'Loyal' Fans Attack 'Lovable Losers'

The Chicago Tribune deprived readers Tuesday of dramatic photos of Cub fan Brent Kowalkoski charging Bobby Howry on the mound at Wrigley. The Sun-Times ran a pair of the photos of Kowalkoski being tackled and cuffed by Cubs security at the edge of the mound. We had to wait a day to see a photo in the Tribune.

If the same incident had occurred at U.S. Cellular Field, the Tribune certainly would have displayed the photo right away and prominently. In fact, when a woman ran onto the field after a Sox game in May, the Tribune used a photo of the incident as the lead photo on their online sports page. The Tribune identified the woman as a Sox fan, even though she wasn't wearing any Sox gear, while Tribune reporter Paul Sullivan was very careful to identify Kowalkoski not as a Cubs fan, but as a fan "wearing a souvenir Cubs jersey." (Sullivan probably figures he was a Sox fan in disguise.)

On the bright side, this incident briefly reminded our local media of the Cub fan who attacked Cub pitcher Randy Myers on the mound in 1995. The Tribune had miraculously forgotten all about that incident during its coverage of two, count 'em two, fan-on-field incidents at the Cell earlier this decade. Here's a 2004 letter to the editor by Sox fan John McHugh trying to remind the Tribune of its Cubbie history:

It's unfortunate that Paul Sullivan's otherwise nice story about Cubs and Sox wives playing softball for charity (Tribune, July 1) served to reinforce a stereotype about U.S. Cellular Field. A Cub wife said that a brawl wouldn't occur because "We're at Wrigley . . . Those things don't happen over here."

Sullivan missed a great opportunity to remedy her misperception. He should have mentioned the Cubs fan who attacked his own team's relief pitcher, Randy Myers, a few years back. He should have recalled the Dodgers racing into the stands after abusive Wrigley fans. Has he forgotten the terrible incident after a ballgame earlier in the season? That tragedy took place on Addison Street, not 35th.

The tragedy McHugh refers to was a murder. We also noticed Cub fans throwing beer at Rockies' outfielders during last night's game. And we'll remind you again of the Tribune coverup of a Cub fan hurling a fast ball at Jacque Jones' head last year. The fact is, fan-on-field incidents occur more often at Wrigley. For some reason, those famously loyal Cub fans tend to attack their own lovable players, and they enjoy the privilege of having their deeds downplayed by the city's largest daily.