Viral Storytelling with The Story Lady, Ronda Del Boccio

This is a testament to the power of stories.  It is also a story about someone near and dear to my heart — my father.

Dad has always encouraged me, and now I am so excited for him.

Dad taugth me to love baseball, and the Chicago Cubs in particular.  He ALMOST got to play at Wrigley Field as a kid.

Almost.

Maybe he’ll let me post the story about this that a couple of editors with no sense decided not to publish.

Anyway, over 2,700 people auditioned to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at an upcoming Cubs game.

Now, what I’m about to tell you is not just because I’m his daughter and I’m prejudiced in his favor.  Dad is an excellent singer with great stage presence.  Heck, he was an entertainer in his earlier years.  He used to be master of ceremonies for a club, and he always has had an excellent voice.

But imagine if you were auditioning to sing and there were 2,700+ people and they asked you one question before you sang.

And imagine if that answer caught so much attention that two reporters begged you for interviews after you were finished.

That’s what happened to Dad.

He answered their question with a STORY that emotionally connected him with the judges and the reporters.

He told them how as a child he had played for a park district team that was good enough to come close to playing a game at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.

Unfortunately, the boys didn’t quite make it.   They lost their last game and their chance to play at Dad’s dream park, Wrigley Field.

Dad didn’t just say, “I’ve been a Cubs fan all my life.”  <BORING!!!>  He told a story.

And his team were the kids from the poor side of town who had old, mismatched uniforms, not the rich kids with the cool jersies.

Well, he is featured in a story in the Chicago Tribune!  This is how staff reporter Karoun Demirjian describes Dad’s charismatic opening to the song:

“Everybody knows you’re the greatest fans in the world — let’s make sure you’re the loudest!” boomed Ron Del Boccio, 71, at a rather silent panel of judges in the Cubs clubhouse, before delivering a rousing rendition of the song in a warm baritone.”

See a picture of Dad auditioning here

There’s a video on the Tribune site and also on Len & Bob’s Baseball Blog My Dad’s version is near the end. There’s only 1 person after him, in case you’d like to hear where I get my humor from.

So this is what comes next.  I’m hoping my Dad makes the cut.  If he does - and with all that great publicity, he’d BETTER! - then he will be among 50 people who fans get to vote for - and we say, in the great Chicago tradition, vote early and VOTE OFTEN for Ron Del Boccio!

Then I think it’s the top 5 go to Wrigley Field in late August, and the one chosen gets the Big Fun of singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game in late September!

I want to help my dad’s dream come true.  I don’t mean by bribing judgges, but through the power of intent and through making a whole bunch of noise on the net, I hope taht at least more people will know about Ron Del Boccio.

Yes, I wantt o help my Dad’s dream come true.

And sure, I’m bragging on him, but remember, it is through the power of his STORY that he attracted media attention, and Storeis is what this blog is all about.

I’ve set up a website for Dad at http://DadsDreamComeTrue.com

Ronda Del Boccio, The Story Lady of www.Storyation.com