Wacky or Stupid?

Notorious Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman, who was unfairly blamed for Moises Alou not catching a foul ball in the 2003 NL Championship series and ultimately costing the Cubs a trip to the World Series, is being offered an interesting proposition: Sportsbuy.com and the National Sports Collectors Convention are offering Bartman $25,000 to show up and sign one autograph at the convention next Thursday the 31st at 1pm in Rosemont,Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Initially, you would say "of course he'll do it." It's easy money right? But Bartman, who is still in "hiding" (he lives in private in the Chicago area now after leaving for a few years) and considered the modern day billy goat for the Cubs, could be risking verbal abuse, unwanted media attention, and potentially violence if he does come out in public. So does he do it? There are some nutty Cubs fans out there, but I don't think he's at any physical risk. Nevertheless, he may not want the attention all over again. Great promotion though on the part of the convention organizers. I've attached the official press release at the bottom of this post in a Word document form as issued by the the National and Sportsbuy.com.

And by the way, Moises Alou did say 5 years after the fact that Bartman wasn't at fault and didn't interfere with the ball. Even if he did interfere, the Cubs were up 3-0 and they still had a full game 7 to play. They simply choked. Bartman or no Bartman. /Bartman-webrelease.doc.