How would it feel to have 40,000 people hate you at the moment?
Tuesday night ESPN broadcasted a new movie in its “30 for 30” film series, Catching Hell, which documented the famous Chicago Cubs’ Steve Bartman foul ball controversy in Game Six of the 2003 NLCS.
Bartman interfered with a foul ball that teammate and outfielder Moises Alou was trying to catch. The Florida Marlins then turned around to score eight runs in the inning and won the series in the seventh game.
It was almost sickening to watch how this poor guy was treated for trying to do what any fan would do in the same situation.
Cubs fans cannot blame Bartman for losing that series. The foul ball had no real impact on the game. Sure, Alou could have caught it, but the Cubs still blew that game by themselves.
Blame Mark Prior for blowing the lead or Alex Gonzalez for messing up a ground ball. Credit the Marlins for not giving up and beating the Cubs late in the eighth inning.
If the Cubs ever win a World Series, fans may forgive Bartman.
But it shouldn’t be their place. It is up to Bartman to decide if he will ever forgive Chicago for how they treated him.
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