Bartman Documentary Coming to ESPN

[Old Style]

I'm guessing sarcasm, but what do I know?

Oh, so SSR's original post was sarcasm?

[Guest]

I'm guessing sarcasm, but what do I know?

Oh, so SSR's original post was sarcasm?

 

That's why I used the word "guess". A word like guess generally doesn't get grouped with a word like fact.

[jersey cubs fan]

I'm guessing sarcasm, but what do I know?

Oh, so SSR's original post was sarcasm?

 

No I'm pretty sure he thinks cubs fans are obsessed with bartman and to blame for constantly bringing up this story.

[SouthSideRyan]

It was absolutely sarcasm.

[Old Style]

It was absolutely sarcasm.

My apologies then.

[NotSoSober]

I'm actually shocked it took them this long to make such trash. I was stupid to believe this ESPN 30 for 30 thing would actually be good after reading about how great the Allen Iverson segment is. Didn't HBO already do a 10 minute segment on Bartman with Real Sports? If Bartman himself isn't interviewed, it's worthless.

[weis21]

I thought the all caps gave it away

[erik316wttn]

Jesus Christ. I'm so sick of ESPN bringing up Bartman and 1908 every single [expletive] time the Cubs play on ESPN. You can bet the house, the car, the wife, the bank account, and the kids that they'll have mentioned one or both by the 4th inning at least.

[CubbieGager]

I'm not a person who bashes on ESPN and generally like their programming, so take that into account here.

 

I'm very interested to see this. While I don't think he's the person to blame for the Cubs losing that game, I think he definitely interfered with that play. I don't think it would've been that much of a stretch to say Alou could've made the play. It looked to me like Bartman, along with the four or five other people in his area were definitely hanging over the railing when he hit the ball. That being said, the team shouldn't have completely lost their composure and sucked it up and finished off inning, and subsequently the game.

 

I think this could turn out to be a very interesting documentary. They're having a world class director make this film, not some intern in the truck getting his "big shot" with the network.

 

I think people should just watch, take it for what it is, and go from there as to whether or not it's beating a dead horse.

[jersey cubs fan]

I'm not a person who bashes on ESPN and generally like their programming, so take that into account here.

 

I'm very interested to see this. While I don't think he's the person to blame for the Cubs losing that game, I think he definitely interfered with that play. I don't think it would've been that much of a stretch to say Alou could've made the play. It looked to me like Bartman, along with the four or five other people in his area were definitely hanging over the railing when he hit the ball. That being said, the team shouldn't have completely lost their composure and sucked it up and finished off inning, and subsequently the game.

 

I think this could turn out to be a very interesting documentary. They're having a world class director make this film, not some intern in the truck getting his "big shot" with the network.

 

I think people should just watch, take it for what it is, and go from there as to whether or not it's beating a dead horse.

 

That's a bunch of nonsense. Why do we have to watch before we can decide it's absolutely stupid to do a documentary on the guy? Alou wouldn't have made that catch. It would have been the most athletic thing he'd pulled off in 10 years at the time.

[erik316wttn]

I'm not a person who bashes on ESPN and generally like their programming, so take that into account here.

 

I'm very interested to see this. While I don't think he's the person to blame for the Cubs losing that game, I think he definitely interfered with that play. I don't think it would've been that much of a stretch to say Alou could've made the play. It looked to me like Bartman, along with the four or five other people in his area were definitely hanging over the railing when he hit the ball. That being said, the team shouldn't have completely lost their composure and sucked it up and finished off inning, and subsequently the game.

 

I think this could turn out to be a very interesting documentary. They're having a world class director make this film, not some intern in the truck getting his "big shot" with the network.

 

I think people should just watch, take it for what it is, and go from there as to whether or not it's beating a dead horse.

 

Even if Bartman doesn't attempt to catch the ball, it was a difficult catch and there's no guarantee Alou comes down with it. He may have caught it, but if you look at the tape is glove is just above the top of the wall. He could have hit the wall on the way down and the ball could have been knocked loose.

 

Alex Gonzalez booting an easy DP ball bears 10,000 times more blame than Bartman.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

If only Prior had 15-20 more good pitches left in his arm. I wonder if there was a chance earlier in the series to save his arm a little in a blowout...

[haubrich91]

ESPN is a joke. From their analysts to their broadcast itself. I am so glad MLB Network was made. It's much better than Baseball Tonight or any other crap they have.

 

"Probably Steve Phillips: The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908." Then they trash them some more.

[jersey cubs fan]

ESPN is a joke. From their analysts to their broadcast itself. I am so glad MLB Network was made. It's much better than Baseball Tonight or any other crap they have.

 

MLB Network is just a PR machine.

[UMFan83]

I guess I am missing something that is obvious to others.

 

Sorry to ruin the fun everyone. SSR was being sarcastic from the beginning.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

ESPN is a joke. From their analysts to their broadcast itself. I am so glad MLB Network was made. It's much better than Baseball Tonight or any other crap they have.

 

MLB Network is just a PR machine.

and still far superior to anything ESPN has to offer

[Mike Aller]

I bet Bartman was juicing.

[Burtonbell]

ESPN is a joke. From their analysts to their broadcast itself. I am so glad MLB Network was made. It's much better than Baseball Tonight or any other crap they have.

 

MLB Network is just a PR machine.

and still far superior to anything ESPN has to offer

 

I don't find the analysis to be insightful, but live game look ins and highlights going 24 hours a days is something that interested me from day 1.

[J.R.]

Alou wouldn't have made that catch. It would have been the most athletic thing he'd pulled off in 10 years at the time.

 

I suppose it would be easier if I believed that.

 

I don't. He had it.

[CubbieGager]

Jersey- you don't have to watch it. I just think that it's a bit irrational to say its terrible, ESPN is a joke etc, etc before anyone has even seen it. The documentary is a look at Bartman after the fact and looking at how he's coming to terms with the way he was villified after it happened. It's completely your choice to watch it or not. To me, it sounds interesting, but to call my opinion nonsense, when you're calling the doc ridiculous without even seeing it is a bit dramatic don't you think?

 

Erik- he very well could have hit his hand on the wall and droped it, but regardless of how people felt about Alou' athleticism and defense, he's still a professional athlete, and I personally doubt that a little bump on the hand would have made him drop it. I mean, I've seen Ken Griffey Jr. completely break his wrist against a wall and hang on to a ball. Now, I know Griffey was about 100x the player that Alou was, but I think the wrist breaking while crashing into the wall at top speed and bumping your glove on top of a wall after catching the ball are equally proportionate to the gap in the quality of the two players.

 

J.R.- I share the same opinion as you. I have no doubt that had the ball not been hit, he would've come down with it.

 

Just my opinions.

[jersey cubs fan]

Jersey- you don't have to watch it. I just think that it's a bit irrational to say its terrible, ESPN is a joke etc, etc before anyone has even seen it.

 

And I think it's ridiculous to pretend you have to watch a documentary about a freaking sports fan before you can criticize them for making it.

 

J.R.- I share the same opinion as you. I have no doubt that had the ball not been hit, he would've come down with it.

 

Well that's just stupid. No doubt that a horrible defensive player who is very old would make a catch that nobody ever makes? Nobody makes catches up against the side wall at Wrigley that deep into the outfield. Yet you have no doubt Moises Freaking Alou was going to pull it off? That's nuts.

[CubbieGager]

It's not as if he was on a full sprint. It was a lazy pop fly. He was camped under it, and he wasn't going to have to go into the crowd to catch it. He may not have even needed to jump up to catch it. I realize he wasn't good defensively, but it really wasn't shaping up to be that tough of a catch. I guess we're basically agreeing to disagree.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Yes, he had to jump to catch it:

 

Spoilered for those who don't want to relive.

 

http://blog.gettyimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/bartman-for-blog.jpg

 

[SpongeWorthy]

It's not like Bartman jumped out of the stands and tripped Alou preventing him from getting into a position to make the play. I don't see Alou being unathletic as very relevant. It doesn't strain credulity to think he could've caught the ball.

 

It is pretty funny how up in arms a lot of you are about this. Steve Bartman isn't the first Average Joe to be caught up in a momentous event and be put under the microscope for it--on ESPN, or in any other form of media--and he won't be the last. His situation has been a template for documentaries, magazine features, and books for decades. There's nothing unique about him in that regard.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm definitely interested in seeing this because of the filmmaker behind it. He's made a couple of really good documentaries and I'd be curious to see what he's going to do with this.