Meet the folk hero showing his Cubs support in barely legal replica Bugatti

CHICAGO — Eight hours before first pitch of the first World Series at Wrigley Field since just after World War II ended, there are sights and sounds everywhere. But one rings above the others: the clown-car horn on a Chicago Cubs-themed car that gets people to turn their heads immediately.

And then you see it. There’s a faux Bugatti decked out in Cubs stickers, posters, flags and even a stuffed Cubs bear fixed to the front of the car where a hood ornament normally would go. It’s the bearded lady of this circus, which has been going strong in town now all season — and going strong for the past few weeks with the Cubs making history.

The driver of the Bugatti replica, Joe Limas, is becoming a celebrity quickly. In the span of an hour, he has driven around the park — up Sheffield Avenue, over on Waveland, down Clark Street and across Addison, basically as close as he can get as the crowd swells with anticipation. He also has done “maybe a dozen” interviews, in both Spanish and English, and has posed with just about everyone as Game 3 draws closer.

“Let me tell you this: If I collected a dollar from everyone I took a picture with, I’d be a millionaire right now.”

Alas, Limas, 64, is just happy to show off his baby for free and whip Cubs fans into a frenzy. It’s typical Cubs shtick all over the body of the car:

“I love Da Bears but their Cub’s (sic) are awesome”

“Harry Caray is watching over us”

And the latest addition: the “I ain’t afraid of no goat” slogan that Bill Murray, who is singing the seventh-inning stretch during Game 3, made famous a few weeks ago with a T-shirt saying just that.

The gauche car might not be authentic, or all that valuable really, but it’s a hit in these parts.

“Jay Leno has one of these, I mean a real one. The one he has is worth about a million dollars. This one is not worth as much,” Limas said, deadpan.

He knows his car is a bit too ostentatious to, say, drive it to church on Sundays.

“I drive it on days like this,” Limas said. “This is an important day.”

Is it street legal? Well, not exactly. He has no clue how many miles it has (“No odometer,” he said) and it’s not even registered.

“I’ve never gotten pulled over,” he said, fingers crossed.

It would be quite the cold-hearted, the-law-is-the-law police officer to pull him over now, right?

“The police in Chicago are fair, I don’t care what people say about them. We have the best police anywhere,” Limas said. “They’re here to help us. Every time they see me, they wave at me and take pictures. They’re super.”

Smart man, covering his bases like that.

Limas bought the car five years ago in dilapidated condition. The original intent was to deck it out as a way to support Chicago mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia, a folk hero of sorts who made a strong push but ultimately fell short of unseating incumbent Rahm Emanuel in 2015. Limas drove it all over the city with Garcia stickers and did his best to show his support.

When Garcia lost, Limas was disappointed. To displace that feeling, he turned it into a Cubs car prior to the biggest season in franchise history. Now he’s proudly stumping for the team he thinks is destined to win it all.

“You can just feel it,” he said. “I am out here to celebrate with the people.”

Limas is a veteran, proudly displaying his pride — for the military, for the Cubs and for his charitable passion, Toys for Tots. Hence the bear on the front of the car. He wants people to enjoy the car and wave, but he also wants people to remember with the holiday season approaching that there are still lots of children in this city who are needy.

“I believe that every kid in the world needs a toy. I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I ride all over this city and make sure people remember Toys for Tots. It’s very close to my heart,” Limas said, pointing to the Toys for Tots buttons that date all the way back to 1987 all the way down his Army jacket lapel.

Limas will not be attending the three games in Chicago. He’ll spend his time before them riding around Wrigleyville, hoking his ridiculous sounding horn, taking more pictures and soaking up the scene. And, of course, adding his own little bit of wonderful weirdness to it, too.

“I am going to make sure everyone has a lot of fun out there, and then they can have even more fun watching the Cubs win the World Series,” he said.

– – – – – – –

Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @Eric_Edholm