My friend-since-forever Tim found this picture of me at NetSci 2006 talking to the Texas Tech researcher who was making networks from basketball passes. Was Tim interested in the nuances of a point guard’s ball distribution? Naw. He wanted to know if I was wearing a stinkin’ Sox hat.
Set aside for the moment that my sis-in-law has worked in the Sox suites for a while and dated one of the marketing guys Jerry Reinsdorf gave a championship ring to last month, I’ve always been a Chicago fan first. Dennis Groth, a prof for the undergrad program here at the School of Informatics who bleeds Cubbie blue, gives me the same sideways looks I’m sure that photo got from Tim. But the prof has seen me in “conflicted” garb enough to know my loyalties are more egalitarian, if still Windy City-centric. In fact just today, I had on a very clashy Cubs jersey today over a Sox t-shirt and standard World Series champ black hat. You are reading at a guy who once changed jerseys every half inning to root for “offense” the first time the two teams met in the regular season. I’m that dedicated to my non-commitalness.
Someday before I die, I’m sure I’ll have to make a choice in Game Seven of a Chicago subway series. But until then …
