Pariah Cubs Fan Not Emerging Even After World Series Win

Chicago has been waiting for him to come out of hiding for more than a decade—but it doesn't look like the man who was blamed for contributing to the Cubs' 2003 National League Championship loss will be out and about anytime soon, even though his team finally won the World Series. Steve Bartman raised his fellow fans' ire during the 2003 playoffs, when he reached out for and deflected a foul ball that Chicago outfielder Moises Alou was going for, per Rolling Stone. The Cubs ended up losing that game and that series, and Bartman became a Chicago pariah, even having to go into hiding.

But even though Wednesday's World Series win should have meant an end to his own curse—Bartman "was just overjoyed that the Cubs won, as all the Cubs fans are," a lawyer who acts as his spokesman told USA Today Sports on Thursday—the once-disgraced fan has no intention of popping champagne bottles and throwing confetti in public. "We don't intend to crash the parade," the spokesman says. "The one thing that Steve and I did talk about was if the Cubs were to win, he did not want to be a distraction to the accomplishments of the players and the organization." (A man watched Game 7 in a cemetery by his father's grave.)