Brett, I am posting this off topic thread on the main forum because I want as many people as possible to see it before you move it. We all saw what happened in game 6 of the NLCS with the Cubs having a 3-0 lead in the 7th inning when a foul popup headed down the 3rd base line and lifelong Cubs fan Steve Bartman tried to catch what he assumed was a foul ball headed his way. I didn't think that he interfered with Moise Alou's effort to catch the ball but Alou did and immediatley protested vehemitly. The umps ruled it not fan interference and play continued. Lifelong Chicago native and Cubs fan was caught on camera in front of millions of TV viewers and has gotten national publicity as the guy who continued the Cubs jinx. Bartman didn't do anything that any of us wouldn't have done to try to catch a foul ball headed our way but he has already taken the guilt for the years of Cubs World Series frustration upon his shoulders. Steve Bartman didn't make Mark Prior throw a wild pitch that allowed the first Marlins run on the next pitch following the foul ball incident. He is not responsible for Prior's meltdown following that series of events nor is he responsible for Dusty Bakers failure to yank Prior soon enough to control the damage. Bartman is not responsible for the fact that the Marlins outplayed the Cubs in tonights Game 7. If this had happened in Kansas City or Minnesota or even in Miami it would just be another one of those things and Steve Bartman would have had his 15 minutes of fame and that would be that. Unfortunatley it happened in Wrigley Field and Bartman will be wrongly blamed for the rest of his life for the Cubs not getting into the World Series for the first time in 58 years. Bartman's name will be forever linked with the continued futility of the Cubs. He dosen't deserve this but thats the way it is in Chicago. I was already rooting for the Cubs but I really wanted for them to win tonight so that Steve Bartman could live out his life without having to suffer the eternal damnation of Cubs fans. I don't see how he can possibly continue to live a normal life in the city where he was born and has lived his life so far. Maybe an outpouring of national support for Steve Bartman would make Cubs fans predisposed to blaming him would turn the tide of public opinion. I doubt it. I just saw where the governor of Florida has offered asylum to Bartman. Today he has gone from being a regular guy who lived his life in relative anonymnity to being the most hated man in Chicago. He dosen't deserve this.
I agree too. To make things worse, there are Cubs fans everywhere. Everytime the Cubs come to Houston (and probably everywhere else), there are as many Cubs fans as Astros fans. Hell, there are Cubs fans that will recognize him in Tokyo if he moves there. If he had leaned over the wall, it may have been a little different but any one of us may have been caught in the same situation as him.
That's a ludicrous statement! I have attended many Astros' games against the Cubs in Houston. While there are certainly always some Cubs fans in attendance, there has never been nearly as many Cubs fans as Astros fans. As an aside - I was at the game a couple of years ago when Sosa hit the lights in left center field! I had to wonder how far that ball would have travelled had the lights not stopped it! It's amazing what steroids and cork can do... GO MARLINS!!!!!!!! :geaux: :lsug: 20 USC 17
Yeah, I may have exaggerated a bit but I would guess that 30% of the fans at Astros/Cubs games are for the Cubs. There was one game that I had seats in right field and it had to be about 80% Cubs fans in my area but maybe that was because of Sosa. Also, when Sosa hit a HR vs. the Marlins, it looked like there were more Cubs fans at the game (in Miami). There are Cubs fans everywhere, kind of like the Braves.
