No Asterisks for Me

On August 7th, 2007, at 8:51 p.m. (Pacific Time), during his third at bat, on a 3 and 2 count, Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run, passing the all-time great, Hank Aaron. As I watched the moment (about ten minutes worth of the repeated swing, trot around the bases, and rejoicing), I was struck by two images: one, the shot of Barry sticking his arms in the air as soon as he hit the ball (against a back drop of fans who simultaneously stuck their arms in the air); and the shot of fans who placed asterisks above their heads.

Give me a break, baseball purists: there’s no need for asterisks. No sport has prided itself more on cheating than baseball: from spit balls to corked bats to gambling scandals (from Shoeless Joe to Pete Rose) to, I don’t know, not letting black people in the game. It has more than its share of “unwritten rules” that amount to vigilante justice (see Roger Clemons putting one right between the jersey numbers of Alex Rios because Josh Towers tuned up Alex Rodriguez for his antics many games ago). Players have repeated the mantra that “if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying” and “it’s only cheating if you get caught.” So don’t talk to me about the integrity of the game and the sacrosanct nature of your numbers.

Barry Bonds has become the poster boy of the “steroid era” (by the way, I don’t think race plays a factor in why Barry Bonds has taken so much flak, unless a-hole has become a race). Did Barry Bonds take steroids? To quote Roger Lodge “You might as well ask me if O.J. did it,” because the circumstantial case is fairly conclusive.

Athletes are constantly looking for an edge. Steroids turns average players into pretty good players, pretty good players into all stars, and all stars into hall of famers. We have ‘roided up hitters playing against ‘roided up pitchers. Barry Bonds was a hall of fame bound player still looking for an edge.

For many, the record is tainted. Commissioner Bud Selig has ducked out from the Bonds homerun watch as much as possible pretending that his hands are clean. We want to believe all these athletes perform clean. When we thing about the Hank Aarons and Jackie Robinsons of the game and what all they went through, we feel that Bonds doesn’t deserve it (and certainly doesn’t live up to their legacy).

However, even as a non-baseball fan, I recognize that this is still an important moment with a shadow about it. I applaud the moment if not the person. Spare me any talk about your “hallowed numbers” because if nothing else, your complaints will only last until Alex Rodriguez takes the record from Bonds in the next decade.


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Not As Entertaining

Meet Adam "Pacman" Jones: On the field, a terrific force in the NFL. Fast, great instincts, a nose for the football. Off, a public nuisance — perhaps worse. Slow to see reality, gutless, a nose for trouble. The Titans love the first Pacman. They tolerate the second one. Too bad. Where there's smoke, there is usually a raging inferno named Pacman Jones ... the club owner said [he] came and left with the man who did the shooting.

Whether we want them to be or not, athletes do tend to represent us. They are ambassadors of what we value and how we compete. This speaks to the importance of having character guys on our teams. Yes, we want to win, but we don’t want to win at all costs. Haywood Hale Broun is noted for saying, “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” While sports should be teaching lessons about stronger teamwork or greater self-discipline, instead we get a “me, me, me” attitude, a culture of accommodation, and win at all costs mentality - all driven by money. Rarely is there anything to be appreciated as a “role model” among the athletes.

The Cincinnati Bengals set a record for number of players arrested for off-the-field antics. Closer to home, two Pacers were just indicted for their participation in a bar fight. The Indianapolis Colts running back, Dominic Rhodes, was just arrested on the suspicion of driving under the influence. Coach Tony Dungy said that "It's disappointing. How that's going to impact what we do, we'll have to see down the road. But Dom knows that it's something I'm very disappointed in. But we'll sit down and go through everything and try to sort it out and try to be as supportive as we can.''

In America, we live under the presumption of innocence, and a grand jury indictment does not translate into guilt. However, as mentioned with Pacman, though, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. The Colts have enjoyed a certain amount of a halo effect, in spite of Rhodes' past domestic battery charge; in spite of Nick Harper’s domestic batter charge; and in spite of Mike Doss' gun-firing incident. Like Bobby Knight when he was at Indiana University, we forgive a lot when you’re winning. You start to slide and all of a sudden you are cut a lot less slack.

Frankly, these athletes’ shenanigans embarrasses themselves, the cities they represent, and the game, distracting from what people should be focused on: the sport. The NBA, suffering through sagging ratings and attendance, attempts to rehab its image. Starting with dress codes to stiffer penalties for stepping onto the court to fight, the league wants to shed its “thug league” image. (Though, interestingly enough, the NHL was never characterized as a “thug league” despite the regularity of its on court tussles. That’s probably a blog for another day) . NFL players, protective of the league’s image, are sick of all the press for their stumblings off the field. The players themselves are taking the initiative to push for a “three strikes and you’re out of the league” policy.

Then again, maybe I’m making too big a deal out of all of this. Athletes, like actors or musicians, are entertainers. And as much as we, as a society, love to build people up, we love to tear them down, or at least make popcorn and enjoy their tumble from grace. We are just as entertained by the off-screen antics of our pop culture icons. Celebrities reduced to tabloid fodder, to the point where people can become famous strictly due to their tabloid exploits. Why should athletes be any different. The E in ESPN does stand for entertainment. And we are just as entertained by train wrecks as we are super star performances.


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So Close and Yet So Far

Sports franchises are often the face of the city, which is why it is so important that Indianapolis teams have quality character guys on their teams (memo to the Pacers). A lot of a city’s self-esteem is wrapped up in its sports franchises. We look good on Monday night television, but the Colts need to make it to the Super Bowl.

Do you know what you don’t come to my blog to read? Cogent sports analysis.

Yet here I am, thinking about the Colts and their chances of finally making it to the Promised Land. Do the Colts have a chance to win a Super Bowl this season? Nope, not unless they get some defense. You can make the playoffs with an over-powering offense, but it’s not consistently potent enough to overcome the defense deficiencies come play-off time. Defense wins championships. However, the Super Bowl is the only stage left, big enough, for them. Getting to the Super Bowl certainly matters to Peyton Manning. He needs the big game, not only that, but to play well in that game. Ghosts of Dan Marino will haunt him until he does.

A Super Bowl appearance should certainly matter to Indianapolis. Sports franchises are the public face of a city. It’s one reason why New Orleans is America’s second favorite team right now. We’re rooting for New Orleans vicariously through their team. Some folks make the argument that the teams take on the personalities of the cities, I don’t know if I would go that far. Whether we want them to be or not, they do tend to represent us. They are ambassadors of what we value and how we compete.

This speaks to the importance of having character guys on our teams. Yes, we want to win, but we don’t want to win at all costs. Haywood Hale Broun is noted for saying, “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” While sports should be teaching lessons about stronger teamwork or greater self-discipline, instead we get a “me, me, me” attitude, a culture of accommodation, and win at all costs mentality - all driven by money. Rarely is there anything to be appreciated as a “role model” among the athletes.

We want attention for the right reasons as we try to escape the “what the hell were you doing out at 3 a.m at a strip club anyway?” shadow of the Pacers. The Pacers had a preseason publicity campaign because they knew they were facing a disenfranchised fan base (and worse, possible empty seats). Why? Because we want character guys as well as quality product. So we should appreciate good character guys when we have them, like Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, when we see them. Especially when watching them is watching sports history unfold before us as they are among the best of all time.

I’m strictly a casual sports fan. I don’t live and die by a team (or else the Pacers and Colts would have caused me to slit my wrists years ago). We have a good team, an exciting team to watch. Will it be good enough to make it to the Super Bowl? Nope. Though I’d love to be wrong.


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If you want to make sure that I see your comment or just want to stop by and say hi, feel free to do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.