Superfan Ronnie “Woo-Woo” Wickers has trumpeted the Cubs to the delight or dismay of millions since 1958. Many people who see him today mistakenly believe he is a contemporary Cubs player, such has his unbridled enthusiasm for the Cubs kept him fit and young-looking.
Due to an influx of players whose borderline talents don’t truly inspire wooing, Wickers has showed signs of his numerical age this season. Instead of coming to Wrigleyville for Cubs home contests, he usually opted to stay home and cry for the organization.
On Labor Day, the officially branded “unofficial Cubs mascot” wore a Cubs jersey with “Woe Woe” in blue capital letters on the back as he strolled down Clark Street and past Wrigley Field while the Cubs played in Washington. He noticed the message on the marquee said “‘Like’ Cubs on Facebook.”
He felt a sudden rush of cumulative betrayal. He had never been paid by the Cubs, and in 2001 had been ordered by Cubs management not to “woo” while in the Wrigley Field television booth to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” John McDonough, then Cubs president, had tried to dissuade him from riding in a limo around the ballpark, as Woo-Woo had planned to do, on the day of his singing engagement. (He rode in the limo anyway.) And in recent years he was harassed by Wrigley Field ushers and security personnel repeatedly asking to see his ticket as he roamed about the place.
Woo-Woo’s only nod to technology is his cell phone, although with the help of one of his fans, he established a Facebook account on Fox River’s Blarney Island Monday. Woo-Woo sent a friend request to the Cubs. When his request was promptly accepted, he waited an hour, for emphasis. And then he unfriended the Cubs. It appears to have all been done as a joke, although like most jokes this season, this one’s on the Cubs.
By Rob C. Christiansen
