May 7, 2009

Just Manny Being Alex and Jason and Barry and Jose and...

I love baseball. That should be obvious by the fact that I choose to spend almost every day writing about it in some form here, that I'm a grown man with a wife and child who still collects cardboard with baseball players on it, and that I spend every night convincing my wife that American Idol can wait while we watch this important Erick Aybar at bat in the bottom of the sixth of an 8 run game. I love the game and have since as far back as I can remember. And that's why I'm so upset to hear about Manny.

It's not just that I enjoy watching Manny and know that he will now be forever tainted, it's because I love baseball. Everyone I teach with knows I love baseball, all my students know I love baseball and after incidents like this all I hear about is how baseball is ridiculous, everyone's a cheater and it's pointless to follow the sport.

I hate seeing my favorite sport destroyed slowly and ridiculed at every turn. I refuse to believe that baseball players alone have decided to do steroids and that the giant sized football players and others are simply clean athletes doing the right away. It's not even that I want those sports torn down as well, I just wish my sport wasn't taken this hit every few months.

I guess the only solace I can take in this whole thing is that it's very apparent that the team I'm rooting for isn't filled with steroided up freaks. At least I hope they aren't playing this crappy while on the juice. It certainly wouldn't be a very good endorsement for the makers of these substances.

Ehh. Baseball, do me a favor. Stop drug testing, stop naming the cheaters and let me live the life of the ignorant football or basketball fan who gets to gloat about how clean their sport is and how dirty mine is. Why does my sport have to be put above the others? Shawne Merriman is suspended for steroids and he's seen in no different light today than he was before. But Manny, A-Rod, Giambi and the rest will forever be branded as cheaters and ruiners of the game I love.

Go Halos!

2 comments:

  1. Football has no soul. That's what makes baseball different. And it's why people care about who cheats and who doesn't.

    When people stop caring about that stuff in baseball, like they do in football, that's when you should worry.

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  2. I agree with you 100%, but the frustration I've been feeling towards baseball, the media, etc. just makes me want to give up sometimes.

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