This is a time that I never imagined coming, while at the same time not being at all surprised that it’s here.

Today is the day I’m walking away from the Chicago White Sox as a fan, and walking away from social media.

To say the White Sox have been my entire life for the past 19 years would not be even a small exaggeration. In and around 2004 I stopped watching the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, NHL and all college sports and focused exclusively on baseball and specifically, the White Sox. I gave up watching UCLA, West Virginia University, the Cleveland Browns, the Chicago Bulls and the Pittsburgh Penguins. I even stopped watching PGA Tour events at that time. I was strictly a White Sox guy.

I was rewarded for that the following year when the White Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1917.

Since then, not so much. Constant losing with the organization consistently being the laughingstock of professional sports. But things have gotten so much worse since the 2016 offseason. And I think I knew it was coming.

In late 2016 the White Sox began a rebuilding process that was going to make the team contenders from 2020 through at least 2025 with a consistency of contending yearly being the goal, according to general manager Rick Hahn at the time.

So, three losing seasons in a row (completely non-competitive, as compared to the slightly-more competitive years that proceeded the rebuild which generally lead to third or fourth-place finishes) lead to what was going to be the “contention window.” That “window” lasted two years, as the White Sox earned a Wild Card birth (2020) and a division title (2021).

The wheels started falling off LONG before that, however.

The first piece to fall off was the failed attempt at signing free agent shortstop Manny Machado in late 2018 and early 2019. It was deemed “too early” by the inept front office and they went on to sign aging catcher Yasmani Grandal the following offseason, who promptly fell flat on his ass, to a $73 million contract, a record at the time. Also signing was pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who was solid during the COVID shortened 2020 season and so bad after that he was designated for assignment.

Prior to the 2021 season the White Sox made a managerial move. After firing Rick Renteria, we all waited for the announcement that the White Sox were going to hire A.J. Hinch, the World Series winning manager who was available after being fired by the Houston Astros due to their sign-stealing scandal. But, alas, the White Sox managed to screw that up and instead hired retirement-home refugee Tony La Russa, who hadn’t managed in a decade and was completely out of touch.

So, everyone laughed at the White Sox. They managed to win 93 games and the AL Central title in 2021, La Russa’s first season back, they proceeded to go .500 (81-81) in his second season and he was relived of his duties for health reasons before the season ended. The front office told us that was just a blip on the radar and we’d be contending again in 2023.

Major changes were expected, and most of the staff was replaced by lifelong loser Pedro Grifol from the Kansas City Royals organization, a franchise with the worst winning percentage in baseball overall since the year 2000. The bottom then fell out of everything and the team (28 games under .500 as this is written) has not chance to contend now or in the next couple of years, despite playing in the worst division in baseball. And the front office that built this turd sandwich has been fired. With the rumor being that another “yes man,” minor league director Chris Getz, will be taking over as GM.

Nothing ever changes and being a White Sox fan has taken on a feeling of embarrassment and humiliation among the fan base, of which I strongly consider myself a member. But that is fading quickly and if Getz is, in fact, announced as the GM in the near future, I’ve made a decision that will drastically alter my life going forward and how I plan to spend my time.

The day that Getz is announced as GM, I will begin by closing my social media accounts, which are used for nothing but posting White Sox news and memes. I’ll be boxing up all of my White Sox memorabilia and may consider selling it. I’ll then move on to something else, most probably following college sports again, either with WVU or UCLA. That decision will come later, it’s not pressing at the moment. Thinking about it makes me happier than what I face as a White Sox fan.

I have enjoyed the past 33 years at times. I used to pitch outside in a White Sox jersey I made out of a plain black and white Nike jersey and a Sharpie and my Sox hat when I was in my early teens. Playing Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball on the PlayStation. The 2005 World Series and 2008 Blackout game. I took in two games at Sox Park in 2001, which will always be a lifetime highlight. But at this point, I just can’t justify continuing to follow an organization that keeps me awake at night. My dad and my girlfriend have both said I take it too seriously, and I’m definitely not going to argue that point.

Once I’ve closed my social media accounts and removed all the White Sox memorabilia and things from my sight, I’ll replace them, probably not all with sports but with other things I enjoy because I don’t ever want to get so deep into a sports team again that I’m losing sleep and not being able to eat with anxiety. It would be nice to watch college sports again, football once a week and basketball a couple of times a week and, if I start following WVU, actually attending games again.

One of my biggest issues with the White Sox over the past couple of years is just how unlikable this team is. Not just the front office goons who are finally gone, but the players. After Jose Abreu left, I realized there isn’t a single player on this team that I like, and that’s never happened before. The closest I can come to with this group is Andrew Benentendi. I’m not a big fan of his but the rest of these guys are just insufferable, lazy slobs. There’s nothing here to like. No reason to follow.

So, now I’m playing the waiting game. I’m continuing to watch this dumpster fire until a decision is made. I try to just forget it, because in the grand scheme of things it really doesn’t matter at all, but this has been my life for so long it’s hard to just walk away, it’s literally a thousand times worse than any break up I’ve ever been through. But I know there’s something better on the other side, whether it be a competent general manager, or, if it’s Chris Getz, a whole new world of college sports opening up to me. So I’ll be fine either way. I just hope a decision is made at some point in the near future.

Thank you for reading. Peace.