The eighth inning of game six in 2003 will be one moment that Cubs will never forget, especially Bartman.
It was a fly ball out to left field. Cubs outfielder Moises Alou was under the ball, ready to make the easy catch and take the Cubs to within four outs of a World Series appearance.
That was what was meant to happen. As the ball reached the wall that separated fans from the field, a sea of hands reached out to catch the ball, all with the hope that they may grab a memento from the game.
One hand that reached higher than most belonged to Steve Bartman, who deflected the ball away from Alou and give the Florida Marlins a home run.
Instantly, camera angles and broadcasters zeroed in on Bartman, and he was quickly made the scapegoat. The Cubs then went on to lose the game, and in a catastrophic meltdown then lost the following game and the series. At one point they were five outs from the World Series, but one moment changed it all.
Bartman was vilified by the Chicago media and Cubs fans. In their eyes, he cost the team a trip to the World Series, the first since 1945. He was put under police protection and had to move house due to death threats.
Chicago have been under a ‘curse’ since 1945. The curse of Billy Goat stems back to the World Series of that year when Detroit Tigers owner Billy Sianis and his goat (yes his goat) were asked to leave Wrigley field by P.K Wrigley himself due to the odour.
Sianis left the stadium, but proclaimed the Cubs would never win again. Since that day, The Cubs have never won, or been to a World Series since.
Fans needed something to blame for their loss to Florida, and the easiest way was to blame Bartman and the curse. The fact that there was a number of fans that also tried to catch the ball on the same play, so the fact that it was Bartman was singled out makes it even more unfair.
The Cubs fan has never been back to Wrigley Park since, presumably for his own safety. It is a sad thing that fans sometimes go over the top when it come to their team, and are looking to find any excuse for their team losing. Bartman will never shake off that moment, and will go down in Cubs lore forever, for all the wrong reasons.
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