FOX 32’s Joanie Lum spoke with Lou Cella on Tuesday following the passing of Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg.
tributes that will be pouring in throughout the day for the loss of an iconic Cubs player, Ryan Sandberg. Uh Cubs fans now mourning the loss this morning. Yes, there’s a live picture on Facebook right now of his number and it’s a flag over Wrigley Field uh blown in the wind this morning. It’s a beautiful tribute. He passed away yesterday after a battle with cancer and really shocked all of us even though we knew that he was dealing with this but he was declared cancer free not that long ago. Just so sad. Joanie has been live outside Wrigley Field all morning long for us. Joanie, good morning. We’re in Gallagher Way, a natural place to pay respects, to gather and remember one of the greatest in Cubs history. And we have Lou Cao with us this morning. He is the uh sculpture of that statue which is so admired today decorated with flowers and other momentos and I can see you’re saddened by this. It’s it’s really hard. We knew it was coming and um and it hit really hard yesterday uh watching the ball game seeing what was was going on and uh you could hear it in the broadcasters voices that you know they were you know Pat Hughes and the guys on TV. Yeah, it’s hard. They’re like family. Uh, and Ryan Zandberg is like family having grown up watching him play. Oh gosh. Yeah. Uh, you know, I first saw him when he first came to the Cubs in, you know, 1982. And I still have my ticket stub for June 23rd, 1984, the Ryan Sandberg game. Uh-huh. And then working with him directly on this and getting to know him a bit and and his and his wife Margaret. Uh it it it’s it’s really personal. Um you try and share your work with as many Cub fans as you can because well you know you know how we all are and uh and you want them to to have some part of it. So I was look lucky I got to do that and I will be forever grateful to Mr. Rickettts and the organization for trusting me to do this. Uh, I I um we felt like we got to know Ryan a little bit and he he he just connected to people over there and and this you know it’s going to be a tough day at work. I can’t imagine the honor of being commissioned to create a statue of one of your ba your favorite baseball players, one of Chicago’s favorite baseball players, and then to hear him say just how pleased he was with it. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around it. I still come here and watch people look at these things and and it doesn’t even doesn’t even feel like I did it. It just feels like it’s it’s part of the Cub world and and Griggly Field. It’s um Yeah. It’s very gratifying. Yeah. And today with so many people getting to see it and and making this the place of honor, mixed emotions over that, I’m sure. Oh gosh. Yeah. I know uh that that there’s going to be a pile of flowers and other uh momentos of affection there in the next couple of days and and that’s that’s how it how you would expect it to be for somebody like Ryan. You’re going to hear over and over throughout the day, don’t meet your heroes, they’ll let you down. Um and then you’re going to hear them follow up with not with this man. He didn’t let anybody down to the very end. Yeah. Lucella, thank you so much for sharing that with us. I’m so glad you’re out here. Can you turn around because you’re wearing number 23 and I think that is one of the greatest things that you can do today. Be a Cub fan. Wear it proudly. Such a great number. The day he came to the studio, he posed for this and he was wearing a jersey just like this. He was wearing a 80s batting practice blue jersey and obviously we converted it all to a home uniform but that’s what he was wearing when he posed. So that’s why I wanted to wear it. So much meaning. Thank you so much Lou and um Lou’s work definitely will be on view today as you s as you saw there are flowers and other uh momentos that are being put right at the foot of the statue number 23. I’m Joanie Lum. Back to you. Yeah, that pile of flowers is going to grow throughout the day. What an awesome honor uh to be a part of the lasting legacy there. I did the uh race to Wrigley a couple years ago and they sit a photographer right there at that statue because they know everyone once the race is over wants to go over and take a picture right there. Uh it’s just a beautiful work of art. Such vivid membership in in his voice too, you know. You can tell how much he meant to so many people. Sure. Yeah. Always remember Rhino in that blue V-neck jersey back in the mid 80s.
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