Local White Sox Fan, 'Twin' Jimmy Fallon Make Surreal Connection

CHICAGO — Jake Von Esh has always felt a distant connection with comedian Jimmy Fallon through baseball, but he never expected that bond would come full circle the way it has this week.

Growing up in suburban St. Charles, Von Esh remembers Fallon’s 2005 romantic comedy, “Fever Pitch” always being on in the house. His mother loved both the movie and the game it centered on, as Fallon plays a fan obsessed with the Boston Red Sox and who almost allows his love of the team to end a romantic relationship.

So it’s ironic that Von Esh’s love of another Sox team — the one that calls Chicago’s South Side home — landed him on Fallon’s late-night show this week, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." Von Esh, 28, has been a Sox season ticket holder since 2018, but just this year began wearing a customized Sox helmet that includes a holster for two beverages and has drawn a fair share of attention.

But the requests for photos at Sox games — and even to buy the helmet from Von Esh — pale in comparison to what happened after a Tennessee sportswriter tweeted a photo of Von Esh and tagged Fallon, suggesting the two are dead ringers for one another. The tweet caught Fallon’s attention — and this week, he ended an episode of the "Tonight Show" by showing a photo of Von Esh and then donning a Sox hoodie, mustache and beer helmet and closing the show by saying “Let’s Go White Sox.”

The comedy bit came as a complete surprise to Von Esh, who didn’t see the bit until the clip made the "WGN Morning News" on Tuesday morning. Before long, his phone wouldn’t stop ringing, as the beer-helmeted fan — who calls Section 160 in the left field bleachers at Guaranteed Rate Field home for at least one game a week during the season — discovered he had gone national.

“It’s been crazy, to say the least,” Von Esh told Patch on Friday. “It’s been a couple of days unlike any other for sure.”

Von Esh credits his current look to the pandemic, which kept him from getting a haircut for a year and allowed him to grow a mustache when he stopped having to go into the office. But it wasn’t long before the transportation company systems engineer decided that he liked the long-haired/facial hair combination, which has drawn comparisons to baseball Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, musician Yanni, the Pringles chip can guy and the “Princess Bride” character Inigo Montoya.

He had decided months ago to keep the look — which has now gained national attention after Fallon's impersonation.

His look notwithstanding, it has always been Von Esh's Modelo-holding helmet that has drawn the most attention at Sox games. The helmet, which was a birthday gift, has caused fellow Sox fans to ask for photos with Von Esh, who has been offered up to $100 to buy the helmet, which he figured would attract eyes the first time he wore it at the Sox's Opening Day.

The adult-beverage-holding hemet has landed Von Esh on the video board twice at Sox games, and it has been the unwilling subject of fan photos featuring himself and his headgear that have landed on social media channels. But when he saw that his likeness had landed him on “The Tonight Show” with Fallon doing his part to look the part of the Sox fan, Von Esh’s wild week was off to the races.

The first time he saw the clip, Von Esh was in disbelief. But then he admits to sitting at his kitchen table unable to stop watching as Fallon transformed himself into a true-to-life doppelganger that has connected the suburban IT guy and the late-night host.

“I just kept laughing at whole absurd this whole situation is,” Von Esh told Patch on Friday, adding, “I can’t believe where this has ended up.”

On Wednesday, Fallon entered the chat. Literally. Fallon direct-messaged Von Esh on Twitter.

“Hey twin, happy you liked the bit and was reminded of how good looking we are,” Fallon wrote in the message. “I’d love to go to a game with you one day and take down a few beers. Good man. Jimmy.”

Since then, Von Esh’s phone hasn’t stopped buzzing with Twitter mentions, text messages and other correspondence that hasn’t stopped since the show aired on Monday. Von Esh isn’t sure he will actually ever attend a game with Fallon, but the interaction with his celebrity look-alike has made Von Esh’s 15 minutes of fame even more enjoyable.

It has also allowed him to remember his mother, who passed away not long after Von Esh purchased the Sox season tickets. His mother was the one who helped her son develop a love for the Sox and for Fallon through the movie they often watched together when he was younger.

For now, Von Esh will keep the direct message from Fallon and hope that the dream of seeing a game with his “twin” will one day become reality. But even if it doesn’t happen, Von Esh knows he and Fallon will always have their moment.

“It’s super surreal,” Von Esh said Friday. “The connection of me, my mom and my family loving the White Sox and Jimmy Fallon, that combination — it all coming together in one moment is just surreal.”