In Chicago, a city where baseball allegiance has no middle ground, one of the first questions people asked was whether the Chicago-born pope cheered for the White Sox or the Cubs.

The lines dividing Cubs and Sox fans are not always clear. Generally speaking, North Siders root for the Cubs, since Wrigley Field is on their side of the city. South Siders are usually loyal to the Sox, who play at Rate Field in Bridgeport, on the South Side. Suburbanites tend to follow the same geographical divisions, but are sometimes considered a gray area.

Fans from both sides seemed to initially claim the new pope as their own.A spokeswoman for the Cubs first said that she could not confirm whether he was a fan, and issued a statement from Tom Ricketts, the executive chairman of the Cubs, assuring the new pope that he would be welcomed at Wrigley Field.