As a Mets fan, I’ve become accustomed to losing. As a Knicks fan, I’ve come to expect that my team will never win a championship in my lifetime. It’s why you may think I’d sympathize with Chicago Cubs fans. I don’t.  This is the reason why:

First off, I need to mention Moises Alou acted like a petulant child there. His actions more than Bartman’s set the tone for the rest of the game. Seriously, if Alou gets annoyed and walks away rather than throwing a tantrum, the Cubs might not have been as tense. 

Instead, the inning, game, and series fell apart. While there are theories whether Alou could’ve caught the ball (he couldn’t), Mark Prior walked Luis Castillo. By the way, Prior was gassed, but Dusty Baker let him start the inning and pitch until Prior allowed a run. The normally sure-handed Alex Gonzalez let a double play ball go between his legs. After all was said and done, a 3-0 lead became an 8-3 deficit. 

The Cubs would lose in Game Seven despite having a 5-3 lead with Kerry Wood on the mound. The Cubs blew a 3-1 series lead. They blew leads in Games Six and Seven. So who was to blame?  The Billy Goat?  Mrs. O’Leary’s cow?  Nope. They blamed Steve Bartman. 

The Billy Goat Curse is fun. It’s part of baseball lore. However, the Billy Goat never harmed anyone or was harmed. Steve Bartman is a human being who wasn’t treated as well as a goat. 

Bartman had to be removed from Wrigley Field that night because he was being pelted with garbage. He received hate mail and death threats. His home needed police protection. They sold shirts with a noose around his likeness. He’s never been able to go back to Wrigley (until maybe now). They did this to a diehard Cubs fan, who was one of several people trying to grab that ball. He was the unlucky one. 

If this is his how Cubs fans treat one of their own, they don’t deserve to see their team win a World Series . . . let alone this NLCS.