I am Steve Bartman. Well, that's not entirely true. I am actually Toronto Mike, but I could be Steve Bartman. For those of you who either live in a cave or simply don't follow sports at all, Steve Bartman is the Chicago Cubs fan who tried to grab a foul ball in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League championship series. At the time, the Cubs were up 3-0 in the game and 3-2 in the series. They were five outs away from returning to the World Series for the first time since 1945. They haven't won a World Series since 1908. Steve Bartman's contact with the foul ball prevented Moises Alou from squeezing the second out of the inning. The rest, is history.
When I attend Jay games at SkyDome, it's all about catching the elusive foul ball. It is the holy grail for ball fans. I even cherish a couple of home run balls I caught during batting practice (off the bats of Richie Sexson and Shannon Stewart respectively). If you're ever lucky enough to have a foul ball land in your range, nothing else matters. You enter the zone to completely focus on the task at hand...catching the ball. There but for the grace of God go I. I am Steve Bartman.
While we're on the topic of baseball, much has been made recently of the two curses in the Majors. Cubs fans are once again blaming the goat for their loss to the Florida Marlins and Red Sox fans are painfully aware of the Curse of the Bambino. I don't buy the goat curse. The Cubs are suffering from a deadly combination of bad luck and poor talent, but not a curse. This goat curse wasn't applied until 1945 yet the Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908. The Red Sox curse, on the other hand, is for real. As I write this, they've yet to start game seven in the Bronx, but I'm 100% certain the Red Sox will lose. I fully believe in the Curse of the Bambino. The Red Sox are cursed for selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920. Bill Buckner will back me up on this.
