A few thoughts from a lifelong Cubs fan. I have probably been to Wrigley 100 or so times in the past 35 years, maybe more. I don't have postseason tickets but tonight I wish I had, just so that guy might not have.
First of all, though there is clearly one person who caused the catch not to be made, there were at least two and perhaps three of four reaching for the ball. The one who deflected it appeared to have headphones on. Perhaps he was listening to the game, in which case he would probably have heard the announcers say that Alou was giving chase. (I did not have the radio on, and here in Chicago there are two different broadcasts anyway, the local and national ones, so we'll never know.)
Second, in this age, I think it is a matter of hours before it becomes widely known on the Internet who that fan was. It's a shame that people will harass him, but you can bet that they will. He has got to be rooting for Kerry Wood more than any of us will be tomorrow night.
Third, this made me think back to some memorable Game 6 collapses. We remember the ones that turn out badly... the Cardinals meltdown to the Royals after the Denkinger call in 1985, the Red Sox post-Buckner meltdown. The Cubs' 84 meltdown was similar because it happened after Game 4 of a 5 game series. But it doesn't always happen for the worst. We remember the Carlton Fisk home run game in the 1975 Series for its drama, but that was also a Game 6 meltdown for the Reds, coming from up 6-3 to losing late in the night. The next night the Reds held it together for a 4-3 victory and won the series.
But they weren't the Cubs. I have a very very bad feeling about tomorrow night. Wood did not have good command in Game 3, and the Cubs were very fortunate to win.
Many people I have talked to consider the NLCS to be the World Series this year. With baseball's dysfunctional economics, they don't consider any competition involving the Yankees to be a fair fight, so this NLCS is really the high point of the season. Setting aside the disappointment, this has been one historically great series. Let's hope Game 7 lives up to what has preceded it. |
