Via fire, Cubs fans exorcise some demons

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Chicago Cubs left fielder Moises Alou's arm is seen reaching into the stands, at right, trying to catch a foul ball against the Florida Marlins in the eighth inning during Game 6 of the National League championship series Oct. 14 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The ball was caught by spectator Steve Bartman, wearing cap and headphones. The Cubs went on to lose the game and the series. (AP Photo)

More than four months removed, there's still a lot of bitterness against Steve Bartman.

Hometown fan Bartman was front and center -- well, on the edge of the left field foul line as Moises Alou was tracking a fly ball -- in the Chicago Cubs' National League Championship Series Game 6 loss to the Florida Marlins.

Bartman caught the ball in the stands, possibly depriving the Cubs of an eighth-inning out at a time they had a 3-0 lead. Bedlam ensued, and the Cubs lost the game.

A dozen Siouxlanders were at Marty's Tap in Sioux City Thursday night to exorcise some ghosts of Cubs' losses past, as well as to take out some revenge against the Marlins -- at least in the form of a ball cap and a photo of a Florida pitcher. The items were doused in lighter fluid and burned out in the parking lot.

That followed a national broadcast originating from Harry Caray's Restaurant in Chicago, where a sold out event raised money for juvenile diabetes research while destroying the infamous foul ball. The event was billed as "Destroy the Ball, Find the Cure."

Sioux City establishments Bob Roe's Point After and Marty's, 1306 Court St., tuned in the MSNBC broadcast, and Marty's owner Mark Allard localized it in his own way. To vent some frustration, Allard got a Marlins "2003 World Champions" cap and picture of Josh Beckett, who stymied the Cubs in two key outings, and held a drawing for the honor to burn it. A firefighter buddy of Allard's oversaw the event to make sure nothing went awry. "I've never done anything like this," said Allard, a Cubs fan since WGN came to Sioux City in the late 1970s via cable TV.

John Tremmel of Sioux City won the raffle to apply the matches. Jeers erupted as the flames reached waist-high. "Be gone with you," said Tremmel, 52, a Cubs fan since his first game in Wrigley Field at age 8.

"God, I feel good," Allard said. "The only way it would be better is if Beckett had that hat on." The bill was the last part of the hat to be fully blackened, and Tim Kacena of Sioux City said "it has to stay there too, it can't be moved" from the spot on the lot.

Cubs and non-Cubs fans have debated whether Bartman's catch was the reason for the loss. Some point out that later that inning shortstop Alex Gonzalez booted a basic double-play grounder for a costly error, and two bases-on-balls didn't help. The Marlins also delivered some clutch hits. For fans of a team that had not been to a World Series since 1908, it was all too much.

The organizers of the Harry Caray's event said they were "bringing closure to one of the most agonizing losses in baseball history," and "clearing Steve Bartman of responsibility for the Cubs' loss -- it is the consensus of fans that they all probably would have done the same thing."

Not so for Allard, who called Bartman a "dirty SOB." Said Allard, "I must be a bitter Cubs fan, because I think it cost us the game. I think it had everything to do with it."

Tremmel concurred: "He changed history right then and there ... No interference, the Cubbies would have been in the Series."

In Chicago, actor and director Harold Ramis of "Stripes," "Ghostbusters" and "Groundhog Day" fame served as master of ceremonies. Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins and Rick Nielson of Cheap Trick performed, and Caray's widow led the destruction of the ball, which the restaurant had bought for $113,824 at a Dec. 19 auction. The ball was insured by a donated $1 million policy, which expired when the ball was destroyed.

Leading up to the event, organizers sought ideas on the best way to destroy the ball. The Top 10 responses were posted to a Web site. Included was that of a San Francisco man, who wrote, "sneak into Yankee Stadium under the cover of night and bury the ball in center field. Transfer 'The Curse' to the Yankees!"

A man from Worcester, Mass, offered, "It should be soaked in liquid nitrogen and smashed into a million or so pieces. The pieces should be collected, ground up into dust, suspended in a cloud of oxygen and ignited. There will be naught left but some water, carbon dioxide and a little ash."

When the Chicago blasting was shown, cheers erupted and mugs were hoisted at Marty's, a big Cubs hangout, as witnessed by the "In Dusty (Baker) We Trusty" over the bar.

"Show it again," one patron shouted, and during replays the cheers and laughter by Keith Sudtelgte, Bob Pease and Mary Pease were just as spirited as during the first rending of the ball. Kacena, who performed demolition duties in the service, said what he saw led him to believe it was done with "a small amount of C4 and a blasting cap."

"I hope The Curse is really over," Allard said. Announcing a toast, he said, "This is our year. Go Cubbies."

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com
 

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