*
I admit that 756 gave me a huge thrill tonight. I had been sitting on edge for every one of Barry's at-bats since he tied the record last Saturday. I love witnessing sports history.
But my reaction to 756 wasn't about being a witness to history. It was about my transformation from casual SoCal baseball fan to hardcore Giants fan.
I doubt many non-Giants fans had the reaction I had, even the ones who, like me, simply appreciate witnessing sports history, no matter who is making it. There's just too much baggage here to allow for that kind of distant appreciation, the kind I had for Ripken's 2,131, for instance, or Emmitt's 16,727.
Were I not a Giants fan, I'd feel gypped by this whole thing, too, the way most of us feel about McGwire's 70 and Landis' yellow jersey.
Yet I root for Barry without qualification, for reasons I can't articulate, a completely irrational act given the stuff that's out there on him. I'm abjectly complicit in this charade.
It's not like in Minority Report, where if you know your future, then you can change it. I'm fully aware of my irrationality, yet I'm helpless to change it. There I was tonight, whoopin' and hollerin' at the majestic bomb over Triples Alley, hit by a guy who almost certainly took steroids for a few years, and probably knowingly (though that part hasn't been proven).
Clearly, when it comes to their favorite teams, sports fans are the most irrational humans on Earth. Should I feel lucky to be among those who were able to fully celebrate tonight's historic moment, or should I be embarrassed to be among the deluded few who see right through the asterisk?
But my reaction to 756 wasn't about being a witness to history. It was about my transformation from casual SoCal baseball fan to hardcore Giants fan.
I doubt many non-Giants fans had the reaction I had, even the ones who, like me, simply appreciate witnessing sports history, no matter who is making it. There's just too much baggage here to allow for that kind of distant appreciation, the kind I had for Ripken's 2,131, for instance, or Emmitt's 16,727.
Were I not a Giants fan, I'd feel gypped by this whole thing, too, the way most of us feel about McGwire's 70 and Landis' yellow jersey.
Yet I root for Barry without qualification, for reasons I can't articulate, a completely irrational act given the stuff that's out there on him. I'm abjectly complicit in this charade.
It's not like in Minority Report, where if you know your future, then you can change it. I'm fully aware of my irrationality, yet I'm helpless to change it. There I was tonight, whoopin' and hollerin' at the majestic bomb over Triples Alley, hit by a guy who almost certainly took steroids for a few years, and probably knowingly (though that part hasn't been proven).
Clearly, when it comes to their favorite teams, sports fans are the most irrational humans on Earth. Should I feel lucky to be among those who were able to fully celebrate tonight's historic moment, or should I be embarrassed to be among the deluded few who see right through the asterisk?
posted by Chang Kim at Tuesday, August 07, 2007
4 Comments:
Dude, you're a sports fan. Roll with it.
Great picture. I hate him. :)
I mainly hate the fact that he has tainted baseball history...something very sacred in American culture.
And this article only made me even angrier. (LINK)
I don't mind that Barry takes steroids, because obviously none of his teammates do. It just puts the Giants on par with everyone else.
Haha, that's one of the more creative rationales yet.
Interesting though, that you put it in the team perspective, which is almost never discussed in the media. No one talks about tainted playoff results as a result of juicing. They only talk about individual records.
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