(Editor’s Note—you will have noticed by now, we are sure, our fondness for aster**ks)
For all the negative press Barry Bonds has received over the course of the year, we would like to counter by giving the guy some credit—he succeeded within the confines of the system, and persevered through it all. If he was allowed to do what he appears to have done, isn’t the system itself to blame? The closest analogy we can make is to Bill Gates and Microsoft—his/their use of predatory market tactics, intimidation, and manipulation got him/them where they are today, and now he’s saving babies in Africa.
In the end, we can’t help but feel that there is a bit of a racist element here. For all the praise heaped on Hank Aaron these days, one can’t forget all the threats and hate mail he received back in his day, and the subtler disclaimers to games played (compared to the Great Bambino) that we even found ourselves making. We felt this in an even subtler form when Mark McGwire came off as the popular favorite when battling Sammy Sosa for the single-season crown back in 1998. And remember, McGwire not only had the muscles and overgrown head, but the acne too.
In a way, Bonds is the manifestation of the “big black negro” that the insecure white man has always subconsciously feared will ravage his women, rendering his respective “tools” and “skills” worthless; only this time, he has not only been bred for the task, but also chemically enhanced to take it to the next level.
It should be remembered, though, as it was once explained to me, that steroids “turn your grapes into raisins.”
Upon further reflection, perhaps our sentiments are merely a reaction to the insinuation that the only way a post-35 year old can perform significant athletic feats is through the use of such chemical “enhancers”… we aren’t quite ready to face that fact yet.
