Steve Bartman: The Cubs Scapegoat

Sunday, on ESPN I saw a documentary about Steve Bartman.  In case you are unfamiliar with the storyline, Steve Bartman was the infamous Cubs fan who reached over the railing for a foul ball and prevented Moises Alou from making a catch that would put the Cubs four outs away from a World Series appearance, something they haven't won in over 100 years.

Steve Bartman reaches over railing and knocks ball away
 as Moises Alou tries to make the catch.

However, Alou didn't make the catch, and whether or not he would have if Bartman didn't interfere is all speculation.  What followed was error after error, and the Marlins scored eight runs in the inning and went on to win the series.

Fans and even players singled out Bartman as the sole reason they had lost.  Never mind the fact that Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez botched a routine double-play ball later that would've ended the inning, Bartman was to blame.

Cubs fans came down on him hard.  In the following days, six police cars patrolled his house to keep him safe because of the numerous threats he and his family received.  Because of the dangers of living in the Chicago area, Bartman had no choice but to move.

Looking at the event rationally, not only was it not Bartman's fault at all that the Cubs lost, but also any other fan in the same situation would have done the same thing.  He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, so he was declared responsible for the Cubs loss.

I think that it's awful to be so hard on one particular fan to a point that he is no longer safe for him to live in that city.  It's ridiculous how emotionally people get involved with professional sports.  If anyone, blame a player, who has a bigger effect on the outcome game.

I'm a huge sports fan myself, but I believe it is never acceptable for people to use violence because of sports.  A month before Steve Bartman's incident, a Dodgers fan was shot and killed in the parking lot of the stadium because of a dispute with a Giants fan.  I can't think of a more pointless reason to spend a lifetime in jail than this. Sports are meant for recreation, and as a Chicagoan, it is embarrassing that people in my city were so extreme.  Even if he was the reason they lost (which I believe is completely false), Steve Bartman did not deserve to have his life significantly altered.