Back in 2003, Steve Bartman unintentionally found himself in a world of controversy and the target of ire for an entire fanbase when he did what any fan would do at the ballpark: reach for a foul ball. Sadly, this particular foul ball would change Bartman's life forever. The tragic figure is now the subject of a much talked about documentary for ESPN's 30 for 30 series. The film Catching Hell, which aired last night and will be repeated frequently, dissects the unfortunate reality of scapegoating in sports and investigates the Bartman incident in detail with fresh, insightful outlooks from fans, athletes, writers, and other Game 6 attendees.
Back in 2003, Steve Bartman unintentionally found himself in a world of controversy and the target of ire for an entire fanbase when he did what any fan would do at the ballpark: reach for a foul ball. Sadly, this particular foul ball would change Bartman's life forever. The tragic figure is now the subject of a much talked about documentary for ESPN's 30 for 30 series. The film Catching Hell, which aired last night and will be repeated frequently, dissects the unfortunate reality of scapegoating in sports and investigates the Bartman incident in detail with fresh, insightful outlooks from fans, athletes, writers, and other Game 6 attendees.
If you're not a sports nut or simply don't remember the meek fellow known as Steve Bartman, allow us to paint a picture of that ill-fated night at Wrigley Field in downtown Chicago. It was Game 6 in the ALCS, and the Cubs, a team many believe is cursed and who haven't won a World Series in over a century, were leading the game 3-0 and the series 3-2. In the eighth inning, Marlins' Luis Castillo popped a fly ball into foul territory, but close enough to the wall that Cubs' outfielder Moises Alou had a chance to make the out. Then it happened: As Alou went up for the ball, a cluster of Cubs fans instinctively reached for their shot at a piece of ALCS history. Steve Bartman was the unlucky fan who made contact with the ball, disrupting the field of play and preventing Alou from making the catch.
The rest, as they say, is history: The Cubs went on to lose the game and two days later lost Game 7, ending their World Series hopes. Bartman took the blame. He received death threats and was so harassed that he essentially went off the grid in fear of his safety and with the unwarranted shame and guilt that he was somehow responsible for ruining his beloved Cubs' championship opportunity.
Eight years later, and with the ESPN documentary to help, we hope that hindsight has helped those irate Cubs fans forgive Bartman. In reality, "forgive" is a strong word because it implies wrongdoing. Steve Bartman did what any fan, including the other fans around him that night, would do. And Steve Bartman didn't lose the World Series for the Cubs; the Cubs did. The team could have still won Game 6 (remember Bartman's influence came on a non-scoring play), and they still had Game 7 to put away the Marlins.
While many Cubbies found the incident as confirmation of the curse, it was Steve Bartman who suffered the most, and despite being offered hundreds of thousands of dollars to come out of hiding, Bartman just wants to get on with his life. Although he doesn't appear in the film, we hope that this documentary serves as both closure and redemption.
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