After a five-year hiatus and a historically poor season by the organization, the Chicago White Sox held their fan fest once again, rebranding to “SoxFest Live.” The event was a stark departure from the typical, traditional fan fests of years past, aiming to provide a much more intimate and fan-oriented atmosphere at the Ramova Theater in Bridgeport, just blocks away from Rate Field– an homage to the community that surrounds the organization’s home base.
With live performances, comedy skits, panels, along with meet-and-greet experiences, SoxFest Live set out with a different purpose in mind: authentic, intimate, and centered around the fans. In some aspects, the White Sox nailed that aim to a tee.
The major highlight came on Friday night, where a panel featuring Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Jose Contreras, and Harold Baines aimed to reminisce and serve as an ode to the 2005 World Series winning team, led by the quick-witted Chuck Garfien.
Although there was some disgruntlement about the number of 2005 players at the event, the quality of the players on the panel was a delightful surprise. Whether it was Buerhle being dutifully self-aware of his lack of media appearances, Garcia and Contreras’ confident and cocky wit, or Baines’ dry, reserved humor, this group was a great mix of players to look back on what made that team successful and beloved.
Within recapping the greatness of the 2005 World Series, a pressing Chuck Garfien inquired about Mark Buerhle’s “pre-game preparation” before his iconic Game 3 save, where after some drawn-out back-and-forth, Buerhle mentioned he threw down some beer before announcing to the crowd that he had bought a beer for everyone in attendance at SoxFest Live– albeit “on Jerry’s tab.”
As if Mark Buehrle wasn't enough of a legend, he just bought a round of beer for every fan at SoxFest Live! 🍻 pic.twitter.com/5z1MXUmm88
— White Sox on CHSN (@CHSN_WhiteSox) January 25, 2025
The big reveal, of course, was finding out that Buerhle will be receiving a concourse statue in his honor at Rate Field, which will be unveiled on July 11th before a game against the Cleveland Guardians.
THIS JUST IN: The perfect addition coming to Rate Field on July 11… 👀 pic.twitter.com/iVEDVtuHl3
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) January 25, 2025
Additionally, there will be a documentary about the 2005 World Series team featuring a wide cast of players, coaches, executives, and even announcers like Joe Buck, all present in the short preview trailer. The documentary is called “05’ Forever” and does not have a release date yet, but will be coming at some point during the 2025 season.
They're all connected forever.
'05 Forever, presented by @Rate_Mortgages, drops this summer. pic.twitter.com/IjAQl0pWW0
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) January 25, 2025
In celebrating the 20th anniversary of the last World Series team, it’s abundantly clear that the White Sox are going to lean into nostalgia during this 2025 season, with the promotional schedule featuring a majority of the items harking to players, legends, and moments of years past. The fan reception to these items has been overwhelmingly positive so far, with many kudos to the marketing team for finding some amazing creativity with their giveaways for the upcoming campaign.
Even with a clear focus on a blast to the past, SoxFest Live was really more about the future than the past. A majority of the current players in attendance were prospects or young guys and many of the events on-stage featured or were in discussion of those young talents.
The “Comedy Curveballs” portion of the event, which was held on both Day 1 and Day 2, really allowed the young bucks’ personalities to shine. Seeing Gus Varland, Jonathan Cannon, Drew Thorpe, Korey Lee, George Wolkow, Colson Montgomery, Hagen Smith, and Bryan Ramos all duke it out in comedy skits and Pop-A-Shot was a real treat, along with inviting up “superfans” to play in the games with them, featuring many notable faces from White Sox Twitter (X), including our very own Maddie Spagnola. It let their personalities shine and gave the fans a bird ‘s-eye view of who these guys are, beyond the occasional social media skit.
Although there were a majority of positives that came from the new direction of SoxFest, there were a few notably sour moments, too, which came from the second day’s “State of the Sox” panel.
At the Ramova Theater, there’s a little balcony overhang suite where players would hang out and watch the festivities from above. At one point during the aforementioned panel, where announcers John Schriffen and Steve Stone, along with five White Sox coaches and staff were on the stage, owner Jerry Reinsdorf peeked out to watch the show. Fans noticed and immediately started a “sell the team” chant, with Reinsdorf immediately exiting the public eye without a moment’s notice.
The “State of the Sox” panels were fueled by fan questions, which were submitted by written questions on cards and read by the on-stage leaders of the panels. These questions included both baseball and non-baseball-related questions, and some were fairly candid. The responses by the organization’s brass were very straightforward, too, which was appreciated and well-received by fans.
However, in a seemingly off-script and notably off-kilter moment, John Schriffen began to field questions about the fans’ frustrations live, which eliminated the screening process for potentially crass questions from the audience. With the first question being seemingly rejected by Schriffen, it created an odd, weird-feeling moment for those in attendance. Ultimately, some fans asked thoughtful questions about the state of the organization and the honesty and candor of the coaches and staff on stage ended up being a positive.
Ultimately, SoxFest Live was a successful rebranding of the White Sox’s avenue to connect with fans before the season gets underway. This new focus on fan experience, intimacy, and creating a different environment seemed to be an enjoyable and worthwhile venture for this event. Though there were some bumps along the way to work out for future SoxFests, they seemed to check many boxes successfully and provide a fun weekend for fans.
Follow us on social media @SoxOn35th for more White Sox news and updates!
Featured Photo: Chicago White Sox/X
