WIRELESS PITCH

I don't see U.S. Cellular CEO Jack Rooney as the Eddie DiBartolo type, a guy who likes rubbing shoulders with sweaty, bejeweled athletes. But that didn't stop him from shelling out $68 million of his company's money to sponsor what used to known as Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox. Jack Rooney is nobody's fool, and if he believes that associating his company with a lame franchise in a dying sport will help, who am I to argue? You can't argue with success, and Jack Rooney has had his share in the wireless industry.

Granted, much of that came in the mid-'90s, when the wireless industry was growing madly in spite of itself. Even Joe Nacchio couldn't have screwed that up. But Rooney is a winner until someone proves otherwise — even if the team he is now associated with hasn't really won since 1959.

Despite claims that he's a fan, I don't imagine Rooney cares if the Chicago White Sox win any more than the team's ownership does, or the owners of other teams in this hapless city. As long as broadcasters and sportswriters regurgitate the name “U.S. Cellular Field” countless times per day, Rooney wins — even at $68 million.

Whether corporate sponsorship is appropriate or tacky, or has harmed the image of professional sports, is an argument for someone who cares. I don't. I believe that cherry-picker left the garage a long time ago. The question is: Is this a sound business decision or an “irrational exuberance” déjà vu?

I say, don't underestimate the timing of Jack Rooney. He was right about wireless data in its formative years, while the rest of the industry was going gaga. As head of Ameritech Cellular, he grudgingly gave just enough support to data to say externally that his company was leading edge. But internally, he put about as much stock in data as he did his pie-eyed engineering team's ability to be objective about it. (I know — I was on that pie-eyed team.) He was also right when, much to the consternation of vendors — and, again, those pesky engineers — he set an extended timetable for transitioning from analog to digital. He was concerned about the impact on customer service — his pride and joy.

Marketing and customer service have served Rooney well and remain his weapons of choice. Maybe he doesn't know spread spectrum radio from a steel-belted radial, but this Comiskey thing? Genius. Advertising and marketing is all about the mileage. And Rooney will get more miles out of this than Bill Veck got out of his midget.