For Chicago Cubs fans, Ronnie “Woo Woo” Wickers is as much a fixture at Wrigley Field as Old Style and the ivy on the outfield walls, but according to a new column, he may not feel very welcome at the Friendly Confines.
The column, penned by Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times, features a story about Wickers being booted from the team’s April 19 game against the Milwaukee Brewers. According to the story, Wickers was unable to produce an e-ticket to the game while watching it in the bleachers, and he was asked to leave:
A spokesman for the Cubs said Wickers had tried to get into the ballpark earlier without a ticket and that is why security staff approached him in the first place.
“Our guest services staff knows who Ronnie is. They know what he does and that he is here to enjoy our games and to somewhat entertain the fans,” said Julian Green, Cubs vice president of communications and community affairs.
“But he has to have a ticket like everyone else,” Green said.
For his part, Wickers denies that he didn’t have a ticket to the game, and his friends that attended the game with him corroborate his story.
“The fact that they are told to see Ronnie’s ticket at every game is discrimination. We want to get to the bottom of this because Ronnie wants to feel welcome and embraced, and not get singled out and kicked out of Wrigley for no valid reason,” Wickers’ friend Janet Tabit told the Sun-Times.
Chicago Baseball
Wickers has been a fixture at Wrigley Field for decades, with his signature “Cubs Woo!” chant routinely ringing throughout the stadium even in the lean years on the North Side. Dressed head to toe in a custom Cubs uniform, Wickers is at a good number of games, and he even was the star of a documentary film about his life and fandom.
