I am in Florida visiting family so I watched today’s Cubs game on WGN. It seems as though a fan, leaped out of the bleachers, ran onto the outfield and got tackled by security in center field. WGN refused to provide any footage of the incident so I desperately went online to find out the details. So far, I only got this “news breaking” information from
Now, of course, I do not condone this type of disruption to the game, and I realize the fact that MLB does not want to promote this fan behavior through the media but come on…let’s also be honest: this nonsense is extremely entertaining. In fact, in Latin America, it is not uncommon to see a crazed fan run onto the field and kiss the players to the fanfare of the crowd. I saw it at the Pan America games during the Women’s Soccer Final. Insane, fun and in good nature.

In the American context, I am not sure this translates. Here, everyone wants their five minutes of fame. This feeling is certainly exacerbated with a few beers and some bleacher bums egging you on. This could cause quite a bit of overzealous fanatics making a run for it in the middle of an inning.

All pitfalls considered, certainly, we fans, are missing out with this type of sports censorship… the chance to see an idiot get chased, tackled and beaten on the field in front of 40,000 fans. If that isn’t sport, I don’t know what is.

So, in the absence of any footage or snap shots of the true event, I leave you with a picture of some random idiot getting his moment in the sun. Enjoy and if anyone finds the real picture from today’s game, send it my way.