Chicago is riding high today after the Cubs clinched their first postseason series at Wrigley Field in the team's history last night. They took down the mighty St. Louis Cardinals—a feat that isn't something to scoff at (especially for a ragtag club full of rookies). The North Siders will advance to the National League Championship Series on Saturday against either the New York Mets or the Los Angeles Dodgers. The last time they made it this far in the postseason, their run was cut short in part due to a headphone-wearing man who was a little too overzealous about catching a foul ball: Steve Bartman.
That event took place exactly 12 years ago today. The Cubs were up 3-0 in the eighth inning of a potentially NLCS-clinching game against the Florida Marlins when Bartman deflected a pop foul ball away from the glove of Cubs outfielder Moisés Alou. Florida would go on to score eight runs in the inning, win the game, win the following game to clinch the series and defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Bartman was escorted out of Wrigley Field shortly after the incident. His identity was quickly discovered by the public, and he'd become the subject of intense hate from Cubs fans. The Cubs very well could have lost the series regardless of Bartman's interference, but he was a convenient scapegoat.
The Cubs' success this year has gone a long way in helping Chicagoans get over that ill-fated 2003 contest. A cheeky group of fans even set up a GoFundMe campaign to send Bartman to the wild card game in Pittsburgh (he politely declined).
This year's team is nothing like the 2003 group. They've exceeded every expectation and seem to have enough good juju to overpower any "curse" that's kept them out of the World Series for the past 70 years. After a 97-win season and knocking the two best teams in baseball out of the playoffs, it's hard to imagine that anything could stop the Cubs run this year—not even an awkward fan who, for some reason, is wearing headphones to one of the biggest games in Cubs history.