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Safe at home? Not at The Cell
June 30, 2004
BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
We keep waiting for U.S. Cellular Field to mellow into a safe place, a happy place, a place where a family can attend a White Sox game without the dad -- and the mom, for God's sake -- getting beat up while their 6- and 8-year-old sons watch. But the joint is hopeless, I'm convinced, still filled with too many drunks looking for a fight and too many loons out on parole.
Ballpark incidents happen across America, North Side included. But never has a stadium experience repeatedly dipped into the scary-bizarre quite like The Cell, which has another smudge on its hooligan reputation after a pathetic episode last Wednesday night. A Burbank police officer, Roberto Guerra, was off duty when he and his wife took their boys to a White Sox game against the Cleveland Indians. Little did he know an evening at the old ballyard would turn into a traumatic event, a trip to the hospital and a horror that will stay with their children for life.
Guerra called me Tuesday and explained how it came to be that he and his wife were attacked by two men immediately after the game. According to Guerra, the family of four was walking through Section 122 near the first-base dugout in hopes of snaring an autograph or two from Sox players. ''We thought the boys would like autographs,'' he said. It was then that Guerra heard profanities being hurled in the stands by two brothers from west suburban Carol Stream, 23-year-old Sam Vicario Jr. and 22-year-old Richard Vicario -- or, for our purposes, The Flying Vicario Brothers. The best course would have been to contact a security guard. But Guerra, angry that his sons had to hear the obscene language, approached the brothers himself.
''Do you mind? Our kids are here,'' he said, confirming the dialogue in a Chicago Police report. ''I am a cop. Watch your mouth.''
This is where a stoned, tattooed William Ligue jumps out of the stands with his son and attacks Tom Gamboa, the first-base coach of the Kansas City Royals. This is where Eric Dybas emerges from the seats and tackles Laz Diaz, the first-base umpire. This is where a ballpark that advertises ''the family experience,'' complete with a mascot and kid-friendly activities, deteriorates into a nuthouse.
''Cop this!'' Richard Vicario shouted at Guerra as he grabbed his crotch, according to the police report. From there, Vicario allegedly punched Guerra and was joined in the attack by his brother as Guerra fell between the seats. When Guerra's wife tried to help her husband, she allegedly was attacked by 19-year-old Marianne Fricano, the wife of Richard Vicario. When three Sox security officers arrived, Richard Vicario allegedly cursed at them, spat in their faces and used racial epithets. As for brother Sam, he was accused of punching a security officer.
All while two young boys, looking for autographs, observed their parents being taken away with black eyes and broken noses.
So once again, the Sox have a public-relations crisis. Even in a season when hopes are high, a big trade was made for Freddy Garcia and a wham-bam offense leads the major leagues in home runs and runs scored, this franchise and its monstrosity park can't escape an image of gutterballs lurking. Yes, it's a case of a couple of screwballs ruining all the fun. But how many times can we keep saying it before it becomes a running joke, a national punch line, a shameful part of our civic identity? No city in America has more fan/ballpark issues than Chicago. And yet, to hear the criticism of the evil media by the Sox and misguided fans, these security issues are overblown.
Anyone who pooh-poohs the problems, or takes the easy way out and blames the messenger, is no less warped than The Flying Vicario Brothers themselves. As if the on-field attacks of the past two seasons weren't disturbing enough, now there's an act of violence that threatens the romantic notion of a family at the park. Given the steep price of attending sporting events these days, the least a family of four can expect is a pleasant time. But nothing is pleasant about The Cell, which routinely is overrun by brawls like a tavern filled with roughnecks. How can the Sox honestly market a family experience when a fight is liable to break out at any minute, in any part of the park?
If I owned the ballclub, I would do everything in my power to keep fans safe and ugly stories out of the media. If it took hiring hundreds of officers for every game -- not just the big series -- I would spend the money to preserve my stadium's image. But the vicious circle continues. A wicked incident happens, the media report it, the media are blamed for reporting it, the Sox shrug and blame society. ''We encourage any fan to report foul language or inappropriate behavior to a guest services rep or security,'' said Sox public-relations director Scott Reifert, who makes the same comment every year.
Face it, The Cell is what it is. A higher ratio of problem-seekers attend Sox games than other ballparks, including Wrigley Field, where 3 million people will file through turnstiles in 2004 with a dramatically lower number of incidents inside the gates. True, there has been a homicide outside the Friendly Confines this season, part of a suffocating, pressure-cooker feel in what's supposed to be The Year of The Cub. But that was a road-rage episode outside the park two hours after a game. Tuesday night, 40,000 fans watched intently, with no incidents in the stands, as the Cubs and Houston Astros battled in another meaningful summer series.
Just the other day, I applauded a female security officer at The Cell for breaking up a squabble between four Sox fans and two Cubs fans before it escalated. That was Friday, a good day. But Saturday featured a flurry of incidents and arrests. And after Sunday's game, there was a wild smackdown involving fans outside the park.
Somehow, Sox fans flooded the airwaves Tuesday, defending their ballpark as a fine place on radio shows. If these people weren't so thick-headed, they might think back to their childhood and wonder how they'd feel if their father and mother were beat up at a baseball game.
Do something, Jerry Reinsdorf. Before The Cell turns into a state penitentiary.
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