Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
The VP of ticket operations for the White Sox, Mike Mazza is happy to be scrambling to meet surging demand during the team’s breakout season.
Mike Mazza has been helping White Sox fans attend home games for nearly 40 years, first as a seasonal worker in the ticket office and now as vice president of ticket operations for the team.
In addition to making sure the process of attending the minimum 80-plus White Sox home games each year is a breeze, Mazza and his team have helped the club pull off some huge special events and popular promotions over the years.
One such event was last year’s celebration of then-recently-elected Pope Leo XIV, the first American, Chicagoan and White Sox fan to be named pontiff.
“We got notice that (the election) was going to happen on May 10 and were able to pull off (the event) on June 14,” Mazza says. “The people from the archdiocese had never done something like this so we had to show that they could put their faith in us, which they did.”
The celebration — which attracted around 30,000 Chicago-area Catholics to Rate Field — featured a video message from Pope Leo. Mazza says he relied on his team to ensure that ticketing went smoothly because his father, Joseph Mazza, was dying and ultimately passed away four days before.
“That was like a whirlwind to get it done,” Mazza says. “I saw the staff step up and do all the necessary things, and I give them all the credit.”
Mazza said the event was especially important to him because of his devout faith. In a recent profile by a ticket industry publication, he said that he values his Bible as his most treasured possession, even above his 2005 World Series ring.
While the papal celebration was among the highest-attended occasions on the 2025 calendar, the 2026 season has witnessed Rate Field regularly filling up with fans eager to see winning baseball. All the excitement has given Mazza’s department a lot of behind-the-scenes work that they’re happy to do.
“You gotta remember that after losing 300 games in three years, the season-ticket holder numbers were down, so a lot of the tickets sold now are for individual games,” Mazza says. “It’s a lot of work managing our ticket inventory and making sure everyone who wants to bring a big group to the game is taken care of. You get all kinds of big-group requests as you become more popular.”
Mazza says that this year’s players are more than just a winning team: They’ve captured the hearts and imaginations of the fans.
“The players are more engaging with our fans and they are likable,” Mazza says. “They try hard, they don’t give up and that helps sell tickets.”
Another big driver of ticket sales are the creative promotions cooked up by the club’s marketing department. On Aug. 11, all fans in attendance received what’s been dubbed the “White Sox Pope Hat,” which is shaped like the tall pointed papal miter but features White Sox colors and insignia. That giveaway was originally intended to be available only via a special ticket offer, but it became so popular the club decided to have enough made to give to every ticket buyer.
The team also has found success hosting special ticket-offer events and giveaways for specific fan bases, such as Harry Potter and Grateful Dead enthusiasts, as well as heritage nights.
The ethnic groups honored in 2026 have included Puerto Ricans as well as Mexican, African and Italian Americans. Mazza says he’s always happy when the Italian-American community turns out to celebrate their heritage and receive a special giveaway, which this year was a White Sox jersey in Italian colors emblazoned with an image of the Colosseum in Rome.
“It’s really nice. We’ll play Italian music and Frank Sinatra, and sometimes we’ll get an Italian crooner to come out and sing,” Mazza says. “This year, one of the team’s best players is Sam Antonacci, who is Italian American, so that’s an added bonus.”
The above article appears in the September 2026 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture.
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