Take one for the team

Spring is upon us, and in Chicago that can only mean one thing -- Cubs season. Or is it White Sox season?

This contentious rivalry has caused more than its fair share of arguments between friends, but what happens when you find out the person you're dating is rooting for your arch nemesis?

For lifelong Sox fan Ashley Trent, 22, of Hinsdale, one of the first things she noticed about her current boyfriend, 23-year-old Jacob Post of Arlington Heights, was his semi-permanent Cubs hat. "I was secretly thinking, 'What is my dad going to say about this?' " she recalls.

Post didn't find out about Trent's favorite team until after they started dating and says he found the news "a little disheartening."

"But since we attended school in Missouri, I was just happy she wasn't a Cardinals fan," he says.

The couple says they don't really argue about baseball unless one of them is trying to make the other watch their team's game on TV.

Diehard Cubs fan Al Burg, 23, of Crystal Lake, had a similar experience when he dated a Sox supporter.

"She would always root against the Cubs to give me a hard time when we'd watch a game together. When the Sox were on, I always flipped the channel."

Spending a day at Wrigley or U.S. Cellular is one of the best things about Chicago in the summer. But if you and your significant other root for opposing teams, does this mean you have to miss out on America's favorite pastime?

All interviewed said no, as long as you follow a few ground rules. Burg and his ex each went to each other's games, and he kept his hatred for the Sox at bay while attending a game with her and her family.

"I can watch any baseball game and enjoy myself, so I played the 'just happy to be at the ballpark' card," he says. "But deep down I was hoping to see the Sox lose."

Post also went to a Sox game and remembers "smiling when either the Sox bungled a play or the Blue Jays made a good one, but overall there really was not any tension."

Trent remembers that game, too, and could hear Post replacing "White Sox" with "Cubbies" during "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

Although she has not been to a game at Wrigley, she says, "I'm sure it would be fun because I like baseball in general, but I would secretly be rooting against the Cubs the entire time. And I wouldn't tell my dad where I was."

In the end, it seems it's just fine to wear your heart on your sleeve when it comes to baseball, as long as you don't rub it in your sweetie's face when his or her team is having a bad season.

As Post says: "There is only so much harassing a person can take from the other when a key player gets injured or a pitcher lets up a game-changing homer."

Burg agrees, encouraging couples in this situation to "let it be all fun and games."

"If you take it too seriously, there's no way it will ever work out, especially during the times they play each other," he says.

But Trent, perhaps, has the best advice of all. "If you're going to watch a game together, make sure to do it in neutral territory, preferably at a place where you can bribe the other person with good food and good beer."

Where to mix baseball and dating

For a group date: Wool Street Grill & Sports Bar, 128 Wool St., Barrington, 847-304-0313, www.woolstreetgrill.com For a more romantic atmosphere: Champagne Sports Lounge, 5 N. 105 Rt. 53, Itasca, 630-250-0143 For getting cozy in a booth: Harry's of Arlington, 1 N. Vail Ave., Arlington Heights, 847-577-2525, www.harrysofarlington.comhttp://www.finnmccoolschicago.com/

For a rowdy party: Finn McCool's, 72 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake, 815-356-1155, www.finnmccoolschicago.com