The Heartwrenching Story of Steve Bartman

Tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern time ESPN will air "Catching Hell," it's newest installment in the recent boom of ESPN films. The film discusses Steve Bartman, the now infamous Chicago Cubs fan, and how he became the scapegoat for the Cubs' choke in the 2003 NLCS against the Florida Marlins. It was the Cubs best chance to go to the World Series in a long time, but instead the Marlins defeated the Yankees and partied down in South Beach. It bugs me to no end that Bartman is blamed for the Cubs collapse that year and I can't understand how people can really believe that. One man in one moment does not make the outcome for a seven-game, 67-inning series yet no one can talk about the 2003 NLCS without saying, "Oh yeah, the Bartman series."

The ball traveled up into the air down the left-field side. Obviously it was hit into foul territory but it appeared that the Cubs' Moises Alou might have a play on the ball. The ball came down, heading for the first row of seats in mid-left field, Alou leaped for the ball with his glove fully extended into the stands. As he did, three men lunged for the ball in hopes of catching a playoff foul ball. The fan in the middle, wearing a sweatshirt, ball cap and headphones reached for it, blocking Alou's glove from the ball. The ball richocheted off the fan's hands and fell to the concrete. Just a strike. Alou screamed and threw a fit while other Cubs stood stunned. Steve Stone said on the air, "If a fan just gets his hand out of the way, Moises makes the catch." That fan was Steve Bartman and Steve Bartman instantly became the most infamous fan in sports history.

There is the billy goat, the black cat and then Steve Bartman. All three have one thing in common: they are symbols of The Curse on the Chicago Cubs. A symbol is just one way to describe Bartman these days. Some say scapegoat while others tab him as a villain. He is a forgotten man in a physical sense because no one ever sees him in public but in the minds of sports fans, and especially Chicago fans, he will never be forgotten. How fair is that? Not fair at all but that's the way it is. Steve Bartman didn't make Alex Gonzalez commit an error a few plays later, nor did he make the Cubs lose Game 7 at Wrigley Field. He can not be blamed for the outcome of the series but, like the film will explain tonight, we all need someone to point a finger at.

Every fan in the general area made an attempt for that foul ball and no one can sit here and say today that they wouldn't have tried to grab it because they knew Alou might catch it. Yeah right. In the moment, any man on the face of the Earth would have attempted to catch that foul ball. Steve Bartman is no villain. He was simply being a normal fan. Who knows if Alou would have even caught the ball. It is sad that some fans still want to put the Cubs PLAYERS mistakes on a fan and, because of that, his life is ruined. He can never set foot in Wrigley Field again and he probably doesn't even consider it a possiblilty. That's the saddest thing I have ever witnessed in sports. I'm a die-hard Cardinals fan but I feel for this guy because he was a fan of the Cubs and that was taken away from him basically. I can not think of a more appropriate film title than "Catching Hell." Who knew, eight years later, we would still be talking about that moment?

Once again, the film will be on ESPN tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern time and should be very interesting and really tug at viewers' emotions. To see previews go to Youtube or ESPN.com.