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djw  ·  4340 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Are any of you fans of ESPN's 30 for 30 series?

It's about the scapegoating phenomenon in sports, and how momentous events are often pinned to single, discrete moments despite being part of a much larger whole. For example, the Red Sox 1986 World Series loss tends to be blamed on Bill Buckner's error despite numerous other misplays that inning as well as another game being played after it, which the Red Sox also lost.

More centrally, it talks about the Steve Bartman incident, in which a fan interfered with a foul ball and was, at the time, blamed for the Cubs' unraveling and eventual elimination from the playoffs. Here's a video of that play.