Unlucky Cubs Fan Getting Florida Support

earthlink news ^ | 10-15-03

[wheelgunguru]

MIAMI - If he's interested, the 26-year-old Chicago fan who deflected a foul ball away from a Cubs outfielder in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series can find solace in Florida.

Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday an offer of asylum might be a good idea, and an oceanfront retreat in Pompano Beach is offering the man a free three-month stay, should he deem it necessary to get out of Chicago until the hubbub over the popup cools down.

The fan, whom The Associated Press was holding off naming for fears of his safety, would also receive free airfare and other perks- include steak dinners, martinis and even a water taxi ride - should he decide to fly south for the winter.

"They've got the curse of a goat or something, right," said Gerardo Pena, 40, a Marlins fan from Lauderdale Lakes. "I guess this guy is their new goat."

Pena was referring to a story well-entrenched in Chicago lore: A bar owner cursed the Cubs when he and his goat were turned away from a 1945 World Series game. The Cubs haven't made the World Series since.

The Cubs were five outs away from clinching the series and earning a spot in the World Series when the botched play took place Tuesday night. Replays showed the man looking up at the ball hit by Florida's Luis Castillo; it was unclear the fan was ever aware Cubs left fielder Moises Alou was in the area.

Game 7 of the series is Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.

Marlins fans who were lined up Wednesday with hopes of buying World Series tickets also expressed compassion for the man, with many saying it wasn't his play that was the most damaging to the Cubs in Florida's eight-run eighth inning.

Instead, Florida fans were saying that Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez's error - which occurred two batters after the fan knocked Castillo's foul pop away from Alou - was the biggest gift the Marlins received during the rally.

But it was the foul ball which created a national buzz on radio talk shows.

"You can't help but feel bad for the guy," said Marlins fan Dennis Sikes of Miami Beach, one of about 100 people waiting in a ticket line outside a team souvenir store Wednesday. "Chicago doesn't seem to be a real forgiving sort of place, you know."

The man had to be escorted out of Wrigley Field by security guards in the bottom of the eighth inning after he was threatened and pelted with debris.

Bush was asked Wednesday if he planned to offer the distraught fan asylum in Florida.

"If I had that power within me it might be, for his own safety, it might be good to bring him down," Bush said.

Bush seemed sympathetic to the man's unfortunate plight.

"Sports is so much fun because it isn't planned, it isn't programmed," Bush said. "Stuff happens. And in that sense, it's kind of a mirror of life. So all I can tell you is it's been an incredibly interesting series."

[KEVLAR]

The AP may not be releasing his name but the Chicago Sun Times has printed his name, hometown, and his employer.

From The Chicago Sun Times

In a chant that could be heard on the national telecast of the game, fans all over Wrigley Field joined in cursing Steve Bartman after he got his hand on the foul ball off the bat of the Florida Marlins' Luis Castillo in the eighth inning.

Alou, who at first was visibly upset, later absolved Bartman of blame. But Gov.Blagojevich isn't ready to let Bartman off the hook.

Blagojevich joked this afternoon that he might be able to get Bartman into witness protection, adding, "If he commits a crime, he won't get a pardon from this governor. You've got to be looking out for your team."

Bartman, 26, works at Hewitt Associates, an international consulting firm in Lincolnshire, the company confirmed.

"He is an associate at Hewitt, and he is not coming to work today because of the incident," Suzanne Zagata-Meraz, a spokeswoman for Hewitt, said this morning. "That was a decision that Steve and [Human Resources] made together. We have been in contact with Steve."

Bartman couldn't be located for comment. Messages left on his voicemail were not returned. A man who answered the door at the Northbrook home where friends and a neighbor said Bartman grew up defended his actions, saying he only did what came naturally when a foul ball came his way.

[nhoward14]

And you just published his name again yourself.

[Thebaddog]

He's still our guy. Bartman stays at home with us. And when the Cubbies win tonight, all will be forgiven.

[KEVLAR]

It is on their website. Would you prefer a link?

[Admin Moderator]

The guy even made a public statement. We're trying to patch the dam, but the river's already flooded the valley. We're not going to try to keep his name down any longer. Its a fruitless battle at this point.

[COURAGE]

MARLINS 3 CUBS 0

[xm177e2]

If he runs to Florida now, he will NEVER be forgiven by Chicagoans.

[Bommer]

Better think again who your messing with!

[Jumpmaster]

The Cubs owners could have defused the whole situation by inviting him to their box. There were twenty people reaching for that foul ball.

[Cicero]

There were twenty people reaching for that foul ball.

I can see three or four in the picture, but it looks as if he's the only one with his hand outside the railing.

[Mears]

Everyone here in Red Sox Land is rooting for the cubs,and it sure is lookin' good!

[AeWingnut]

we have a saying at work

Leave it to Hewitt
to screw it
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