15 replies to this topic

[Phantom]

Cubs hope fan is forgiven
Vilified spectator issues apology for going after ball



CHICAGO -- The heartbroken fan who unwittingly played in a role in the Chicago Cubs' Game 6 loss of the National League Championship Series apologized Wednesday in a prepared statement. "I had my eyes glued on the approaching ball the entire time and was so caught up in the moment that I did not even see Moises Alou, much less that he may have had a play," Steve Bartman, 26, said in the statement. "Had I thought for one second that the ball was playable or had I seen Alou approaching, I would have done whatever I could to get out of the way and give Alou a chance to make the catch.



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[SpaceyKC]

So much anger for this fan,  and so much forgiveness for the shortstop's mistake (and he gets paid ALOT of money to get it right).      

[connecian]

Being a very loyal ( and disappointed) Boston Red Sox Fan, I really think that they should give the guy a break. It sure was not intentional, besides, he did not even end up with the ball. There is always next year. At least that is our motto

[colorless]

I'm from Chicago and even though I like the Sox better, i'm kinda peed off about the guy catching the ball since the Cubs haven't won a world series for almost a century. But still, anyone who said they wouldn't have went for the ball is a hypocrite. People go to games with baseball mitts to catch a ball. If you see a baseball coming towards you during a game, it's a natural reaction to go for it without thinking, and most of the people did. Bartman caught it. What's sad is most of the people who saw the ball coming to them and hoped they could catch it but after Bartman did, the same people threw anything they could at him. He was drenched with beer by the time he left.   

[Seraphina]

So lemmie get this straight...

This team hasn't won a world series for over a century, and this fan who grabbed the ball, no doubt for a fraction of the actual game time, is being blamed as 'contributing to the loss'?

Sounds more like zealous fans trying to find an excuse for their team losing...poor guy must look like a very attractive scapecoat for their egos.

[colorless]

This is the second time they've come close in those 90 something years. 2003 and 84.

[Nintendork]

   yeah. i hate the cubs. i hate baseball too. uh, whatever

[Starlyte]

[snuffypuffer]

The Cubs basically blew it, the fan had nothing to do with how they let their lead evaporate.  I would have gone for the ball too.

[EarthBound]

[colorless]

If he really hated baseball, he wouldn't have posted on this thread. Why would someone bother with something they don't like?

[Phantom]

[j6p]

When that Boston fan interfered with the ball and the good people of that town wanted to tar and feather him, that was a bad thing for him. Or was it? Did he make it a bad thing or was it in reality a bad happening? Let's explore one of lifes mysteries.
When that happened I saw opportunity. He could have contacted the Marlins baseball club or reply to any one of the folks in Florida who offered him asylum, including the Governor.
He could have offered himself as a good luck charm to the Marlins and offer to appear at their games sitting above the dougout.
If they lost he would return to Boston and said, "There you go I've redeemed myself. I've hexed them and they lost." Seeing as the Marlins won though, he would now be a celebrity in Florida
Personally I think we would have seen him being carried on the shoulders of the fans, in the locker room being interviewed and just all around good things happening in his life from here on.
Instead, where is he now?

[reese2]

Very good thinking j6.......      

[blazeboy84]

I would say it was an accident. He was a fan of baseball. If the ball was going to his way-and was hit by a super star, of course EVERYONE would try to catch it... Its just the excitement there. Fans around him tried to reach for the ball too, but luckily didnt touch it.