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09/26 05:30 CDT Pope Leo XIV declines to credit himself for White Sox playoff
return
Pope Leo XIV declines to credit himself for White Sox playoff return
By JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press
PARIS (AP) --- Might a helping hand from Pope Leo XIV partly explain the
Chicago White Sox's improbable return to the playoffs?
"No comment," the pontiff replied with a beaming smile when a reporter on his
plane to France asked whether the surprise sprung Thursday by the
long-suffering team was miraculous and "Do you have anything to do with that?"
But the Chicago-born and raised lifelong fan of the White Sox left no doubt
that he was thrilled, by adding: "Great things happen in Chicago."
The pontiff's oh-so-diplomatic answer was perhaps because he's had experience
of how perceived papal rooting for one team or another can land him in hot
water.
In June, he said "the pope is for all teams" but rubbed soccer fans in
Barcelona the wrong way by adding that he personally roots for Real Madrid,
inserting himself into one of the biggest rivalries in club football.
Real Madrid proudly posted the video of the moment, and social media filled
with comments about how the club is "the team of God."
Again being careful not to overtly take sides, the pontiff also showed on the
papal plane that he keeps a keen eye on basketball, too.
In response to another question, Leo said that "the voice of the people of God"
will be cheering loudly for Villanova University --- where he studied
mathematics in the 1970s --- when his alma mater and Notre Dame play a men's
and women's season-opening basketball doubleheader in Rome on Nov. 1.
"They tell me that the people coming to the match, 90% are Villanova and 10%
Notre Dame, so the voice of the people of God will be very strong on the
Villanova side," Leo said.
The Catholic schools are promoting the matchup as a celebration of their shared
mission and heritage. Long before he became the first pope from the United
States, Robert Prevost graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in
mathematics from the Augustinian school near Philadelphia.
The 71-year-old pontiff's sporting interests extend to tennis, too.
"I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player," he said in a 2023
interview, although the newly made cardinal added that his church
responsibilities weren't leaving him much time to get out on court.
As pontiff, Leo likes to spend Mondays and Tuesdays at the papal retreat in
Castel Gandolfo in the hills outside Rome --- where he plays tennis with his
secretary, Monsignor Edgard Ivn Rimaycuna Inga, and goes swimming and
horseback riding, too.
Last year, Leo granted a Vatican audience to top-ranked tennis player Jannik
Sinner. But he declined Sinner's offer of a quick volley.
The pope looked around at the antiques and said, "Better not."
___
Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield in Paris contributed.
