Fans line up early for White Sox's pope hat giveaway game

CHICAGO -- It began as a 2,500-person promotion but quickly grew to over 40,000.

The Chicago White Sox planned a pope hat giveaway in recognition of Chicago native Pope Leo's love for the team -- but realized pretty quickly 2,500 hats wouldn't be enough. Tickets were selling fast.

"We couldn't remember anything where we had to put it to 40,000," White Sox marketing chief Brooks Boyer told a throng of reporters Tuesday before the game. "I know I've certainly never sat in this seat to talk about a promo item before. So, this has obviously got to be a pretty good one."

Ever since the papal conclave in 2025 elected Pope Leo -- an "identified" Sox fan, according to Boyer -- the team has embraced the connection. Tuesday's promotion ahead of Chicago's game against the Cincinnati Reds was a natural next step.

"I'm very excited about 'Pope Night,'" manager Will Venable said. "Sounds like there is going to be a lot of people here. Anytime we get to celebrate the pope and his fandom of the White Sox is something we'll lean into. Hopefully it gives us some good favor for us tonight."

The White Sox are giving away over 40,000 of these tonight. It's Pope Hat night! pic.twitter.com/bjQUIgz6Yw

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) August 11, 2026

The team says it has at least 40,615 hats in case every single ticket, including the suites, is used. No other promotion has come close to matching the hype -- lines were forming outside the park well before the gates opened.

There's only one question left to answer: Does the pope know about it?

"I don't know," Boyer said. "There have certainly been people that talked to him that claim that he's following everything that's going on with the White Sox. Pope Leo, if you're watching it ... I hope he knows about it."

Reporting from ESPN contributed to this story.