OT: Little Inside Joke

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Bullwinkle58
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OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by Bullwinkle58 »

From the newspaper story at the link:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013 ... tman-story

"10 years later, Bartman remains enigma
Bartman 'bigger than those who have commercially exploited incident'
By Paul Sullivan

As the 10-year anniversary of the most talked-about moment in Cubs
history approaches, it turns out everyone was wrong all along.

Touching the famous foul ball in Game 6 of the 2003 National League
Championship Series wasn't the worst thing to happen to Steve Bartman.

Having it auctioned for more than $113,000 and blown up on TV was
worse, leading to bitter feelings between the world's most vilified
Cubs fan and the head of a restaurant group bearing the name of the
team's most beloved announcer.

After biting his lip for the last decade, Bartman spokesman Frank
Murtha said they have had enough. They were never on board with the
ball being blown up at Harry Caray's restaurant or with the subsequent
promotions of Harry Caray's president and managing partner, Grant
DePorter.

"We are no more fine with it now than we were then," Murtha said. "No
one person has perpetuated the storyline more than (DePorter) did."

The Sphinx

By now the Bartman story is familiar to most baseball fans, and his
name is known around the world.

With the Cubs five outs from advancing to their first World Series in
58 years, Bartman's deflection of a foul ball that Moises Alou may or
may not have been able to catch preceded an eight-run eighth-inning
Marlins rally that sent the series to Game 7. Bartman was abused and
ridiculed, forced to leave the ballpark with security and blamed for
the Cubs' blowing their big chance.

Murtha pointed to shortstop Alex Gonzalez's critical error, adding,
"Don't forget, there was a Game 7, and some pitcher named Kerry Wood
starting."

Wood blew an early lead in Game 7 to lose the series, and the Cubs
have not won a playoff game since. Game 6 remains the closest they
have come to a World Series since 1945, and their last championship
was in 1908.

After enduring death threats and hate mail and becoming a household
name, things have settled down for Bartman as the years marched on.
Murtha said he has lived a relatively normal existence in the Chicago
area since, with his family, friends and workplace fiercely protecting
his privacy.

"Because of the kind of person he is, he has continued to live his
life in a manner with the same moral fiber he had going into this
incident," Murtha said.

"He continues to work. Has this incident posed challenges to him? Yes.
Has he more than overcome them? Yes. But he has been bigger than those
who have commercially exploited the incident."

Bartman has remained Sphinxlike, staying out of the public eye,
ignoring interview requests and monetary offers and basically keeping
a low profile, becoming the J.D. Salinger of sports fans. He never has
spoken publicly about the events of Oct. 14, 2003, aside from issuing
a written apology the next day, and last was quoted in any media
outlet in 2005 while trying to get away from an ESPN the Magazine
reporter who stalked and surprised Bartman in the parking garage of
his workplace.

"Steve has no intention to personally speak about it," Murtha said.
"When and if he did, it'd be under his terms and conditions."

Murtha said Bartman has turned down "hundreds of thousands of dollars"
in inducements over the last decade, saying no to all offers and media
requests, including TV's "Dr. Phil," who wanted to probe his psyche.
Murtha, an attorney, said he is "aggressively moving on any attempt to
commercially exploit the (Bartman) name," though that particular barn
door has been open too long to shut now.

Bartman probably could have starred in a wacky Super Bowl commercial
by now, perhaps selling headphones or turtlenecks or Snickers bars.
The incident has inspired dozens of Bartmanesque references in modern
culture, whether blatant or oblique.

• Two weeks after the playoff incident, actor Kevin James told Tribune
columnist Terry Armour he was considering starring in a movie project
called "Fan Interference." James said it would not specifically be
about Bartman but conceded the incident was ripe for a movie: "I feel
sorry for him, but to love a city so much and to love a team so much
and to have one event completely change your life and now you're
public enemy No. 1 is a great story." A movie, however, never has been
made.

• A ripped-from-the-headlines "Law and Order" episode centered around
an infamous "foul ball guy" who was discovered murdered before the
opening credits. Murtha sent a letter to NBC chiding the network for
putting that idea in viewers' heads.

• A "Family Guy" episode featured a 10-second non sequitur in which
the Stewie character, sitting at a Cubs-Marlins game at Wrigley Field,
convinces a turtleneck-wearing fan in headphones named "Steve" to try
to make a catch. ("It's a foul ball. What harm could it do?")

• The creator of a PlayStation ad for "MLB 12: The Show" was forced to
verify that a Bartman-like character sitting alone in his Chicago
apartment celebrating a fictional Cubs championship actually was not
Bartman. He admitted the ad's creators "kicked around the idea" of
asking Bartman to appear in the commercial.

The fact that Bartman has refused to cash in has earned him some props
from fans and players alike.

"In this day and age, he could've made tons of money doing things,"
said Marlins outfielder Juan Pierre, who was perched on second base
during the play. "But he took the high road. Hopefully Chicago will
embrace him again one day."

The Ball

While Murtha said DePorter isn't the only one to capitalize on
Bartman's misery, he does blame him for exacerbating it. He
understands Bartman still would be demonized without the ball being
blown up but says it added another layer to the story.

"I knew it would always be part of something," he said. "I just didn't
think it would have the life it has had."

The ones who have exploited Bartman the most, according to Murtha, are
DePorter — who bought the ball, blew it up and displays the shreds in
his restaurants — and ESPN.

The sports network created a show called "The Top Five Reasons You
Can't Blame Steve Bartman for the Cubs 2003 Playoff Collapse" and
featured an Alex Gibney documentary on the incident called "Catching
Hell" for its "30 for 30" series.

The biggest problem Murtha had with the media company was "stalking"
Bartman for an ESPN the Magazine article in 2005, then pretending it
was in the name of exonerating him for the incident.

"It was like he had found Osama bin Laden," Murtha said. "All he did,
he went to the address where 14 satellite trucks were parked for two
weeks, then followed him to work, sat in the parking lot and jumped
out of a bush."

But DePorter's role in the Bartman legacy is more problematic for
Murtha.

It all began when an anonymous Chicago attorney known only as "Jim"
nabbed the foul ball on the rebound and auctioned it one month later
through Mastro Auctions, which folded in 2009 during an FBI probe of
its activities.

Jim the attorney told the Tribune then it was "like found money" and
would be used as a college fund for his not-yet-born child. DePorter
wound up paying $113,824 for the ball, and he told Sun-Times columnist
Michael Sneed he would blow it up so Cubs fans could "erase the most
tangible symbol of that pain." Proceeds would go to Ron Santo's
favorite charity, JDRF, and only "pro-Bartman" people could attend.

On the night of the explosion, in February 2004, DePorter told the
Tribune "it's also time for all of us to move on." But Murtha argues
DePorter did not move on even after the ball was blown up,
contributing to the demonization of Bartman.

"The next spring, they sold spaghetti sauce made of the shards of the
ball," Murtha said.

Murtha recalled the day DePorter called him and asked him to attend
the ceremonies extinguishing the ball forever.

"As a promoter, a P.T. Barnum, he's Triple A," he said. "He gave me a
pitch over the phone: 'Steve should come to the ceremony.' He said
Ryne Sandberg wanted him to come, and Dutchie (Caray) and Ernie
(Banks) wanted him to come. Then he said, 'Harry would want him to
come.'

"I listen to enough of his blarney, and I say, 'OK, if Harry says he
should come, he'll be there.' "

Murtha said there was a long pause. Harry Caray had been dead since
1998, as Murtha knew well.

"Finally (DePorter) asks, 'Well, how you gonna do that, Frank?' "
Murtha said.

Murtha said he explained to DePorter that his father was buried close
to Caray at All Saints Catholic Cemetery in Des Plaines.

"I know my dad and Harry talk all the time," he recalled saying. "So
if Harry says to him, 'Steve should come,' he'll be there."

It was Murtha's sly way of saying: No chance.

Murtha believes DePorter has profited off Bartman's situation.
DePorter told the New York Times in September 2004 that blowing up the
ball helped increase revenue by about 20 percent, or $1.5 million:
"And I attribute almost all of it to the ball, people clustering
around the case to see it."

DePorter acknowledged that figure but said he had offered, through
Murtha, to compensate Bartman.

"So far, Steve has not wanted any compensation," DePorter said.

Murtha said DePorter told him the ball explosion would be "the end for
the ball and the end for Steve," but he pointed to the selling of the
spaghetti sauce and a book as examples of the continued exploitation
of Bartman's name.

"If I had a choice of having the ball blown up and buried, or hanging
the shreds in a restaurant, I'd rather bury it," Murtha said. "And
whatever they didn't blow up, they put in a spaghetti sauce and sold."

DePorter said he regretted not letting Bartman know about selling the
spaghetti sauce. He said he has "respect" for Murtha, has contributed
thousands in Bartman's name to JDRF and never has been anything but
"supportive" of Bartman.

Will Bartman ever come out of the shadows?

DePorter believes it's time Bartman ends his self-imposed exile from
Wrigley Field, saying fans and players would embrace him now.

"Maybe it's time for him to not be Greta Garbo and the 'mystery,' " he
said. "Maybe it's time for him to get out there, go to a game with
Ernie (Banks). He would find people want to support him because that's
all I've ever heard."

Banks left a message on Murtha's phone Friday asking to set up a
private meeting between him and Bartman. Murtha said he would relay
the message and that Bartman has "all the respect in the world" for
Banks.

Still, it's Bartman's choice to maintain his privacy, and that's what
he will continue to do.

Murtha said the retelling of the incident has managed only to obscure
the real story — namely, the incredible collapse of a baseball team
that was on the cusp of the World Series.

"Distance has provided the media and fans cover for some lousy
baseball, and that's what it was," Murtha said.

"Steve is still a baseball fan. On many occasions the Cubs
organization has expressed there is no ill will toward him and has
welcomed him to attend a game.

"He has no ill will toward the Cubs or toward baseball." "
The Moose
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USSAmerica
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by USSAmerica »

Moose, you gonna let us in on the inside joke? [:)]
Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

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Terminus
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by Terminus »

TLDR
We are all dreams of the Giant Space Butterfly.
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Bullwinkle58
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by Bullwinkle58 »

ORIGINAL: USS America

Moose, you gonna let us in on the inside joke? [:)]

Sure.

I am Steve Bartman. [:'(]

To this day I can't check into a hotel in the Chicago metro.
The Moose
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USSAmerica
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by USSAmerica »

[:D]
Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

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pontiouspilot
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by pontiouspilot »

Bull....god love you if you are Steve! you made me $5000 on a $200 bet I made on Marlins to win W Series. My crazy old uncle who used to be a bookie made the bet before Marlins in wild card. On the specific night of shame I had been watching the game in a bar and, assuming the Marlins were cooked, I went for some needed relief. Upon my return much to my amazement Steve saved me! The whole tone of game was stood on it's head.

That next winter I sat next to the Cub's owner at a golf course owners meeting (the chap in question, whose name escapes me, owned dozens of newspapers and a golf course). I told him about my bet and he quite candidly said he knew their goose was cooked at that moment too.

Your truly,....a devoted lifetime member of Steve's fan club!!!!
veji1
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by veji1 »

[X(][:D]

Gee poor you, and to think that the guy just beside you doing the very same gesture but not touching the ball escaped the scapegoating. lucky fellow. Glad to see that WITP saved your soul !
Adieu Ô Dieu odieux... signé Adam
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by danlongman »

ORIGINAL: Terminus

TLDR

Just goes to show Termy is always on the ball. Explains a lot.
I haven't watched a baseball game since the Twins played the Red Sox in 1966.

Not only a cartoon moose but a sports celeb!!!
Do I congratulate you or offer condolences?
"Patriotism: Your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." - George Bernard Shaw
JocMeister
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by JocMeister »

I don´t understand one bit of this?
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obvert
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by obvert »

Really?

You are the Steve Bartman?

This forum continues to amaze me.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
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USSAmerica
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by USSAmerica »

I suspect that our close friend of Rocky the Squirrel is "a" Steve Bartman. [;)]
Mike

"Good times will set you free" - Jimmy Buffett

"They need more rum punch" - Me

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Bullwinkle58
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by Bullwinkle58 »

ORIGINAL: USS America

I suspect that our close friend of Rocky the Squirrel is "a" Steve Bartman. [;)]


Mega-grins.

I think there are only two of us in North America. My dad thinks we might be related through an aunt of his who moved to the Chicago area in the 1930s, but not sure. I have never met him, but I did e-mail him when it happened. No response. I got a lot of drunken 0400 phone calls about cursed goats for awhile, and an offer to go on CNN at the time (limo and plane ticket on the way) before I could convince them I've never been to a Cubs game. Twins fan.

I get about one offer a month on Facebook to friend up from people who are so sad they want to be "friends" with so minor a celebrity. I have two in the hopper right now as a matter of fact.

It WAS pretty cool seeing my name on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. [:)]
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by AW1Steve »

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58
ORIGINAL: USS America

I suspect that our close friend of Rocky the Squirrel is "a" Steve Bartman. [;)]


Mega-grins.

I think there are only two of us in North America. My dad thinks we might be related through an aunt of his who moved to the Chicago area in the 1930s, but not sure. I have never met him, but I did e-mail him when it happened. No response. I got a lot of drunken 0400 phone calls about cursed goats for awhile, and an offer to go on CNN at the time (limo and plane ticket on the way) before I could convince them I've never been to a Cubs game. Twins fan.

I get about one offer a month on Facebook to friend up from people who are so sad they want to be "friends" with so minor a celebrity. I have two in the hopper right now as a matter of fact.

It WAS pretty cool seeing my name on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. [:)]

Now all you need to do is meet up with "Murphy's Goat". [:D]
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by geofflambert »

Bullwinkle, please do not become a fan of any of my PBEM games. [:'(]



Not that there was ever any danger of that, of course.

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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by geofflambert »

.

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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

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.

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Bullwinkle58
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by Bullwinkle58 »

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

.

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That's the guy.

I'm much better looking.
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geofflambert
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by geofflambert »

October 14, 2003, a day which will live in infamy! I mentioned you to Bill McClellan, a columnist with the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch and an ardent Cubs fan. He said he hoped you were doing okay, I told him I thought you were doing well and that you were highly respected in this forum.

Now, I must criticize; you failed to spill your drink all over Moises. You get a demerit for that. [:'(] Next time, focus.

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bigred
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by bigred »

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

Bullwinkle, please do not become a fan of any of my PBEM games. [:'(]



Not that there was ever any danger of that, of course.
[&o]
---bigred---

IJ Production mistakes--
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RE: OT: Little Inside Joke

Post by Lokasenna »

Well I'll be damned. I'd forgotten his last name. I knew I didn't like you. Time to call off the game!
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