Last night was a great night for the Cubs, and an absolutely terrible one, as well. The good: The bullpen gave up a stunning six runs to the Rockies in the ninth inning, going from a cozy 8-3 cushion to suddenly trailing 9-8. But then Rockies second baseman Kaz Matsui turned in his first error of the year in the bottom of the frame, $136 million man Alfonso Soriano came up with a huge two-run single, and Cubs win.
And yet, Cubs lose. Here’s why: After de facto closer Bob Howry gave up a three-run homer to feather-hitting, punk-ass shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (I mean, seriously—look at this picture), asshat Cubs fan Brent Kowalkoski rushed the mound, apparently screaming, “What are you doing?” at Howry. Thankfully, a Wrigley security guard Doug Planked him and within moments Kowalkoski was being led off the field, looking like a frightened little bitch.
So drunk fan does something stupid, security tackles him and leads him away. End of story, right? No. This is bigger than that. This makes me ashamed to be a Cubs fan.
See, here’s the deal: First of all, Kowalkoski looks EXACTLY like the stereotypical classic Cubs fan douchebag, from the sissy-ass flip-flops (duuude!) to the untucked Cubs shirt (riiighteous!) to the Abercrombie & Fitch cargo shorts (bro!) undoubtedly filled with a Blackberry and a Hi-Tops matchbook decorated with the number of a peroxided, pony-tailed, halter-top sporting skank in a pink Cubs hat. But worse, this had been what separates Cubs fans from the Sox fans. Now that the White Sox have won a World Series, decent ballpark etiquette is one of the only things we have over the South Siders.
Admittedly, that’s not much: When Sox fans turn say, “We have a World Series ring!” we used to be able to say, “At least we don’t have be-mulleted fans who rush the field!” Instead, due to the actions of Kowalkoski, we can only say, “Uhh….at least our fans who rush the field are too soft to actually reach their destination and throw a punch!”
So for the love of God, if you’re a Cubs fan, don’t rush the field. Jeebus. Dignity—and a better ballpark—are the only things a Cubs fan can hold onto anymore. Oh, and that recent three-game sweep.
He wasn’t wearing flip flops, he was bare foot.
He was barefoot because he knew he would need to be able to move quickly once on the field. And I don’t think for a second he planned to touch Howry. He just wanted to make the point that giving up runs in the ninth inning like that is unacceptable, and I commend him for his sacrifice to make that point for the rest of us in the stands who legitimately wanted to take a bat to Howry’s skull.
Ok, so he was barefoot. But you know he kicked off the flip-flops before hitting the field.
As for “taking a bat to Howry’s skull,” uhhhh, I commend you for your restraint, good sir.
This guy is a friend of mine. He’s NOT douchebag. I really don’t see what the big deal is here. His intention was never to hurt Howry. He knew he would catch shit for what he was going to do, which is why he had previously made arrangements for bail. What some may deem as a dishonorable act, I applaud. He had to courage to do what others would only talk about doing. And let’s face it, this story is hilarious! It gives him something to tell the grandkids in the future. He had the balls to rush Wrigley Field! I mean it was probably the most exhilarating feeling ever, immediately followed by one of the worst. I wish every one would just leave him alone. He wasn’t trying to look like a bad ass. He was just being funny and may have had a few too many beers. That’s no reason to publicly shame him. He’s a good guy and doesn’t deserve to be degraded like this. I know he may have a few regrets now, but my hope is as time goes by he and everyone else will get over it and see it for what it really is… just another witty drunken night at Wrigley Field.
Janine & Jamie-
Are your middle names Trixie by any chance? Just a hunch.
Janine-
I appreciate you sticking up for your friend. But I have two major objections to what the honorable Mr. Kowalkoski did.
1) There’s a philosophical tenet called the categorical imperative, which states: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” (You can believe that I quoted that at length from my brief stay as a philosophy major—or you can see that you can find this quote at wikipedia.)
No matter. The point is: What if everyone did this? What if everyone said, “Hey, I want to have something funny to tell my grandkids!” What if everyone acted on their anger every time the Cubs blew a game? Christ, LaTroy Hawkins would have been at the bottom of a huge melee every game.
2) You had me saying, “Ok, maybe….but not really…. but mayyyyybe….” until the very end. No, it’s not “just another witty drunken night at Wrigley Field.” First of all, there’s nothing witty about it. Seriously, that’s really not witty. But secondly, excusing this chucklehead by saying “oh well, everyone at Wrigley gets drunk!” is EXACTLY the stereotype everyone has of Cubs games. And I’m really sick of it. I’ve been going to Cubs games since 1973, and sure, I’ve had a few beers there. But I’ve never felt the urge to rush the field. And that was the point of my blog entry: Everyone slams Cubs fans for being drunken frat boys. Your friend proved that exact point. Not cool.
“But I’ve never felt the urge to rush the field. And that was the point of my blog ” Thats a good point maybe a lot of people dont feel the urge to rush the field, but dont completely bash him and what he was wearing and what u think his character is because he did it, u dont know him or what kind of person he is, i think that shit u wrote was 100% ignorant. U can disagree with what he did all ya want. But i know this kid and he is one funny bastard and he just took that to another level and i think it was a classic moment that is part of history, noones done that shit since 1995.
Oh and why the hell are u talkin about the stereotypical cubs fan douchebags when u claim to be a cubs fan goin to games since 1973, ya fukin hypocrite.
Point taken. I’m not condoning his behavior. Yes it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. But I don’t think he should have to go to jail because of it. From what I hear authorities are looking to charge him with the maximum. There are bigger battles to be fought in the world. Brent didn’t hurt anyone but himself by doing what he did. As for the Cub fans crying about how this hurts their image and how it plays into the frat boy stereotype… well to tell you the truth, every time I go to a cubs game that’s all I see are drunken frat boys. Everyone is to blame for the Cubs fan image. It’s not fair to use Brent as a scapegoat. Don’t act like you got him pegged. He is anything but a drunken frat boy. Frat boys are the ones who brag about what they would have done. They’d never have the balls to actually do it. All talk no action. That is what I previously meant by honorable. Also, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about anyone attempting what Brent did, or this behavior evolving into the norm because hopefully people learn from the lesson. It’s just not worth it. Besides, most people flat out wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I just feel bad for him because I don’t think he realized what a big deal would be made out of it. He wasn’t trying to upset anyone. He was just being his silly self as usual and took it a little too far. What gets me is he didn’t hurt nor have the intent to hurt anyone. We all make mistakes and when alcohol is added to the mix it just makes things worse. But Brent wasn’t acting out in a violent manner. He was goofing around. Yes he shouldn’t have done it, but I’ll be damned if the public makes him out to be some kind of criminal. Hopefully this will all blow over in the next few days. I understand why people are pissed about what he did. Brent made a mistake, which he will accept responsibility for. I just don’t want him to get into that much trouble. I mean, I think the public humiliation is more than enough. He’s a good guy who did something harmless and stupid. We’ve all made mistakes like this, but fortunately for us there weren’t cameras and thousands of fans were there to witness it.
“He knew he would catch shit for what he was going to do, which is why he had previously made arrangements for bail. ”
I’m a Sox fan. We know a little bit about rushing the field during a game. And based on this comment, this isn’t a “mistake” that he made. He planned ahead for this, knowing the consequences. And I think if you do something, knowing what might happen if you do, you don’t get to look for sympathy afterwards unless you were doing something for the greater good. I’m pretty sure rushing the mound at a ball game doesn’t qualify. This isn’t exactly protesting in the streets for civil rights legislation.
“This isn’t exactly protesting in the streets for civil rights legislation. ”
TRUE, but it was a protest to get a MAJOR LEAGUE bullpen instead of that bush league shit us northsiders have to put up with and watch blow games 1 after another, they were just lucky enough to get the win in the bottom of the 9th that night. More people need to protest this shit so we can get some talent and a chance to win.
Um he’s not looking for sympathy. No one said he was. We just think people are making a bigger deal out of it than it really is. And it wasn’t like it was all planned out. It was one of those, “If I do this will you bail me out,” kinda things. It was spurt of the moment. I was using it to prove my point that he had no intention to hurt anyone. He just wanted to rush the feild. BFD! Get over it and leave him alone.
Janine-
Again, I appreciate your sentiments and your desire to defend your friend. But my thought still stands: if everyone did this because they wanted to prove a point, or have a story to tell their grandkids, they’d have to install a turnstyle to get onto the field. There are other ways to get yourself known, or make a point.
Also, I wanted to address your point that, “every time I go to a cubs game that’s all I see are drunken frat boys.” Well, you’re not looking around much. You’re not seeing my friend Burt, who brings his three young sons to several games a year. You didn’t see me there with my wife, the day we got married. You’re not seeing older, civilized fans who have been going to games since Ernie Banks was a rookie. I think you need to look around a little more. Sure, there’s that element, but there are 39,000 people there every day—not all of them are shirtless mopes with Sigma Chi tatts.
Blauwwwww— Rushing the field isn’t protesting. It’s an adolescent way of trying to get attention that might well get your friend in jail. So you’re saying MORE people need to rush the field? Ye gods. Protest by not going to the games, or writing a letter to Jim Hendry, or writing for the Heckler (although given your grammar, I think that might be a longshot). But come on, man, you’re still defending this because the Cubs are bad? Save your money and stay home, then.
I’m sure there are civilized people that go to the games. But the amount of drunkards that attend are impossible to overlook. I also understand your point about what if everyone did this because it would raise a great deal of issues. But Brent didn’t do this so he’d have a story to tell his grandkids, or to protest or anything like that. He just did something stupid. End of story. So I don’t think the whole “what if” argument is relatable. We can sit around and ask ourselves what if this and what if that all day. That doesn’t have anything to do with what happened. Brent made a mistake, yes. But should he go to jail for it, no. The punishment should fit the crime. Pay a fine, yes. Community service, sure. Maybe make him clean up the ball park. But to put him away for rushing the field! Come on! That’s ridiculous. He was a drunk kid who got carried away with the excitement of the game. There are greater evils in the world.
Janine-
Sure, there are definitely greater evils in the world. But I’m guessing they want to set a deterrent here, to keep others from doing following suit. And if Brent simply gets a slap on the wrist, there’s not much to keep someone else from rushing onto the field—and the next guy’s intentions might not be as benign. So I appreciate that Brent didn’t try to take a swing at Howry (probably a good idea for several reasons). But it seems the city might want to make an example of him, and I’m thinking he might want to prepare for that…
The man posed a direct threat to players on the playing field, whether or not his “intention” was just to have a good time. One would have to be clairvoyant or otherwise supernatural in order to KNOW what “Dude” had in mind when he rushed the field.
Joel has a point: What if everyone just did what they wanted to do? Isn’t that the exact definition of chaos? What would be the point of having a society? Bad example: “I feel like throwing this bottle.” “What if it hits someone?” “Who cares, I’ll at least have a good time.”
I guess it doesn’t matter. Not many people seem to be defending him, and it’s not like this guy’s support is bringing out the big-guns anyway. between J and J’s “whatever statements I can make just so it fits my argument” and Blauwwww’s ridculously scripted messages, I don’t see people being swayed on the “He’s a good guy!” claims.
I’m not here to convince anyone to think the way I do. You’d have to know Brent to understand. And throwing a bottle and running on a baseball field are not similar actions. When it comes to the law, it all should boil down to intent. Brent was not going to hurt anyone. It’s not fair to make an example of him. If the powers that be are worried about it happening again then maybe they should increase security measures or have some kind of alcohol limit. Brent didn’t make it all the way to the mound, but he made it pretty close. If security was as tight as it should be, he never would have made it that far. Protection should be provided all around… for the players, the crew and the fans. Unfortunately, sometimes people even need protection from them selves. I mean, it’s not like something like this wasn’t bound to happen eventually. Put thousands of people in a stadium when it’s hot out. They are drinking and watching an intense game. Precautions should have been made beforehand. I mean, yeah what he did was wrong, but no one was injured, except for maybe him. So I don’t think it’s right for them to hit him with the maximum penalty.
I don’t think that he had any intention of hurting anyone. At all. But the idea is that if the city gives him a slap on the wrist, other people might think that it’s ok to rush the field. The city wants to set an example of, “this is what will happen even if you don’t strike/hit/slap anyone.” The city probably sees that he had no intent, but the last thing they want is for something like this to happen again and for someone to get injured. You have to see that. I understand your argument; legally, he didn’t hit anyone, let alone get to the mound. But the city has every right to press full charges, just as much as he has every right to make an appeal. It is illegal to enter the playing field, and the law is so loose that it lends itself to being exploited by the city to make their point, this case in particular.
Janine, I see your point about your friend not deserving the maximum penalty. I have no reason to doubt your claim that he didn’t intend to hurt anyone, and you’re correct in asserting that no one (except possibly him) got hurt.
But I take issue with two points in your most recent point. The first is that it should “all boil down to intent.” Our criminal justice system has many layers of mitigating and exacerbating factors when doling out punishment, only one of which is intent or motive. In cases of public endangerment, clear precedent has been set that intent can matter very little — I doubt most drivers convicted of DUI after accidents, people who accidentally discharge firearms into family members, or business owners who don’t adhere to proper fire codes and then have customers get injured in blazes actually set about the course of action with the intent to hurt anyone. However, negligent acts are as demonstrably punishable in a court of law as ones of willful recklessness.
So, was running on to the field an act of public endangerment? Reasonable people could disagree here. You may assert that no one was hurt, he didn’t actually want to slug Howry, etc. But by your own admission, Wrigley is a charged, drunken atmosphere; what if his action inspired others to jump the fence and rush the field? What if he had managed to escape security, scramble back into the crowd, and bowl over or trample a couple people while trying to get out of the stadium? What if he had to be restrained near the crowd, and security had to deploy pepper spray or some other restraining device near innocent fans? One could argue that any of these forseeable consequences could indeed cause a threat to public safety.
The second issue I have with your post is that the situation is not Brent’s responsibility. You ask for alcohol limits, extra security to keep him from getting closer to the mound, and assert that “precautions” should have been made beforehand — that it is the park’s responsibility to protect people from themselves. Brent made the pre-meditated decision to jump the fence, as evidenced by his bail arrangements. He made the decision to liqour up to the point where he was inebriated enough to have the courage to run out there. Millions of fans have sat in the same stands with the same conditions (available alcohol, current security levels) and NOT needed protection from themselves to keep from running out there. Brent is not being made “an example of.” He is being punished for behavior that was an exception to the rules that all other ticketholders have had no problem following.
J, J & B.-
You’re friend is screwed.
From the Tribune’s Chicagosports.com,
“A Hawthorn Woods man who ran onto Wrigley Field during a Cubs game June 1 was charged Thursday with a felony, Cook County prosecutors said. Kevin Kleine, 22, of the 0-100 block of Thornfield Lane was charged with a criminal trespass to a public place of amusement in the incident. Kleine previously had faced lesser charges of trespassing and possession of cannabis, said Andy Conklin, spokesman for State’s Atty. Richard Devine.”
Felony Trespass. Precedent has officially been set.
Jaycey,
First off thank you for understanding where I’m coming from regarding Brent not deserving the maximum penalty.
However, the instances you used as examples where there was no intent to harm all resulted in someone’s injury. With Brent no one but him was hurt. That’s my point. And everyone keeps playing the “what if” card. Judgments should be made on what happened, not what could have happen.
Also, I think everyone misunderstood me when I mentioned the bail thing. This wasn’t a premeditated act. A friend had called to offer him bail. The reason I brought it up and my fault for not making this clearer is that Brent was not going to rush the mound to hurt anyone. If he was, none of us would be coming to his aid. I’m not saying he shouldn’t be punished. I just think that there are a lot of things to be considered before condemning him. Charging him with the maximum should not be the way for authorities to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. That’s ridiculous. It won’t work first of all. Does the death penalty keep people from killing? NO! So, why ruin Brent’s life and charge him with a felony? No good will come of it. It won’t change anything.
And Matt,
That guy also had an illegal substance on him, which I’m sure had some barring on the decision to make it a felony. There’s still hope yet.
I think I’ve stated my case enough. Brent, you have my support and prayers.
Brent Kowalkowski is an idiot. Period. You play, you pay. I hope he gets the max penalty and I hope the next time some suburbanite that gets their dad’s tickets and drives their dad’s car to the game and acts like an idiot they think twice before running on the field. Night games at Wrigley have turned into amatuer nights.
patrick-
Get a clue
“He knew he would catch shit for what he was going to do, which is why he had previously made arrangements for bail”
“And it wasn’t like it was all planned out. It was one of those, “If I do this will you bail me out,” kinda things.”
“Also, I think everyone misunderstood me when I mentioned the bail thing. This wasn’t a premeditated act. A friend had called to offer him bail.”
****
“Point taken. I’m not condoning his behavior.”
“He was just being funny and may have had a few too many beers. That’s no reason to publicly shame him.”
****
Sorry Janine, there’s a lot about your posts that doesn’t make sense. Those quotes were just a few.
I think it’s pretty rediculus that Joel Reese has to slander the shit out of the White Sox fans. Who cares if we all have mullets? Don’t you have anything better to write about? I can’t believe that everyone continues to dwell on one moron, who, yes, IS a “classic cubs fan douche bag.” And Reese, you really should be ashamed to be a Cubs fan anyways. At least the only thing Sox fans have to worry about is greasy, jerry-curl mullets (it’s a shame you can’t embrace them) and not the kind of fans you described that show up at your ball park.