After Cubs Superfan Booted, Is This The Curse Of Ronnie Woo Woo?

By Stephen Gossett in News on May 12, 2017 6:00PM

Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers / Getty Images / Photo: Scott Olson

Before the season began, the mighty World Champion Chicago Cubs were favored to once again win it all. But after a little over 30 games in, they're instead floating at .500, second to last in the division, with the hated St. Louis Cardinals leading the Central.

Call it the Curse of Ronnie Woo Woo.

For the uninitiated, Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers is a diehard Cubs lifer, a Wrigley Field staple for much of the last three decades. His omnipresence at the ballpark and in the media, coupled with his signature "woo woo" rallying cry, have made him a vintage true-Chicago character in the eyes of many fans—although he's certainly not without his detractors.

Love him or hate him, he's pretty much always there; but he wasn't at Wrigley for a full nine innings at a game last month. Wickers reportedly got booted from stadium on April 19, in the seventh inning, after he couldn't show a ticket when approached by a security guard. His friend, Scott Miller, said he had bought an e-ticket for Wickers, but he couldn't bring one up on his phone. Miller and Wickers were both ejected after Miller reportedly got irate.

Wickers is apparently still fuming, claiming he was discriminated against and telling the Tribune on Friday, "I'll take it all the way to the Supreme Court if I have to. I have nothing to lose."

While Woo Woo remained livid and the Cubs stood by their call, fans couldn't help but think another famous Cubs-game ejection—when William Sianis and his smelly pet goat were asked to leave, in 1945, ushering in the so-called Curse of the Billy Goat and another seven decades of playoff misery.

Finally, the baseball gods had put forth another much-needed, monetizable narrative. Sports writers with a sense of irony and would-be tavern entrepreneurs did rejoice.

Meanwhile, we say the proof is in the standings.