When the Houston Astros went down swinging in Game 4 of the 2005 World Series, it broke a championship dry spell even more long-lasting than the one that would be broken by the Blackhawks 5 years later. The Chicago White Sox had not won a World Series since 1917, and they were ready to celebrate. And what an achievement they had to celebrate, having just reeled off a nearly-perfect postseason record of 11-1, a mark that has only ever been equaled once by the Yankees.
Their day of celebration started off much as the Blackhawks had started off theirs(except with a lot less bar-hopping), with a parade that started out at U.S. Cellular Field, and then wound its way downtown before stopping at Wacker for a special rally. At that point, various dignitaries took the stage, most notably Mayor Richard M. Daley, who has always been a lifelong White Sox fan(as indicated by his Irish roots). After Daley's bit, Paul Konerko came up on stage and presented team owner Jerry Reinsdorf with the ball that he caught in order to end the series. After that, Steve Perry came onstage and proceeded to sing the lines to the Sox's rallying song of 2005, Don't Stop Believin'
The parade and rally were very highly attended, and in 2010 Ozzie Guillen would look back and claim that the White Sox actually drew more crowds than the estimated 2 Million that attended the Blackhawks' parade.(I think not) Regardless, the 2005 season will always go down in history as a special time for the Chicago White Sox(for half of the city anyway)
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