Pope Leo's sporting loyalty has become a subject of conversation almost as soon as white smoke emerged from the Vatican sixtine chapel.
Elected Thursday, Robert Prevost is the first pope of the United States in the history of the Catholic Church. The missionary born in Chicago, who took the name of Leo XIV, attended Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he obtained a Baccalaureate ès Sciences in 1977, which sparked Sports fans of Villanova.
The two Chicago baseball teams were also at the front and center while sports fans reacted to the Vatican News.
It was initially reported that the new pope was a fan of the cubs. The team congratulated Pope Leo XIV in an article on X which had an emblematic brand photo of Wrigley Field with the message: Hey, Chicago. He's a fan of cubs!
But his brother, John Prevost, told WGN-TV that the Pope is a White Sox fan.
“He was never a fan of Cubs, so I don't know where it came from. He was always a fan of the Sox,” said John, adding that confusion could come from the fact that their family's side was the fans of North Siders and Cubs.
The revelation prompted White Sox fans to question the Pope's ability to convince the owner Jerry Reinsdorf to sell the team in the last place.
Fans who have been suffering for a long time have also weighed.
One pointed out on X that Chicago developed a pope before the Bears developed a quarter. Another said that bears now have a direct line to God.
Another still said that the Bears will no longer be on the wrong side of Hail Marys, a reference to the completion of the quarter of the commanders of Washington Jayden Daniels in Noah Brown from Noah Brown to beat the Bears in October.
The election of the new pope coincides with a trio of former villanova players leading the New York Knicks during an NBA eliminatory race. It didn't take long for a photoshopped photo of the four together to appear on social networks.
The Knicks have erased 20-point deficits in matches 1 and 2 winners against title champion Boston Celtics in the semi-finals of the Eastern Conference.
Now fans pray to the combination of Villanova guys and the new Pope can help the team in its first NBA title since 1973.
