Baseball Legends: 'The Fan' Becomes the New Goat in the Chicago Cubs' Line of Curses

AP ^ | Oct 15, 2003 | Jim Litke

[Leroy S. Mort]

CHICAGO (AP) - A howling mob demanded answers, a name to go with the face.

Instead, haunted members of Cub Nation should ask themselves a few questions.

What kind of kid grows up rooting for a team whose motto is, "Wait 'til next year?"

What kid learns about curses by the time he's old enough to walk and hears testimonials about suffering from grandparents, parents, siblings, cousins, neighbors and friends and then decides, "That's for me?"

Very likely the kid who was parked in Seat 116, Row 9 on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

A Cubs fan.

One of their own.

That kid was ushered from his seat in the bottom of the eighth after lending a helping hand in what turned out to be an 8-3 win by the Florida Marlins to force Game 7 Wednesday night.

With one out and the Cubs leading 3-0 Tuesday night, the Marlins' Luis Castillo lifted a foul down the left-field line just past the bullpen. The Cubs' Moises Alou raced over, timed his jump perfectly and opened his glove. But the ball hit the heel of the kid's hand and caromed a few seats over.

In the Florida dugout, Game 7 pitcher Mark Redman turned to first baseman Derek Lee and said, "Let's make this kid famous."

They did, but only because of an equally ham-handed attempt by Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez on a grounder that could have turned into an inning-ending double play. Before his teammates regained their composure, Florida exploded for eight runs and the only suspense left was whether the kid would get out of Wrigley alive.

He's 26 and had a Cubs hat on, but a view from close-up yielded no further clues. A sweater covered his face as he was escorted by security guards on a brief perp walk from his seat to a security office behind the left-field stands.

Cubs security guards gave him a different jacket and took him out a side exit. "He was scared to death more than anything," said detail chief Mike Hill. "He just wanted to get out of here."

Judging by the abuse hurled at him throughout the inning and the short walk afterward, no one in this town has been so universally reviled since legend has it that Mrs. O'Leary didn't notice her cow kicking over the lamp that ignited the Great Chicago Fire - and that was almost 150 years ago.

"Hopefully," said left-fielder Alou, "he won't have to regret it for the rest of his life."

Political columnist George Will once wrote that "Cubs fans are 90 percent scar tissue." Suddenly, that number sounds low.

"We spent $1,400 for these tickets," Karen Kucharski said. Decked out in Cubs hat and satin jacket, she'd sat three rows above the kid. "Now," Kucharski added, "we're going to have to sell one of our kids to get back here tomorrow night."

Her husband, standing nearby, just nodded. There was no way to be sure they were kidding.

Either way, she handed him a sign that read "Cubtoberfest" and turned toward the exit, then stopped to point out where drops of champagne had splattered the banner.

"These came from the celebration in Atlanta," she said. "We flew down there. That's why we had to come tonight, to add a few more drops. That's why we got to come back.

"Just five more outs," she added wistfully, letting the rest of the sentence evaporate into a chilly night.

One thing the Cub Nation never lacks for is villains. For the past half-century, Public Enemy No. 1 has been a goat whose owner, William Sianis, bought two box seats and tried to bring the animal into Wrigley to watch Game 4 of the 1945 World Series. Turned away, Sianis dashed off a telegram to then-Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley warning the Cubs would lose the series - they were ahead 2-1 in games, but wound up losing to the Tigers in seven - and never get into another.

A half-hour after Tuesday night's game, several thousand stunned fans remained in their seats. Down the left-field line, in the corner where the kid tried to make his fateful grab, an usher stood in front of Seat 116 while a hundred or so more fans milled around in an ugly mood.

One of them went behind Seat 116 and placed a sign across the back. It read: "2003 Cubs. Cursebusters. We ain't afraid of no goats."

So whatever else the kid did, credit him at least with this much: He got the goat off the hook.

[Rutles4Ever]

A win tonight will erase all of this... Please, Cubbies. Win.

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[southernnorthcarolina]

Well, this schmuck's age has been published. And God knows his mug is now known worldwide. It's only a matter of time before his name and address are all over the internet.

I'm not saying this is a good thing, necessarily, but it's a fact.

He'd better hope the Cubs win tonight, in which case 99% of his notoriety will evaporate. If not, rightly or wrongly, he'll be forever known as the guy who kept the Cubs out of the World Series.

Wait till next century!

[Tambo]

And so Cubs 'idiot walkman fan' enters the baseball boner mythology shrine..

[Zack Nguyen]

I feel sorry for this poor guy. He caught a ball that was coming almost at him, in the fan section. It was instinct. Yet now he is the scapegoat for an eight run inning.

[Tambo]

[JimVT]

The whole brouhaha is stupid.

Any red-blooded baseball fan is going to reach for a foul if it is anywhere near him/her.

If the Cubs object.... then put up a freakin' fence.

The umps blew this one too.

[scarab9]

GOOD LUCK tonight Cubs!!

[SengirV]

I haope the cubs to win so this guy is a just a distant memory in cubs lore. OF course I also hope the Yanks beat the Sox then beat the cubs to solidify the curses for both teams. But that's just me =)

[Tambo]

A local fireman sitting next to walkman fan was kicking himself for not tackling him..he already gotten 50 calls at the Fire Station..

[dfwgator]

Did the fan boneheadedly leave Prior in too long, even though everyone could see he was out of gas?

Did the fan boot a routine ground ball to short?

Did the fan throw pitches that even my grandmother could hit?

Maybe the Cubbies just don't deserve to go to the World Series.

[Tambo]

Somebody put the curse on the live thread last night by posting the Harry Carrey kissing Hillary picture when the Cubs were up 3-0 in the 8th.. we may have to exercise the demon by re-posting it tonight

[Republican Red]

How old was he?

I didn't think the poor guy looked young enough to be called a kid.

[Mr. Bird]

At the beginning of the two LCS, the worst scenario for me as a fan (one with no team in the hunt), was Marlins/Yanks. I've enjoyed this entire postseason tremendously, but I'll turn off the TV and radio if they both make it.

[Republican Red]

Nightmare scenario for Fox. Yankees/Marlins will be a bust.

[Republican Red]

"He's 26 and had a Cubs hat on"

I find when I read the article I can actually answer my own question!

26 is not a "kid". He's an adult.

I still feel bad for him.

[Tambo]

[Tambo]

[Tambo]