An America's Cup without an American boat? American Magic says it may not sail in Naples
American Magic's AC75 boat sails during a semi-final America's Cup Regatta ahead of the 37th America's Cup sailing race along the Barcelona's coast, Spain, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort, File)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — American Magic has put its participation in the next America's Cup in serious doubt after it cited 'transparency' concerns related to Team New Zealand's decision to hold the 2027 regatta in Naples, Italy.
The team that represented the New York Yacht Club in last year's cup in Barcelona issued a statement on Thursday saying cup holder Team New Zealand 'has been unwilling to commit to the transparency and cooperation necessary' regarding its plans for Naples that were announced last week.
Advertisement
If American Magic does not compete and no other American team enters in its place, then for the first time in the event's history, there will not be an American team in the America's Cup.
American boats have won the America's Cup a record 25 times and held it from its first race in 1851 all the way through 1983.
Team New Zealand did not immediately respond to messages for comment from The Associated Press.
American Magic's complaint was made public shortly after British team Athena Racing, representing all challengers, issued a statement criticizing what it called the lack of information provided by Team New Zealand on the deal with Italian organizers.
Advertisement
It is 'difficult to understand what exactly has been agreed between Team New Zealand and the government of Italy as the sporting framework and details of the event do not yet exist,' Athena said.
American Magic backed up Athena's position by saying that 'without the meaningful changes they (Athena) are advocating, it is difficult to see how NYYC American Magic can participate in the 38th America's Cup.'
Neither Athena nor American Magic went into further detail regarding their complaints.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
31 minutes ago
- USA Today
FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Group stage schedule, odds, TV and live streaming options
FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Group stage schedule, odds, TV and live streaming options Show Caption Hide Caption Inter Miami and Messi took alternate route to FIFA Club World Cup Safid Deen explains that while Inter Miami may have qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup differently than others, we should be happy they'e in period. Sports Seriously It took until the 115th minute of a play-in game created on the fly ahead of the Club World Cup, but the group stage is finally set for this 2005 international soccer event that's attempting to blend the format of the World Cup with a global field of professional teams reminiscent of the Champions League. The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup officially began on Saturday, May 31 when an extra-time goal by Denis Bouanga gave LAFC of Major League Soccer the final spot in the 32-team tournament taking place in venues around the United States for the first time beginning June 14. There are 64 matches on the docket to decide the tournament winner, with the champion crowned after the finals at MetLife Stadium outside New York on July 13. Some of the sport's biggest stars and tradition-rich clubs are slated to participate, including Real Madrid, Paris-St. Germain, Manchester City, Inter Milan, and Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. There's potential for some dream matchups on American soil. The new 2025 group stage and bracket has 12 clubs from Europe, seven from South America, four from Africa, three from the United States, two from Mexico, two from the Middle East, two from Asia and one from Oceania. The Seattle Sounders of MLS also qualified for this year's tournament. Here's more information on the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, including the teams participating, a full tournament schedule for the group stage, and the favorites to win this reformatted international soccer event: When is the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup? Group Stage : June 14-June 26 : June 14-June 26 Round of 16 : June 28-July 1 : June 28-July 1 Quarterfinals : July 4-5 : July 4-5 Semifinals : July 8-9 : July 8-9 Finals: July 13 What teams are in FIFA Club World Cup? There are 32 teams in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup that have been separated into eight groups of four for the round-robin group stage in June. Here's how the field breaks down Group A Al Ahly FC (Egypt) FC Porto (Portugal) SE Palmeiras (Brazil) Inter Miami (United States) Group B Paris Saint-Germain (France) Atlético de Madrid (Spain) Botafogo (Brazil) Seattle Sounders FC (United States) Group C FC Bayern München (Germany) Auckland City FC (New Zealand) CA Boca Juniors (Argentina) SL Benfica (Portugal) Group D Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia) CR Flamengo (Brazil) Chelsea FC (England) LAFC (United States) Group E CA River Plate (Argentina) Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) CF Monterrey (Mexico) Inter Milan (Italy) Group F Fluminense FC (Brazil) Borussia Dortmund (Germany) Ulsan HD (South Korea) Mamelodi Sundowns FC (South Africa) Group G Manchester City (England) Wydad AC (Morocco) Al Ain FC (United Arab Emirates) Juventus FC (Italy) Group H Real Madrid (Spain) Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) CF Pachuca (Mexico) FC Salzburg (Austria) Watch FIFA Club World Cup FREE with DAZN How to watch FIFA World Cup 2025: TV, streaming options Every match during the 2025 FIFA World Cup will be live streamed for free on which is the exclusive global broadcaster of the event. TNT will also air 24 matches in the United States. FIFA Club World Cup odds: Favorites to win Real Madrid is currently a slight favorite over Paris-St. Germain and Manchester City to win the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. BetMGM odds are as of 11 a.m. ET on Monday, June 9. Real Madrid (+400) Paris-St. Germain (+450) Manchester City (+500) Bayern Munich (+700) Chelsea (+1000) Inter Milan (+1400) Atletico Madrid (+1600) FIFA Club World Cup 2025 match schedule GROUP STAGE Saturday, June 14 Group A: Al Ahly vs. Inter Miami, 8 p.m. ET (Miami) Sunday, June 15 Group C: Bayern Munich vs. Auckland City, 12 p.m. ET (Cincinnati) Bayern Munich vs. Auckland City, 12 p.m. ET (Cincinnati) Group B: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Atlético Madrid, 3 p.m. ET (Pasadena, California) Paris Saint-Germain vs. Atlético Madrid, 3 p.m. ET (Pasadena, California) Group A: SE Palmeiras vs. FC Porto, 6 p.m. ET (East Rutherford, New Jersey) SE Palmeiras vs. FC Porto, 6 p.m. ET (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Group B: Botafogo vs. Seattle Sounders, 10 p.m. ET (Seattle) Monday, June 16 Group D: Chelsea vs. LAFC, 3 p.m. ET (Atlanta) Chelsea vs. LAFC, 3 p.m. ET (Atlanta) Group C: Boca Juniors vs. Benfica, 6 p.m. ET (Miami) Boca Juniors vs. Benfica, 6 p.m. ET (Miami) Group D: Flamengo vs. Espérance de Tunis, 9 p.m. ET (Philadelphia) Tuesday, June 17 Group F: Fluminense vs. Borussia Dortmund, 12 p.m. ET (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Fluminense vs. Borussia Dortmund, 12 p.m. ET (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Group E: River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds, 3 p.m. ET (Seattle) River Plate vs. Urawa Red Diamonds, 3 p.m. ET (Seattle) Group F: Ulsan HD vs. Mamelodi Sundowns, 6 p.m. ET (Orlando, Florida) Ulsan HD vs. Mamelodi Sundowns, 6 p.m. ET (Orlando, Florida) Group E: Monterrey vs. Inter Milan, 9 p.m. ET (Pasadena, California) Wednesday, June 18 Group G: Manchester City vs. Wydad AC, 12 p.m. ET (Philadelphia) Manchester City vs. Wydad AC, 12 p.m. ET (Philadelphia) Group H: Real Madrid vs. Al Hilal, 3 p.m. ET (Miami) Real Madrid vs. Al Hilal, 3 p.m. ET (Miami) Group H: Pachuca vs. FC Salzburg, 6 p.m. ET (Cincinnati) Pachuca vs. FC Salzburg, 6 p.m. ET (Cincinnati) Group G: Al Ain vs. Juventus, 9 p.m. (Washington, D.C.) Thursday, June 19 Group A: Palmeiras vs. Al Ahly, 12 p.m. ET, (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Palmeiras vs. Al Ahly, 12 p.m. ET, (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Group A: Inter Miami vs. Porto, 3 p.m. ET, (Atlanta) Inter Miami vs. Porto, 3 p.m. ET, (Atlanta) Group B: Seattle Sounders vs. Atlético Madrid, 6 p.m. ET (Seattle) Seattle Sounders vs. Atlético Madrid, 6 p.m. ET (Seattle) Group B: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Botafogo, 9 p.m. ET (Pasadena, California) Friday, June 20 Group C: Benfica vs. Auckland City, 12 p.m. ET (Orlando, Florida) Benfica vs. Auckland City, 12 p.m. ET (Orlando, Florida) Group D: Flamengo vs. Chelsea, 2 p.m. ET (Philadelphia) Flamengo vs. Chelsea, 2 p.m. ET (Philadelphia) Group D : LAFC vs. Espérance de Tunis, 6 p.m. ET (Nashville, Tennessee) : LAFC vs. Espérance de Tunis, 6 p.m. ET (Nashville, Tennessee) Group C: Bayern Munich vs. Boca Juniors, 9 p.m. ET (Miami) Saturday, June 21 Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs. Borussia Dortmund, 12 p.m. ET (Cincinnati) Mamelodi Sundowns vs. Borussia Dortmund, 12 p.m. ET (Cincinnati) Group E: Inter Milan vs. Urawa Red Diamonds, 3 p.m. ET (Seattle) Inter Milan vs. Urawa Red Diamonds, 3 p.m. ET (Seattle) Group F: Fluminense vs. Ulsan HD, 6 p.m. ET (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Fluminense vs. Ulsan HD, 6 p.m. ET (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Group E: River Plate vs. Monterrey, 9 p.m. ET (Pasadena, California) Sunday, June 22 Group G: Juventus vs. Wydad AC, 12 p.m. ET (Philadelphia) Juventus vs. Wydad AC, 12 p.m. ET (Philadelphia) Group H: Real Madrid vs. Pachuca, 3 p.m. ET (Charlotte, North Carolina) Real Madrid vs. Pachuca, 3 p.m. ET (Charlotte, North Carolina) Group H: FC Salzburg vs. Al Hilal, 6 p.m. ET (Washington, D.C.) FC Salzburg vs. Al Hilal, 6 p.m. ET (Washington, D.C.) Group G: Manchester City vs. Al Ain, 9 p.m. ET (Atlanta) Monday, June 23 Group B: Atlético Madrid vs. Botafogo, 3 p.m. ET (Pasadena, California) Atlético Madrid vs. Botafogo, 3 p.m. ET (Pasadena, California) Group B : Seattle Sounders vs. Paris Saint-Germain, 3 p.m. ET (Seattle) : Seattle Sounders vs. Paris Saint-Germain, 3 p.m. ET (Seattle) Group A: Inter Miami vs. Palmeiras, 9 p.m. ET (Miami) Inter Miami vs. Palmeiras, 9 p.m. ET (Miami) Group A: Porto vs. Al Ahly, 9 p.m. ET (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Tuesday, June 24 Group C: Benfica vs. Bayern Munich, 3 p.m. ET (Charlotte) Benfica vs. Bayern Munich, 3 p.m. ET (Charlotte) Group C: Auckland City vs. Boca Juniors, 3 p.m. ET (Nashville) Auckland City vs. Boca Juniors, 3 p.m. ET (Nashville) Group D: Espérance de Tunis vs. Chelsea, 9 p.m. ET (Philadelphia) Espérance de Tunis vs. Chelsea, 9 p.m. ET (Philadelphia) Group D: LAFC vs. Flamengo, 9 p.m. ET (Orlando) Wednesday, June 25 Group F: Borussia Dortmund vs. Ulsan HD, 3 p.m. ET (Cincinnati) Borussia Dortmund vs. Ulsan HD, 3 p.m. ET (Cincinnati) Group F: Mamelodi Sundowns vs. Fluminense, 3 p.m. ET (Miami) Mamelodi Sundowns vs. Fluminense, 3 p.m. ET (Miami) Group E: Inter Milan vs. River Plate, 9 p.m. ET (Seattle) Inter Milan vs. River Plate, 9 p.m. ET (Seattle) Group E: Urawa Red Diamonds vs. Monterrey, 9 p.m. ET (Pasadena) Thursday, June 26
USA Today
39 minutes ago
- USA Today
2026 World Cup Q&A with Tony Meola: USMNT must make semifinals to be considered 'great'
2026 World Cup Q&A with Tony Meola: USMNT must make semifinals to be considered 'great' Show Caption Hide Caption Weston McKennie discusses the state of the USMNT ahead of World Cup Soccer standout Weston McKennie discusses the state of the USMNT and how Mauricio Pochettino is getting the squad ready ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Sports Seriously Tony Meola can still see all the American flags that made their way onto the field at the Rose Bowl more than 30 years ago. He can still feel Thomas Dooley jumping on his back in celebration, the thrill of the 2-1 USA win over Colombia in the 1994 World Cup — the first American win in the World Cup since 1950 — as shocking to them as it was the rest of the soccer world at the time. 'I hope the players have the feeling that we had when that final whistle blew against Colombia," Meola told USA TODAY Sports earlier this week. "I hope there's a moment like that for this group in 2026." Wednesday, June 11 marks exactly one year until the FIFA World Cup officially returns to the United States for the first time since that memorable 1994 experience. Canada and Mexico also will serve as co-hosts next year, with the first games of the tournament scheduled to take place in Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 11, 2026. The United States and Canada will play their first games of the group stage on June 12, 2026, with matches slated for SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and BMO Field in Toronto. GOLD CUP: USMNT goalkeeper to miss Gold Cup with knee injury A lot of has changed within the American soccer infrastructure over the past 31 years, beginning with the introduction of Major League Soccer in the aftermath of the sport's surging popularity coming off the first American-hosted World Cup. But so too have the expectations, and Meola — the starting goalkeeper for the 1990 and 1994 United States World Cup teams and a member of the 2002 team — is among those who have circled 2026 as a critical juncture for the United States national team. The SiriusXM FC host spoke to USA TODAY Sports about what's at stake for American soccer in this World Cup, his memories from the 1994 World Cup and how this group of players should be judged. Here is a selection of his answers from a recent interview: USA TODAY: How does the soccer culture in the United States heading into the 2026 World Cup compare to 1994? Tony Meola: 'That team in '94 had sort of two missions. We had to get ready to play soccer every day and then you had to promote the game all day. The players now don't have that. We have outlets now. We have video on everybody's phone. We have Major League Soccer to look at. We have all these things that we never had back then and we all knew that was part of the responsibility. We were doing it prior to getting ready for the World Cup and it just seemed like it got magnified when the World Cup was about to start. We're certainly ahead of where we were. I guess the hope would be we use this World Cup the same way we used the '94 World Cup as a springboard because I still think there's growth here in the country." USA TODAY: What's your current assessment of the U.S. men's national team a year out from the 2026 World Cup? Tony Meola: "Well, it is going to be a showcase, and I hope they're ready for that. And the guys that played in '94 can tell you how it changes your life forever. ... I came out of 2022 feeling really good about the progress that we had made and where we were because I think we were the second-youngest team in the World Cup. We played really well. I don't think we were better than the Netherlands in any moment in that (Round of 16) game, and probably wouldn't have been. But I said, 'ok, well four years from now, if we continue to improve in this fashion, we're going to be pretty good' and we've kind of pumped the breaks a little bit on that. But I'm steadfast on this team will be good enough at the World Cup.' USA TODAY: What is a realistic goal for success for the U.S. men's national team at the 2026 World Cup? Tony Meola: 'If we were in a quarterfinal in 2002, we need to surpass that. That's the next step for me. I don't know if I'll measure success (that way). It's the World Cup. Your team could play great and, like, we got a bad call in that game against Germany (in 2002), that could happen here in the tournament. That doesn't mean you played poorly. It just means something didn't go your way. But me, personally, the next great national team will be the team that gets to a semifinal of the World Cup. That's just my personal opinion. Other people will judge it other ways. But that's how I'll judge it.' USA TODAY: Do you have a favorite moment from the 1994 World Cup? Tony Meola: 'I hope the players have the feeling that we had when that final whistle blew against Colombia. If you go back and look at those pictures of the Rose Bowl and you look at the flags being thrown on the field to the players, I hope there's a moment like that for this group in 2026 because I can still feel the ground underneath my feet right now when I talk about it and mention it. I can feel Thomas Dooley jumping on my shoulders. I still can feel that moment and it doesn't matter if you played at the biggest club in Europe or the smallest team in the world. Those moments you'll never forget.' The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Divine revelations: Pope Leo XIV's attendance at 2005 World Series leaves champion White Sox with an immaculate legacy
In the moment, the man who will go on to become the most recognizable religious leader in the world looks nervous. He looks as though even his considerable faith can be tested by the whims of his favorite baseball team. As if, perhaps, he's offering a silent prayer for one more out. In the moment, Robert Prevost, the native South Sider destined to become first American-born pope, is at the mercy of fickle spirits with Old Testament tempers. The baseball gods can be cruel and smiting, especially in Chicago, and Prevost has to understand this as well as anyone. One day people will come to see where he sat, to have their pictures taken and to feel a connection to him and their faith. One day soon, on Saturday, the team he roots for, the Chicago White Sox, will host an outdoor Mass in his honor and in celebration of a moment they shared. But the pilgrimages and the Mass will come a long time after he stands, like tens of thousands around him stand, in the anxious delirium of the top of the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. It is then when the television camera finds him, by chance or by fate. There are two outs and the White Sox, holding a 5-3 lead against the Houston Astros, have their hard-throwing 24-year-old closer, Bobby Jenks, on the mound. The energy in what was then called U.S. Cellular Field radiates through the broadcast. Joe Buck, narrating the play-by-play, reiterates that it's the first World Series game in Chicago since 1959 and, after a 95-mph fastball from Jenks, the Sox 'are two strikes away from a win here in 2005 in Game 1.' The noise increases and then it happens in a quick shot of the crowd. 'What are the odds?' someone asks many years later in the comment section under the video, after it becomes clear that Prevost, the Chicago-born priest and future Pope Leo XIV, is in the stands, dressed not in the black and white of clerical garb but that of a White Sox loyalist, in what looks to be a jersey under a coat. He's not too far above the home dugout, hoping — praying? — for one final out. The moment on TV lasts three seconds, maybe less, but when it reemerges almost 20 years later, not long after white smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, it is reborn. It conjures questions of divinity. It symbolizes faith. It provides proof, the most ardent Catholics among White Sox supporters might attest, of the existence of a higher power. At the least it is celebrated, the sight of Prevost next to his friend Ed Schmit III and Schmit's son, Ed IV, then 5 years old. Prevost, 20 years before his election as pope, still young in the face, wears an antsy smile. He bows his head and then looks up, toward the scoreboard. Next to him, Schmit holds his boy in one arm and flashes two fingers, for two outs, with his free hand. Anticipation builds. Jenks wastes no time. Two more pitches result in two more strikes, the final one a 96-mph blur, and exactly 33 seconds after Prevost appears on screen, Game 1 is over. The crowd erupts. A rush of fireworks goes off over center field. Ozzie Guillén, then the 41-year-old White Sox manager, offers quick fist bumps in the dugout and embraces Jenks with a big smile. For almost 20 years, the final moments of that game remain a footnote in the larger story of the White Sox's four-game sweep. They're lost amid Jermaine Dye's steady hitting and Paul Konerko's seventh-inning grand slam in Game 2; almost forgotten around Chicago in the joy surrounding the Sox's third World Series championship, and first (and still only) since 1917. But then come the revelations: the white smoke in Vatican City, Prevost's election and transformation to Pope Leo XIV, an American city's pride in the ascension of one of their own. There are memes: 'Da Pope,' and Holy Communion with Vienna Chicago-style hot dogs and deep dish pizza; the new pope blessing everyone but cursing Green Bay. Mild sacrilege, arguably, but funny. And there are questions, including those about his baseball loyalties. There is, at first, something like a false prophecy — that the pontiff is a Cubs fan. Soon come the firm corrections, the now-viral photo and video from Game 1 of the '05 Series, and the proof of his allegiance. Pope Leo XIV's oldest brother is a Cubs fan, but the pope, himself, never wavered from his South Side roots. 'We used to give each other grief all the time,' Louis Prevost, 73, says of their childhood. 'And in those days, the Cubs were pretty sad … 'When I saw the picture (from the 2005 World Series), I was like, 'How the heck did he get into that?' But that was him at the game there. That was his thing. He liked to get out and go to a game once in a while. Eat a hot dog. Have some pizza. Like any other guy in Chicago on the South Side.' In the moment that night in October 2005, Robert Prevost indeed looks like any other guy from the South Side. That has become a big part of the allure. The night has taken on a sense of timelessness. Two decades later, people want to revisit it. Some are making pilgrimages to Rate Field, now home to one of the most hapless teams in baseball, to feel closer to Pope Leo XIV. 'How special,' Guillén says one evening in May, after the White Sox unveiled a mural in honor of Pope Leo XIV. Guillén is 61 now and sitting in a green room above home plate at Rate Field, where he works as an analyst on the Chicago Sports Network. He's dressed in his TV clothes and like a lot of people these days, the 2005 World Series has come to feel more spiritual for him, too. 'Like, this man was here,' Guillén says of the pope. 'That really hits you in the face. 'Like, what a moment.' The connection to Pope Leo XIV means more to Guillén because of his deep ties to the White Sox, as a player and manager, and because of his established roots in Chicago, his adopted hometown. But it goes beyond that, too, given his faith. Guillén grew up in a religious home in his native Venezuela and spent three years carrying the cross in a Catholic church, an altar boy with a talent for baseball. He says the church provided structure — the only things he did was 'play (baseball), go to school and be the altar boy' — and refuge. It wasn't uncommon, Guillén says, for his priest to give him money because Guillén grew up with little of it. Even as a boy, the future Major League shortstop knew that one day he'd name his first-born son after that priest. And indeed, Ozzie Guillén Jr.'s middle name is Eduardo, after 'Padre Eduardo' from his father's homeland. In the days after the election of Pope Leo XIV, the younger Guillén posed the question his father hadn't yet pondered: Did he ever think, growing up as an altar boy in Venezuela, that the pope would know who he was? Guillén laughed. 'I said, 'He don't know who I am,'' Guillén says. To which his son replied: 'Of course, he does. He was in there (for the World Series). You were the manager.' Guillén's wife is 'very, very Catholic,' he says, and years ago, during a visit to Rome, they had occasion to visit with Pope Francis. The Guilléns took pride in the first Latin American pope in history. When he died in April, Guillén says his wife cried. She spent weeks watching the news coverage, waiting to learn of Pope Francis' successor, only to find out it was a Chicago-born priest who rose through the church during his years in Peru. And not only that — but that he happened to be a White Sox fan who sat near the dugout in the 2005 World Series, cheering on her husband and his players. 'It should make it more special for all the guys who wear the uniform, knowing they were playing in front of' the future Pope Leo XIV, Guillén says. 'Look where he is now.' Guillén wants to take another trip to Rome with his wife. He hopes the new pope might bless him. 'I want to meet him,' he says. Looking back, it's easy to become swept away in the spirituality of it all. The feeling that perhaps a higher power really was at work. It's enough to turn skeptics into believers. The White Sox won all four of those World Series games by no more than two runs. They overcame deficits in two of them. They rallied from two runs down with Konerko's grand slam in the seventh inning of Game 2, only to lose the lead in the top of the ninth and then win on Scott Podsednik's unlikely home run in the bottom of the inning. They trailed by four in Houston in Game 3, then rallied again and won in 14 innings. They scored the lone run of Game 4 in the eighth inning, only for Jenks in the bottom of the ninth to allow a leadoff single before retiring three consecutive batters to close out the Series. And that run of good fortune, of the baseball gods smiling kindly after so many years of cursed luck, began in some ways in Game 1. It began with the future pope watching not more than two dozen rows behind the Sox dugout. With future President Barack Obama, then the junior senator from Illinois, also in attendance. It has to be the first and only sporting event in history with a future pope and future U.S. president among the crowd, both rooting for their neighborhood's team. 'As my fellow South Siders know, it has been a long time coming,' Obama said during a speech on the Senate floor the day after the Sox's victory in Game 4. He referenced how appropriate it felt that the final out came on a throw that was on time 'by only half a step;' how the White Sox won four games by a total of six runs. 'Win by the skin of your teeth,' Obama said. 'Win or die trying, that's our motto this year.' 'I had the privilege of attending Game 1 of the World Series on Saturday,' he said moments later, 'and the fans in and around the park were a cross-section of the city.' Few scenes spoke more to that than the one in Section 140, down along the third base line. There, in row 19, a Chicago-born priest of the Augustinian Order, a former Peruvian missionary then based in Rome, stood alongside three generations of South Siders to cheer on a Venezuelan-born manager leading a team that came to embody a city's identity. The mural honoring that long-ago night is painted on one of the pillars at the entrance of Section 140, and pays homage to the dual identities of the man depicted. In the larger image, there's Pope Leo XIV, in full papal regalia, lifting his right arm as if to offer a blessing. In a smaller one, in the top right, there's Robert Prevost, then known as Father Bob, attending Game 1 in 2005. It's a screenshot of the moment the camera found him in the top of the ninth. There's little Eddie Schmit next to him and his father, Eddie III. Just out of the frame is Ed Schmit Jr., who was closest of all to Father Bob and who knew him well from their work at St. Rita High School, where Father Bob sometimes taught and where Schmit Jr. was an alum and founding board member. About a dozen members of the Schmit family gathered for the mural's unveiling last month. Schmit Jr. died in July 2020 of pancreatic cancer, but his memory loomed large. 'He is just smiling down,' said Father Tom McCarthy, former principal at St. Rita and a longtime friend of both Schmit Jr. and the pope. Father Bob called Schmit Jr. often in his final days and their conversations never ended without Schmit sharing his belief that Prevost would be pope one day. It was something Schmit thought for a long time, from back when Father Bob blessed family babies and when Schmit often offered him Sox seats that have been in his family since 1983 at the old Comiskey Park. The site of the mural and the pope's seat in Section 140 is now something like a holy site, a shrine for the curious and the more spiritual. It's not a stretch to say people are making pilgrimages to it. On the first Monday in June, the line to take pictures with Pope Leo XIV's likeness stretches well into the concourse. It curls around the Mini Melts ice cream stand and ends near the beer counter where 16-ounce tall boys go for $12.99. A nearby usher, Keith Coplen Jr., says it's his first night on the job, and that he's nervous because he's in charge of the aisle of the mural. He prepares for the crowd but takes comfort in his surroundings and before it becomes too busy he takes a breath. 'I think Jesus is with me,' he says, nodding in the direction of the artwork next to him. Eighteen rows down, two men are on an expedition and stop when they find what they're looking for: Seat 2 in Row 19 of Section 140. It's Father Bob's seat from that night in 2005. They take turns sitting in it and take pictures of each other and, as Catholics, they feel drawn to the location, even if 20 years have gone by. 'I had to see this,' one of them, Dick Schindel, says as he leans against the row. Up above, Coplen is keeping count of those who come to the mural. There's a dozen, two dozen, more than 50 less than an hour before the first pitch, and 161 and counting when the Sox take the field. The rush grows busier the closer it gets to game time. People approach and make the sign of the cross. Families arrange themselves for the perfect picture. Some hold up prayer hands. Some hold out their phones for selfies. 'He's blessing me!' one woman yells to her friends, after she has stood beneath Pope Leo XIV's extended right arm. The White Sox are in last place again and the upper deck is closed again and the team's descent is perhaps proof of the limits of God's power, or priorities. For one night 20 years ago, though, something divine happened here. Believers were made. Faith rewarded. The spirit lingers, for those who seek it.
