Cubs "Fan" Identified

[Don_G]

Meet 26 year old Steve Bartman: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/cubfan1.html

[lpbk2713]

1. I believe he just joined the Witness Protection Program

His life won't be worth $hit now that he's been ID'd.

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. This guy's gonna have to move.... nt

[Scurrilous]

48. Let him move to Miami...

...we'll treat him right! :)

[MissMillie]

3. Dumb question alert.....

Why would anyone wear their headphones at a baseball game?

I guess I can understand it if the guy has hearing problems and he has a radiocast of the game in his headset--thus blocking out background noise.... but this guy "didn't know" what was going on at the game? I mean.... why even bother going?

[Paragon]

10. Even worse...

...he had to listen to the broadcasters tell him what a dumbass he is.

[Guaranteed]

38. LOL

Man these "Cub fan" threads are the greatest. This shit is just so hilarious. The mob mentality is extremely entertaining.

[VermontDem2004]

52. A dumbass?

I guess all fans who go to a baseball game are dumbasses because I never seen a fan NOT reach for a ball when it was near them. I seen people almost fall of the upper decks reaching for a ball.

[Guaranteed]

61. LOL that's true

Almost falling out of the upper deck is pretty frickin stupid too.
Didn't someone actually FALL some time back? I thought I remembered hearing about someone getting killed at a game falling....

[underpants]

54. To keep his head out of his a**!

Which apparently may be a problem.

[SOteric]

4. Dude,

I pretty sure he's gone into the witness protection program.

[hlthe2b]

5. I'm not even a cub's fan, not really much a baseball fan, BUT

even I am pissed of by this guy. Of course blatant stupidity, greed, arrogance ALWAYS pisses me off...


He best lay low, that's for sure...

[Atman]

6. Leave the kid alone!

Any one you would have done the same thing. Any one of you. The kid saw a souvenir ball flying right at him...it is as much instinct as blinking when someone pretends to hit you in the face. Give him a freakin' break. At the very least, out the kid next to him who actually knocked the baseball glove. And the owners of the six other arms flailing for the ball.

I'm a Boston man, so I know disappointment. I'm preparing for mine right now. Cubbies, get over it. Stop acting like perpetual losers blaming other people...we have a pResident for that.

[LisaM]

13. That is so untrue! "Anyone" would NOT have done that.

I have sat in close seats where there might be playable balls, and believe me, I am always well aware of every play and ball that comes my way. My boyfriend thinks they should give a baseball IQ test to people in those seats so they will stay away from playable balls and not interfere.

[random]

28. Sorry, not meaning to incite a riot, but...

I believe anyone COULD have done that, and I don't buy the bit about knowing where each and every play stands. I don't believe the guy was paying enough attention to the game to understand the consequences of reaching for the ball. I was in a packed sports bar last night full of Cub fans and none of them even saw the play until I pointed it out to them.

Also, what about the 5 other runs scored after that play. Face it, as someone who would dearly like to see the Cubs in the Series, they lost it themselves to overconfidence. Hopefully, they'll be on the ball tonight.

[LisaM]

43. I just cannot agree with that....

I truly think about the game differently if I am sitting in the first few rows. If the guy were simply trying to protect himself from the ball, he would have been ducking. He (and others) were reaching out to CATCH it - they were putting a bead on it. It was not a spontaneous reaction - there had their hands out waiting for the ball to come down.

I think the person who said the fan wanted a "souvenir" ball offers a clue to the mindset. It's not a freaking MasterCard commercial! It's a ball game, with real live plays. Take the wire out of your ear and pay attention, buddy.

[chiburb]

30. When my daughters were young...

I taught them about their DUTIES when sitting in the front row:
If a (White) Sox opposing player hits the ball into the stands, and a Sox player is coming over... get out of the way!
If a Sox player is the one that hit the ball, and the opposing player is coming over, it is your DUTY to interfere without going over the rail or wall!
Pretty simple.

[MissMillie]

15. I've seen lots of fans

Hold back grabbing after a ball if they think a play can be made... that is, if they're the fan of the team that can make the play.

Some people really do think before they act.

[jdsmith]

25. There's at least one other fan reaching for the ball in the photo

[MaineDem]

17. I agree with you

Any one of us would have reacted the same way, I'm sure. Until someone yelled to let it go, perhaps. If anyone thought about it quickly enough.

On the other hand, I wouldn't want to be him right now! :scared:

[hlthe2b]

19. Well, if he were not right down there with the player trying to

catch the ball, I might agree. If he were high up in the stands way away from the player, I would DEFINITELY agree. This guy was right down there with the poor Cubs player who was desperately trying to grab it from the field. I'd like to think most folks would show a bit of restraint and let the player have a chance. Isn't that what they paid to see?

[VermontDem2004]

53. aww poor multi millionare cubs player

:cry:

[hlthe2b]

69. yeah.... we should all be so

unfortunate!

[bushisanidiot]

68. Yeah, But The Fan Wasn't Reaching Out Onto the Field To Get To

the ball. The ball was coming straight at him. The cub guy had to jump up pretty high.. infact, he had to use his other arm to help his jump so he could get his glove into the stands. I don't see how you can blame the fan for not knowing the cub player was there.. everyone was looking at the ball so they didn't see the cubs player. If the ball was falling 2 or 3 feet toward the fair line instead of where it fell, I'll bet you that fan would not have leaned over into the field of play because he would have known he could potentially be interferring with game.. and the refs would have called interference.

Cubs fans are too superstitious. Blaming some guy in the stands simply for putting his arms up to catch a ball isn't the reason the cubs lost. There's no excuse to give up 8 runs in one inning. That fan didn't cause the bases to get loaded and for all those runs to cross the plate.

[hlthe2b]

70. it looked to me like he reached out to grab..... but

I just hope for his sake, that the Cubs win tonight. All will likely be forgiven. And, yeah, Cubs are way too superstitious. I'm just concerned about starting a trend of overly exuberant fans interfering with the game.

As for the fan, this too shall pass..... (fortunately)

[Frederic Bastiat]

7. Steve Bartman, we hardly knew ye

[Guaranteed]

9. LOL!!!

OH man that's great

[Guaranteed]

8. There is NO ONE IN THE WORLD

rooting for the Cubs harder tonight than Mr. Steve Bartman, die-hard Cubs fan.
It's life or death!

[Cocoa]

12. Steve may owe his life to Kerry Wood

:scared:

[Submariner]

11. We'll probably next see that Cubs fan

shooting from the Texas university tower, or interviewed by Geraldo as a homeless indigent living in a storm drain culvert, or something like that. Poor SOB's life is over.

He's lucky it's not the 1930's, Capone and the gang probably would have riddled him with machine guns by now.

[jdsmith]

16. Cubs fan

And whart about Dusty Baker putting that fan in to pitch for the rest of the inning and give up all those runs?

Wait a minute--you mean he didn't? So then how was the Cubs' monumental choke job anything but their own fault? Aren't they, like, professional athletes?

Jesus. The guy did what any of us would, and Cubs fans are scapegoating him. It's more reasonable to scapegoat the--umm, goat.

[Nailzberg]

31. I don't think that's really true

I think the fan reaction from people at the game last night was that the fan blew it. But those are people who are drinking a lot of beer, do not have the benefit of a replay on a jumbotron, and paid a lot of money to see the game. Those people are mad and looking for a scapegoat. And unfortunatly, they were the ones outside WQrigley last night available to the press. Had CNN staked out Ranalli's last night, the story might be different.

I think the real reaction in Chicago today - We fans are all pretty upset with the possiblity that the fan may have shifted momentum in the game, but also are pretty upset that Alou let it affect him so much, which seemed to take players minds out of the game. Gonzo's error is his fault for not being in the game. Alou may have unsettled him by blowing up. Bartman, along with all the other fans around him, should have let Alou try to make a play. But each player in the chain of events needs to keep themselves mentally in game no matter what happens.
A good team needs to get over a bad play.

[Nailzberg]

14. Hey, I found the guy's e-mail.

But I'm not posting it here. That would be wrong.

[birdman]

22. I'm in Philly and the local sports talk guys were joking about

giving out the e-mail address. They identified his employer
(he apparently called in sick today) and his alma mater (I
won't say what it is but they have a golden dome and they're
best known for football).

Poor guy. If the Cubbies don't win tonight his life as he knows
it is over.

[Don_G]

18. CNN Is Covering Everything But His Name And Address

And it is reported he won't be anywhere around his apartment today.

Think he managed a transfer to Antartica? I hear the Penguin League needs all the fans they can get.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

20. Bart-man.... Bart-Simpson... This could be a Simpsons episode.

[jdsmith]

24. Incitement to violence is fun, but--

Once more, how exactly are those eight runs the guy's fault? Aren't the professional athletes on the field supposed to be in charge of their own destiny?

And if those runs are the guy's fault, then why aren't they even more the ump's fault--isn't he the one who failed to call fan interference?

[birdman]

27. Apparently it's not fan interference if the ball was not

going to land in the playing field. Alou was
reaching into the seats.

It's unfair but unless the Cubs win tonight
this poor man will be a pariah in Chicago
forever.

[VOX]

21. If the Cubs win, Steve "The Fan" Bartman will be signing baseballs...

and making public appearances.

If the Cubbies happen to lose (and I hope that this isn't so), well, old Steve should think about Tasmania.

[birdman]

23. Antarctica

They'll find him in Tasmania.

[Drifter]

26. Seems to me ...

that ball fields would be built (modified) in such a way that a fan has absolutely no ability to interfere with play.

I would think that this would benefit all of baseball.

Cheers
Drifter

[Don_G]

33. Modify 1914 Wrigley Field?

Hard to do or imagine how it could be done. Cheaper to shoot a "fan" every century or two.

[JVS]

29. Maybe he'll be given season tickets in Comiskey park

Just not anything too close to the field.

[Nailzberg]

32. That shouldn't be hard

Put him in the upper deck at Comisky, he'll be a few miles from the field.

[IndianaGreen]

34. I don't think the White Sox need any help from this dude

I realy feel sorry for Bartman, now that I know that he is a Cubs fan. No matter what happens tonight, and I hope that the Cubs win for Stevie's sake, his name and picture are now part of baseball history.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mbartko]

36. This is so unbelievably stupid

Even IF what this guy did had ANY impact on the outcome of the game (it didn't, although the millionaire playing short who couldn't catch a simple ground ball certainly did), it's really sad that a human being has to fear for his life over a GAME that is played by 10-year-olds and multi-millionaires.

I've always said F*** the Yankees. After Boston's recent display of classlessness, F*** the Red Sox, too. And, you know what? F*** the Cubs now, too. In fact, I'll go back to my long-standing premise, F*** baseball, period. Thank God it's hockey season, and thank God my city has a baseball team that will forever suck, lest we become a city full of shitheads as well.

[Guaranteed]

37. Hey now...

Just wait till you see the fans holding signs saying, "Kerry- Do It for Steve!" tonight! Because those fans CARE, and they know that if Kerry doesn't do it, they're gonna have to tie ol' Steve to a stake in the middle of town and excorcise the curse-ed demons from him with fire.
They're good folks! You'll see!

[jdsmith]

39. Again--

incitement to violence IS fun.

(Am I in the wrong forum? Isn't this DU's?)

[Don_G]

42. With Chicago's Sense Of History?

Maybe give him tickets to the Biograph Theatre (a few miles away and still in operaton) call the FBI and report someone on their Ten Most Wanted list was last seen there.

He might get as far as Dillinger did.

[VermontDem2004]

56. The same Cubs fans that were hurling beer at him?

I am starting to not like the Cubs because of this incident, the fan did nothing illegal or wrong. He just happened to be reaching for the ball like the other 4 fans around him and he gets blamed for the Marlins scoring 8 runs? The real blame goes to Gonzales, he could've easily ended the inning. Also Sammy could of thrown the ball to the cut-off man and got the out at second and only be down 4-3.

[Guaranteed]

63. Yeah

I dunno, my post was really tongue in cheek. I think my point was that if you actually did see someone with a sign like that it would be even worse because that would mean that the people have given in to the "fact" that if the Cubs lose the guy's going to have to be killed. But, with the sign, they're still "rooting for him."

[DS1]

40. Yep, he was the ONLY ONE reaching for the ball

for fucks sake! and people think the RS/Yanks people are overboard.

[ronzo]

57. Really, WTF?

He was watching the ball... not Alou. It's an instinctual reflex, I think.
I'm just glad I wasn't sitting in that seat. Poor bastard.

[CPschem]

41. It's truly pathetic

that the Cub's fans blame this dude, when it was clearly THE PLAYERS that blew the game in the 8th inning. Remember how the shortstop hadn't properly fielded a routine groundball? Remember how the 3 different Cubs pitchers that inning got shelled? Rememer how they only mustered 3 runs all game? Silent bats, bad fielding, and inconsistent pitching- not to mention clutch Marlins hitting, is what lost the game for the Cubbies. Not some fan trying to catch a ball IN THE STANDS.

[Don_G]

44. 1908 to 2003 Is A Long Time

The Cubs fans WANT a Chicago title.

[CPschem]

45. so bad they'll cork their bats to get it

haaa... cheap shot. sorry.

[Don_G]

50. Corked Bat?

[bif]

46. He should move to Miami

The key to the city is his!

[returnable]

47. Poor Bartman - it wasn't his fault

So, are Cubs fans gonna blame the fan for the Cubs coughing up an even BIGGER lead in Game One?

And I suppose some Cubs fans think it's Bartman's fault that the Cubs' bats went limp in Game 5, too.

The fact is, Bartman did not toss ball four to Luis Castillo to put runners at the corners.

Bartman did not handcuff E-6 Gonzalez.

And Bartman sure didn't groove a fastball to Mike Mordecai.

The Cubs lost cuz they played a very crappy, Mets-like baseball game. This series is going to Game 7 because the Cubs, not some schmo who went fishing for a souvenir, failed to execute when they needed to.

If Kerry Wood tanks it tonight and Bartman's on a plane to Tierra del Fuego, who are the Cubs fans gonna blame then?

[Rich Hunt]

49. so irresponsible

The media have gone overboard with this. It was a dumb thing for him to do, but now is not the time to be broadcasting his personal info all over the place.

[meow mix]

51. other hand pushes glove away =(

making sure the player cant get it. eeeesh

[underpants]

55. LOTS andLOTS of business coming that firm's way no doubt

:eyes:

[VermontDem2004]

58. ......

Bartman, who attended the University of Notre Dame, works for a Chicago-area consulting firm and serves as coach for a local youth baseball program.

I can't believe some DUers were calling him names such as "idiot" and they don't even know him. I like the guy from what I read above and if I was him I would forget about it, baseball is ONLY a game.

[moondust]

59. Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!

The guy has got to be a Repomonkey, oblivious to everything but MY ME MINE. Certainly too stupid to be allowed to sit within 5 rows of the action.

[VermontDem2004]

60. What about the other 4 fans around him reaching for the ball

You know if the ball was 2 feet to the left or right it would of been tipped by another fan.

[moondust]

64. They're just lucky

that it wasn't them. Same deal though: insufficient intelligence to be allowed to sit within 5 rows of the action.

[VermontDem2004]

65. Insufficient intelligence?

:eyes: It is a fucking baseball game. From what I read he coaches a Youth Baseball team and attended the University of Notre Dame. I NEVER seen a fan NOT reach for a ball when it was near them, hell I even seen fans almost fall of the upper decks for $6 dollar baseball.

[moondust]

67. Yes.

Let these irresponsible idiots sit in the upper decks.

[ronnykmarshall]

66. Look closer......

I don't think he's REALLLY a Cubs fan. Ok, he's got the cap on but what does that sweat shirt say???? Hmmmmm? I think there is more to this.

[Nailzberg]

62. A friend of mine will be on Faux RE: Bartman

At 3pm central. He coaches in the same baseball league. Still wondering if he'll defend him, or give out his address.