Nico Hoerner Admits What Cubs Fans Won’t About the White Sox

Due to their team's recent success and the clear disparity in popularity, Chicago Cubs fans love to pretend like there's no rivalry between the two baseball teams in the Windy City.

"We care more about our division opponents."

"We don't think about the White Sox at all."

"We actually root for the White Sox too."

We've heard it all. But whenever the Chicago White Sox start creeping their way back to relevance or begin stealing the spotlight from the Lovable Losers, the tone suddenly shifts in a way that can only be described as embarrassing.

2026 is as good an example as any. The White Sox are overachieving, currently holding a playoff spot in the American League with a 33-29 record, which, shockingly, is better than the Cubs' 32-30 mark after their recent 10-game losing streak and free fall in the standings.

The South Siders taking the Crosstown Classic in walk-off fashion back in May certainly only added fuel to the fire.

So of course, now that the White Sox are threatening to unseat the Cubs as the better baseball team in Chicago, we've seen viral discourse surrounding Colson Montgomery and Dansby Swanson. We've seen Pete Crow-Armstrong get into a verbal altercation with a White Sox fan during a game. And we've seen a vast majority of both fan bases exchanging digs.

Fair game in my book. This is what rivalries are all about. As a matter of fact, it's great for the overall sports culture in Chicago. But you won't find a White Sox fan pretending there isn't a rivalry with the Cubs.

Even Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner is willing to admit what a portion of the Cubs fan base won't.

During a recent appearance on 670 The Score, Hoerner told Spiegel and Holmes that the rivalry with the White Sox is even more intense than the Cubs' rivalry with the Cardinals.

"The White Sox is much, much more intense," Hoerner said without hesitation.

According to Hoerner, Rate Field is louder, more hostile, and you can simply feel the rivalry more. That's a testament to the nature of a same-city rivalry and a credit to White Sox fans, who are some of the most loyal in sports and are notoriously electric when the on-field product is worthy of praise.

So White Sox fans, mark this down and never let Cubs fans tell you there's no rivalry between these two teams. Even the players admit it's more intense than a divisional opponent.