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North: Sox stadium name not as important as winning

Hey, I'm in the minority camp!

What camp is that you ask?

The camp of, "I don't care what the ballpark is named," as long as they win.

In case you haven't heard, U.S. Cellular Field will be changing its name on Nov. 1 to Guaranteed Rate Field.

Yes, the name could be better, and anyone who tells you otherwise has an agenda, especially when the mortgage company's logo is an arrow pointing down. Not exactly a concept a ball team would like to emulate.

I think it has already been a huge win for the mortgage company and whatever they paid the Sox for the 13-year contract was worth it.

Was it a win for the Sox?

It seems no at the moment, but that could change.

I wonder if it was the only offer made. Don't the fans have a right to know since they helped pay for the park?

Jerry Reinsdorf is a billionaire and I am not, but if I was that rich I think I would say no every so often. As great as some partner sponsorships have been for Reinsdor - like U.S. Cellular for the Sox and United for the Bulls - he has had some unlucky ones.

BP is a great company, but when the Sox wanted a sponsor for the Cross-town Cup in 2010, that turned sour as BP suffered a disastrous oil spill that resulted in a PR nightmare.

Originally called White Sox Park, the field was renamed in 1912 for White Sox founder and owner, Charles Comiskey. On occasion I still hear it called it Comiskey, but eventually the fans and media will fall in step and call it by is new name, or at least a shortened version.

To me it's not about the name, it's about other things. Like will the money help buy a new player or two?

Before the start of the 1927 baseball season, Cubs Park was changed to Wrigley Field, named after chewing gum magnate William Wrigley who had taken complete control of the club by 1921. Renaming the park made them one of the first and only corporate sponsors and it remained that way for many years, with Busch stadium one of the few to follow suit, named after team owners Anheuser-Busch.

Wrigley Field was short and quick and became almost more famous than the team itself. I doubt that name will change any time soon.

I used to feel my favorite baseball team, the White Sox, were more about tradition, like the New York Yankees, but while the Yankees wear pinstripes, the Sox wear black tops. The Yankees still play at Yankee Stadium, the Sox play at Guaranteed Rate Field!

But most teams are doing what the White Sox are doing, so get used to it.

Program notes:

Follow me on Twitter@ north2north, and listen to Fox Sports Daybreak with Andy Furman and myself from 5-8 a.m. Monday through Friday on Fox Sports radio, and check me out on iHeart radio or Foxsportsradio.com.

• North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.

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