White Sox fans pack Ramova Theater for Game 1 of ALDS series against Guardians
Dozens of people filled the Ramova Theater in Bridgeport on Saturday to cheer on the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians.
Excitement is an understatement for the White Sox fans who say they are impressed with the turnaround the team had this season.
"We should have been in first place, but the fact we were able to get the wild card here is awesome," said Alejandro Ocon.
"I said my prayers before I got here," said Cory Oshita.
While some believe it is divine intervention with Pope Leo on the White Sox side, others say the young team has the ability to go far.
"Being so young that you don't know the magnitude of what's in front of you is what's going to help them," Oshita said.
"I think this even exceeded my biased expectations," said Ramova Theater owner Tyler Nevius.
Nevius has hosted sports watch parties here before, but to have Bridgeport locals cheer for a team just a few blocks from them, he says it was a no-brainer to be an official watch party location for the playoffs.
"As soon as the Sox reached out, we got everything in motion. I bought extra Modelo, Miller Lite ... all the fun things people actually enjoy at the park," he said.
Nevius said they only decided to do the watch party 24 hours ago and are impressed with the turnout. They expect to have a lot more than this in the days to come.
"Every single neighborhood is impacted by this. We have all really come together. It's amazing to see for the city of Chicago and, again, hopefully we are just getting started," he said.
"It feels awesome. The White Sox have come a long way, a really long way. I just started becoming a fan last year," said Jailine Santiago.
Fans' emotions ran in all directions during the game, but in the end, the White Sox landed their third playoff win. The hope now is that they make it big.
"The way they have fun in the clubhouse and the partying they are doing together shows how loose they are and how much they are enjoying it," Oshita said.
Game 2 in the Best-of-5 series will take place on Monday at 4 p.m. in Cleveland.
The theater will host their next official watch party for Mondays game. It's free to get in but subject to capacity.
