Crosstown begins with mutual love for Chicago contenders, but what if Cubs, White Sox meet in World Series?

Crosstown in the thick of a playoff race is interesting enough.

Could you imagine Crosstown in October?

“Sign me up,” Cubs skipper Craig Counsell said before the first of three games with the White Sox on Monday at Wrigley Field.

Yeah, you can sign everybody in this baseball-mad town up for that one, an event that might be big enough to earn the Chicago flag a fifth star.

“Iconic,” said Sox fan Mary Beth Szorc of Chicago.

A lot would have to go right for that to happen this fall, and the Cubs will consider this August matchup less of a playoff preview and more of the latest turn of their schedule.

“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” Cubs left fielder Ian Happ said of this time of year, “the games are meaningful.”

No one’s biting on the fan-fueled rivalry talk inside the Cubs’ clubhouse, nor should they be expected to. Happ’s from Pittsburgh, after all. He didn’t grow up with this series circled on his calendar, ready to claim bragging rights from every other-side-of-town fan he ran into for a weekend.

The electricity always gets cranked to 11 with Crosstown, with fireworks on the field and off it. Just ask Michael Barrett and A.J. Pierzynski, or a host of others who have been involved in game-winning homers, dugout blow-ups, bat flips, manager ejections and dueling no-hit bids.

Earlier this season, Crosstown was the emotional setting for Pete Crow-Armstrong’s vulgar interaction with a heckling Sox fan and Edgar Quero’s walk-off home run.

The scene shifted North on Monday, and immediately, more fireworks: Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki riled up Cubs fans with back-to-back homers in the first inning.

The pregame scene Monday was more giddy excitement over a couple good teams than contending fan bases at each other’s throats, perhaps the result of a midweek, back-to-school series rather than midsummer games following a daylong Clark Street bar crawl or all-day tailgating on the South Side.

“It’s nice to see both teams doing well, for once,” said Sox fan Sawyer Phillips of Antioch, here with Cubs season-ticket holder buddy Colin Wieska. “It’s been a while since both teams have had winning records at this point in the season. It’s cool to see.”

“It’s a lot of fun at home,” said Cubs fan Larry Johnson of Rockford, in attendance with his Sox-fan wife, Ashley, as they celebrated their wedding anniversary. “We’re always throwing jabs, typical stuff.”

These Chicago baseball fans were rejecting the stereotype, choosing love over hate.

Speaking of love, Szorc was married at Rate Field — she still calls it Comiskey — with Cubs-fan friend Jen Pierce in attendance.

“Thirty-five years of friendship,” Szorc said, “we’ve never fought about [Crosstown].”

But this one seems like it’s for a little more than just bragging rights.

The Cubs and Sox both have realistic playoff aspirations. Though the Cubs owned baseball’s fifth best record when they woke up Monday, it was the Sox in position for a first-round playoff bye, thanks to their status as the second-best division leader in a weak American League, with the Cubs still attempting to chase down the Brewers in the NL Central.

Even amid all the love, the Friendly Confines were only so friendly. Cubs fans booed Sox pitchers as they walked to the bullpen in the first inning, and Sox fans booed Crow-Armstrong as he came to the plate.

Signage outside Murphy’s Bleachers called the Sox “still second in Chicago,” technically true if you’re going by the win-loss numbers. But there was only one first-place team in Monday’s game, and it wasn’t the Cubs.

If these two teams meet again in 2026, you can forget the nitpicking, only one thing will matter: the first title in 10 years, or the first title in 21?

Those are Ron Santo and Sammy Sosa’s numbers, so maybe there’s some good mojo in the Cubs’ favor?

Wait, both those guys played for the Sox, too. More for Cubs and Sox fans to agree on.

Looks like it’s on the 2026 teams to stir up a little more drama and reignite the rivalry.

Maybe with a third act this October?

“I’m in for all the fun, everything,” Counsell said. “You want to hype it up? I’m in for all of it.”