresh mural memorializes that moment. And there are T-shirts and other merchandise nodding to the famous fan sold everywhere.</p>
<p>Tom Dermody has been a security guard at the park for the last 14 years and remembers many 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.</p>
<p>"Almost three years ago today, I broke up a fight out in the left field bleachers on a Sunday and wound up tearing, completely tearing my rotator cuff," he said. "I found 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.</p>
<p>"It looked like a food fight from one of John Belushi's movies," he reminisced.</p>
<a href="https://data852.click/5a32cd58501e613bf372/ee0a75caf0/?placementName=default" class="dirlink-1">Original Article on Source</a>
Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: AsherMag
Read More >> Full Article on Source: Astro Blog
#US #ShowBiz #Sports #Politics #Celebs