A Big Moment Thanks To The Big Hurt

By: Nick Kapetan (@KapN93)

Cooperstown- Being a die hard fan of a sports team is an interesting phenomenon. In no way whatsoever do you play a direct impact in the outcome of the game, but you use the word "we" when talking about your favorite team.

We didn't play well today. We have to make a trade soon if we want to make the playoffs. The line between being just a fan and a member of the team is blurred.

Maybe you have to be a die hard fan of a certain team to understand this, but sports provide various meaningful purposes for an array of people.

For some, it is an outlet away from the struggles of everyday life. For others it is a form of medicine, an escape. For me, being a die hard fan of the Chicago White Sox is my way to connect with my father. If not for this team, I wouldn't feel as close to my dad as I do today.

I have had this syndrome of being a die hard White Sox fan since my debut on this planet on July 10th, 1993. Two weeks after my birth I was at my first game, watching Frank Thomas lead the Sox to a pivotal victory, on their way to a division crown, during his first of two MVP seasons.

The Big Hurt, as he is affectionately called, signaled the beginning of the connection I have with my dad through baseball. Thanks to Thomas, the White Sox were exciting to watch in person, therefore leading to my dad taking me to more games. We would have watched them on television if we didn't make the thirty minute commute south, but there is just something different about being in the building as it shook, while fireworks erupted, after Thomas slammed another homer over the fence.

Thomas was the White Sox. When people think about the organization, the six foot five giant usually is the first thought that comes to the forefront of one's mind. The man gave the franchise an identity. People who had no idea that Chicago had two baseball teams, actually started paying attention to the boys from the Southside, thanks to Thomas.

As I continued my journey through life, my collection of White Sox clothing exploded and my father's love for his favorite team was officially passed on to his unathletic oldest son. Heading to the games with my dad to watch our guys play became an odyssey that never got old.

While Thomas faded during the latter parts of his Sox career due to injury, he still was important to me because he got the ball rolling on my obsession with the ball club. Watching his mammoth shots during my childhood, especially the ones he hit while barely able to walk in 2005, provided me with some of the greatest moments of my youth. To be able to watch these moonshots with my father, along with my brother and mother, was the cherry on top of the metaphorical sundae.

Fast forward to this past weekend. In remote Cooperstown, New York, Thomas was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and I was there with my father. There are few moments in life when you feel like you have come full circle, but during Thomas' speech, that feeling started to take over. Watching Thomas, a behemoth of a man, choke up while explaining his relationship with his late father, got to me.

There I was, watching one of my childhood idols on stage, while sitting next to my biggest idol in life, tearing up like I did at the end of The Notebook. At first I wanted to hide the fact that the waterworks were flowing out of my eyes, but I decided to ditch that plan. I wanted my father to see how much this moment meant to me. Twenty one years after he took me to my first game, we were sharing one of the coolest moments a baseball fan could ever experience.

Being a White Sox fan in the northern suburbs of Chicago is not the most ideal situation in life. Not many of your friends are Sox fans meaning trips to US Cellular Field with them are few and far between. Still, I am grateful because this allowed me to go to more games with my father. He has passed on many great characteristics to me in life; being a die hard White Sox fan is at the top of the list.

Nick Kapetan hosts The Sports ReKap with his co-host DJ Vogt. The show will begin airing again in September on MarquetteWire.org.

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