I thought the Bartman doc was going to be part of 30 for 30

It seems now that it is its own separate documentary.

Set your dvrs: Tuesday, 5:00 pm pacific

 

Isn't 30 for 30 over with, since ESPN is no longer celebrating its 30th anniversary?

 

I'll watch it, but since Bartman didn't participate, I can't imagine what new light is going to be shed on the whole deal. Sounds like the big draws this time are different camera angles, and the showing the play with the radio call layered on top of it (Bartman was listening to the radio call). If someone ever gets Bartman to talk about that play, the aftermath and what happened to his life in the time after it, he's going to have a true must-see.

It also sounds like they are going to "mirror" the Bartman case with the Buckner ground ball in the 1986 Series to show how similar they were. Given that one was a fan who reached up for a foul ball, and the other was an actual player failing to make a play on a ball hit to him, it sounds like a pretty big reach (and surely an excuse for the director to get his beloved Red Sox involved).

All of that puts aside the hypocrisy of making a movie that points out the perils of "scapegoating" in American sports, as it shows Bartman reaching for that foul ball dozens of times ...

 

No, he declined to participate.

 

Bartman hasn't said one word to a reporter since it happened_ except when Wayne Drehs tracked him down at his work parking lot, but still nothing of note was said _ so it's not a surprise he didn't participate. I've seen this already. The doc was available on demand for a while after it premiered at a film fest, and I'll say it's pretty good. Especially if you don't live in Chicago, and aren't familiar with all the details.

It was originally slated to be part of 30 for 30 run, but the director wanted more time on it, presumably because he couldn't get Bartman (which he should've realized during inception of idea). He ties in event with Billy Buck too.

I believe 30 for 30 is now a kind of mini-brand within ESPN for these kind of documentaries. Which is awesome.

 

I went to Wrigley last week. It looked like the wall where the Bartman incident took place had been re-profiled so that it was slightly higher. Am I right on that or was I seeing things?

 

Alex Gibney is a Red Sox fan?

For some reason I also thought Bartman was in the doc. Not as much of a must-see for me anymore.

 

Snore. Who fucking cares?

 

I still think the guy sitting to Bartman's right had has much to do with the interference as he did. Why hasn't anyone tracked him down, stalked or villified him?

 

From the "Director's Take" on ESPN's site, here's a quote from Gibney: "I zeroed in on the story of Steve Bartman because I was interested in the collective mania of a city and the need to find a scapegoat for disappointment. As a lifelong Red Sox fan who had been released from the Curse of the Bambino in 2004, I can show the best and the worst of Cubs mania through the lens of one who has been there."

Seems to be a little presumptuous that a Red Sox fan feels the need to include his team's struggles to show and reflect on how Cubs' fans have been tortured throughout the years by their failures and near-misses. As if no one who hasn't experienced it could direct this documentary. I think this would be a better story told by someone who is a lifelong Cubs fan. One could take the stance that this is just another East Coast/Boston cocksucker with an endless ego who feels the need to pretend that the sports world revolves around Boston and/or the East Coast.

Until (and if ever) Bartman opens up and is willing to talk about the horrible aftermath of that night, it's just a rerun to me. And if he decides to never talk about it ever, that's his right.

 

The better question is why Bartman is even mentioned at all, and why Alex Gonzalez isn't treated like Bill Buckner.