If you look up the phrase “wrong place at the wrong time,” you will find a picture of Steve Bartman. The most infamous fan of the Cubs franchise marked his place in history on October 14, 2003. The Cubs were leading the Florida Marlins 3-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 6 in the NLCS and were just five outs away from the World Series.
Enter Steve Bartman, the man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
13 years later, after thousands of death threats and a 30 for 30, I am 100% on Team Steve Bartman. People forget the Cubs were winning that game before they collapsed to lose Game 6. People also forget that the Cubs had a lead in Game 7 before losing it again and watching their World Series dreams go down the toilet. Chicago needed a scapegoat and unfairly took it out on Bartman. If you watch the play, Moises Alou was not catching that ball. I won’t hear any argument that he would’ve made the catch especially after Alou said he would not have caught it. The Cubs lost the series, not Steve Bartman.
Fast forward to today as the Cubs celebrate their first World Series since 1908 at their parade in Chicago. Steve Bartman’s representatives put out a statement via Frank Murtha, Bartman’s lawyer, about his thoughts on the World Series win and if he would go to the parade.
“He was just overjoyed that the Cubs won, as all the Cubs fans are. We don’t intend to crash the parade,’’ Murtha said. “The one thing that Steve and I did talk about was if the Cubs were to win, he did not want to be a distraction to the accomplishments of the players and the organization.’’
What’s crazy to think about is the fact that Bartman still lives in Chicago and no one has seen him since that memorable night in 2003. If I were Bartman, I would’ve changed my name and left the city because I would fear for my life. He’s actually a saint for sticking around and continuing to root for the Cubs. It’s messed up to say, but no one could have handled this better than Bartman. Bartman does not get enough credit for staying out of the limelight and always remaining apologetic to Cubs fans.
I’m disappointed to see Bartman not attending the parade because he deserves a public apology from Cubs fans for how they treated him. I hope the organization invites him to Opening Day 2017 in order to sweep things under the rug.
Cubs fans, it’s time to give Steve Bartman his life back.
