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Meet the guy who's sitting in Steve Bartman's seat for Game 6

Bryan, 38, found himself sitting in the seat Steve Bartman made famous 13 years ago. (Kevin Kaduk/Yahoo Sports)
Bryan, 38, found himself sitting in the seat Steve Bartman made famous 13 years ago. (Kevin Kaduk/Yahoo Sports)

CHICAGO — By the time the ticketholder for Aisle 4, Row 8, Seat 113 showed up to his seat at Wrigley Field on Saturday, there was a small media contingent waiting for him.

Six reporters and one photographer, to be precise.

The ticketholder gave his first name as Bryan but said he preferred not to give his last. He’s 38 and was there with his wife after securing a babysitter for their eight-month-old baby.

Asked if he knew what he was in for, Bryan just laughed.

“I was made aware, yes,” he said, also declining to how he acquired the tickets.

Bryan’s seat, after all, has become somewhat of a ballpark attraction after Steve Bartman became infamous for getting tangled up with Moises Alou during the eighth inning of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. With Saturday’s contest being the first NLCS Game 6 since that night, there was a natural curiosity to see who’d be sitting there.

Bryan said he had no plans to go after a souvenir, much less open the floodgates for the type of eight-running inning that the Florida Marlins used to slingshot their way past the Cubs in Games 6 and 7 of that 2003 World Series.

“I’m just excited to be here,” Bryan said. “I’m excited for tonight.”

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Bryan’s path to Cubs fandom was a typical one. A native of Michigan, he had just moved to Chicago in 2003 and remembers watching Game 6 and the fallout. Over the course of the next decade, he naturally gravitated towards the Cubs and their North Side ballpark.

One nearby fan — maybe jokingly, maybe not? — told Bryan not to interfere with any ball hit by the Dodgers “or else.” Nancy Mazzone, another fan sitting along the left field, gave better feedback.

“I sat in the seat when I got here,” Mazzone said. “I only felt good vibes. No bad ones tonight.”