Cubs Owner Wants to Provide 'Closure' for Fans by Reaching Out to Steve Bartman

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts indicates the team plans to reach out to Steve Bartman in 2017.

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Complex Original

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For the first time in 108 years, the Cubs are World Series Champions. And because of that, their 2017 season is likely to be a year-long celebration that'll include raising ticket prices, designing World Series rings, establishing a Wrigley Field trophy case, and reaching out to Steve Bartman in an apparent effort to publicly reconcile.

Bartman, as you well know, became a cautionary tale in wishing to become famous after he interfered with a ball down the left field line during Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. At the time, the Cubs were just five outs from advancing to the World Series, but the over-the-top reaction from left fielder Moises Alou, combined with the resulting meltdown by the team (they surrendered seven runs in that inning), caused enough people to lash out at Bartman that the incident ended up getting its own 30 for 30 treatment. Since then, despite constant media offers, from interviews to lucrative commercial opportunities, Bartman has consistently rejected the spotlight in an effort to get everyone to just move on with their lives, much like he clearly has.

Still, according to Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, the team plans to try to convince the reclusive fan—who still lives in the Chicago area—back into public view sometime in the near future. "I’m sure we’ll reach out to him at the right time," Ricketts told USA TODAY, "and I’m sure we’ll figure something out that provides closure for everybody. Hopefully, we can make it work." Prior to that, Ricketts also said that it was time "to put this lovable loser crap to bed."

Here's to hoping the team has better luck than every other person has had since Bartman went viral on that October night over 13 years ago. Though, frankly, we wouldn't hold our collective breath.

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