"BARTMAN" the created Villian of the Media

In 2003, a man named Steve Bartman became one of the most imfamous people in sports history without ever playing a professional sport. During the 6th inning of a Major League Baseball game (Chicago Cubs versus Florida Marlins) Bartman subconsciously reacted to a foul ball heading his way. However, his interference with the play prevented the Cubs outfeilder to make the play and potentially win the game. As the game carried on, the Cubs began to slowly pull away from winning, almost as if that play alone had cursed them for the rest of the game. Bartman had recieved an excessive amout of abuse, with people cursing at him and throwing food at him as well. Although this was only one mistake, the media quickly popularized it into a sports "scandal".

The media is excellent a making one person a super star. Whether he or she is positively viewed or not, it seems to not serve as important. If this is the case, a person can become a star or an enemy for just about anything and can be known world wide for just the smallest incident. Pertaining to Bartman, the media had no mercy. The critisism news and sports networks gave him was primarily negative and mean. As a result, Bartman's life turned around quickly as he grew as a public enemy. The need for body gaurds and protection against angry Cubs fans was ultimately necessary as Bartman recieved numerous threats to his life. It's unbelievable how people can take such a small incident so seriously and explode negative energy to one person. It's also interesting how the media can feed off of it just to create a spark in our culture.