Posted By:
Gary B."The guy can't do a 5-second postgame soundbite without coming across as what he is - a monstrous egomaniac."
There's an interesting pheonomeom that seems to be taking place here, but perhaps it's only my own perception. I lost interest in baseball for several years after the strike, and only followed it peripherally. I was brought back to it by the excitement of the McGwire/Sosa event of 98, and I didn't really pay a lot of attention to Bonds until his run for beating the two of them in 2001. I had only heard about the legend of Bonds' unpleasant personality, but I never really got to see it myself. My point here is I think that people form an opinion of someone, and it colors the way they look at anything they say or do from that point onward. I see him do these same soundbites, and I don't see what the person above sees at all. Even when he does have somewhat of an ego about what he does, my God, doesn't he deserve to be proud of what he can do? After all, no one else can do what he can do.
While Bonds might not always be the friendliest of sports heros to the media, is that a reason to detest him so much? I seem to remember McGwire in 98 when he was getting CONSTANT media attention, not always being the nicest and friendliest of guys. He could be quite bristly and off-putting to the press, and no one really seemed to hold that against him. I thought then like some people think about Bonds now, that if he wants to be surly, I could care less - just keep dazzling us with your homers and I'm a happy camper.
I've heard SOME of the historical reasons that people seem to remember as the reason they hate Bonds, but I just don't get it. As far as I'm concerned, if the guy wants some privacy and is a little off-putting to the media in some instances, who really gives a s**t? The way that man plays, I could care less. I don't watch him play baseball and demand that he be a sparkling personality outside of the game as well. I like him because of the way he plays baseball. I think it's just a shame that people can't enjoy his accomplishements, which are truly legendary, without it being effected by how they perceive him, often, as far as I can tell, because they made a decision about him long ago, and are unwilling to ever see him in any other light.