Fallen Heroes
Spring training is here, and I can't seem to make myself care. The current Congressional hearings will do nothing to improve that. They plainly illustrate one thing: it is high time baseball (and perhaps all sports) looked itself in the mirror and realize how ugly it has become. It is also time for us to realize we may be part of the problem.
In 1998, I rooted for Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, like most of us here. It was (or so we thought) good, clean fun provided by two "good guys" and at the same time, it was rewriting baseball history. Should we have known back then that the ink the pen was using was tainted? Probably. One look at Mark McGwire should have been enough to tell us that you don't develop such a physique without the help of substances. But you know what? Boy, he was banging those homers and keeping us entertained. Same with Sosa. In addition, he really did seem like a good guy (and probably was, too): he was loyal to the Cardinals when he could have made more elsewhere; he sounded so humble as he was breaking two historical records; he obviously loved his kid.
All of this made his "performance" yesterday all the more pathetic. I still believe the man is fundamentally good even if the athlete was flawed. But he is making all the wrong choices by listening to his lawyers rather than his heart. His career is over, so that is not at risk. An admission of guilt would not cancel out the millions of dollars he has in the bank. The only thing at risk is his induction in the Hall of Fame, which as it is, is unlikely at best. What is also at risk is the health and lives of many kids who think it is OK to take steroids because he did. And for this, I can't forgive his lack of spine in front of Congress. It is clearly eating him up and will forever if he doesn't change course.
Unforgivable too, is Bud Selig, with his claim that MLB doesn't have a major problem with steroid use. You can see "damage control" all over his face. You can see him compute how many dollars could be lost if this whole thing blows wide open.
Finally, let's not forget to look at ourselves. While we cast the first stone, let's ask ourselves if we are willing to go back to a game in which athletes don't use enhancers but less records are broken and less homers bashed over the fence? Because if we don't, the flaw in the system will be perpetuated. Perhaps more than any other sport, Baseball has become a circus that stars spoiled young men who have no regard for the fans, for the sport nor sometimes for themselves. The Alex Rodriguez quote that he is "more interested in watching Oprah then the hearings" is a sad proof of it. The fact that Barry Bonds is not made to testify is another.
It is time athletes were made accountable. But, to be fair, it is time for owners and league officials, who think more bottom line and close their eyes, to be held to the same standard. And finally, it is time for us, the fans, to become again worthy of the respect that many athletes have lost for us.
In 1998, I rooted for Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, like most of us here. It was (or so we thought) good, clean fun provided by two "good guys" and at the same time, it was rewriting baseball history. Should we have known back then that the ink the pen was using was tainted? Probably. One look at Mark McGwire should have been enough to tell us that you don't develop such a physique without the help of substances. But you know what? Boy, he was banging those homers and keeping us entertained. Same with Sosa. In addition, he really did seem like a good guy (and probably was, too): he was loyal to the Cardinals when he could have made more elsewhere; he sounded so humble as he was breaking two historical records; he obviously loved his kid.
All of this made his "performance" yesterday all the more pathetic. I still believe the man is fundamentally good even if the athlete was flawed. But he is making all the wrong choices by listening to his lawyers rather than his heart. His career is over, so that is not at risk. An admission of guilt would not cancel out the millions of dollars he has in the bank. The only thing at risk is his induction in the Hall of Fame, which as it is, is unlikely at best. What is also at risk is the health and lives of many kids who think it is OK to take steroids because he did. And for this, I can't forgive his lack of spine in front of Congress. It is clearly eating him up and will forever if he doesn't change course.
Unforgivable too, is Bud Selig, with his claim that MLB doesn't have a major problem with steroid use. You can see "damage control" all over his face. You can see him compute how many dollars could be lost if this whole thing blows wide open.
Finally, let's not forget to look at ourselves. While we cast the first stone, let's ask ourselves if we are willing to go back to a game in which athletes don't use enhancers but less records are broken and less homers bashed over the fence? Because if we don't, the flaw in the system will be perpetuated. Perhaps more than any other sport, Baseball has become a circus that stars spoiled young men who have no regard for the fans, for the sport nor sometimes for themselves. The Alex Rodriguez quote that he is "more interested in watching Oprah then the hearings" is a sad proof of it. The fact that Barry Bonds is not made to testify is another.
It is time athletes were made accountable. But, to be fair, it is time for owners and league officials, who think more bottom line and close their eyes, to be held to the same standard. And finally, it is time for us, the fans, to become again worthy of the respect that many athletes have lost for us.