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The sports loyalties of Pope Leo XIV became a topic of conversation almost as soon as the white smoke emerged from the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.
Elected on Thursday, Robert Prevost is the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church. The Chicago-born missionary, who took the name Leo XIV, also attended Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1977.
Chicago's two baseball teams were front and center as sports fans reacted to the news.
It was initially reported that the new pope was a Cubs fan. The team congratulated Pope Leo XIV in a post on X that had a picture of Wrigley Field's iconic marquee with the message: HEY, CHICAGO. HE'S A CUBS FAN!
But his brother, John Prevost, set the record straight in an interview with WGN-TV. The pope is a White Sox fan.
“He was never ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan,” John said, adding that the confusion might stem from the fact their mother’s side of the family were North Siders and Cubs fans.
The revelation prompted White Sox fans to wonder about the pope's ability to convince owner Jerry Reinsdorf to sell the last-place team.
Long-suffering Bears fans weighed in, too.
One remarked on X that Chicago developed a pope before the Bears developed a quarterback. Another said the Bears now have a direct line to God. And another said the Bears no longer will be on the wrong side of Hail Marys, a reference to Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels’ 52-yard Hail Mary completion to 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 on an NBA playoff run. It didn't take long for a photoshopped picture of the four of them together to show up on social media.
The Knicks erased 20-point deficits in winning Games 1 and 2 against the defending champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Now fans are praying the combination of the Villanova guys and the new pope can help the team to its first NBA title since 1973.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
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