The Culture

American sports presents a dynamic for which I struggle to find a parallel in any avenue of life. There is no other subject matter or topic that captivates the minds and hearts of so many people on complete opposite ends of demographic spectrums.

 

What other medium is there that draws the same attention from an 11-year-old boy in Omaha, Nebraska as a Wall Street Executive in New York, New York?

 

What other medium is there that elicits such passion—love, fear, anger, disappointment—from people who would otherwise have no commonalities?

 

I suppose one could argue religion fits the bill, but that may even be a stretch.

 

With this cult-like following of sports teams and their players from town to town, city to city comes an interesting dynamic.

 

For better or for worse, America is full of people who jump on—and off—bandwagons at the blink of an eye. Note that I didn’t say the majority of American people. I said that people who are fond of jumping on bandwagons are plentiful.

There are fans who don a New York Yankees hat one year, only to switch to a Chicago Cubs hat a few years later.

 

There are fans who have never lived a day in Dallas, Texas but pledge their allegiance to the Cowboys franchise ever since their much heralded run in the 90s. I know a few.

 

Whether bandwagon jumping is a good thing or bad is neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is it happens.

 

But bare in mind, it is not just limited to sports fans. It also encompasses the media—specifically the sports media.

 

As a sports enthusiast, I scour articles from different writers all over the country each and every morning to gain perspective and see what the general consensus is on a variety of topics.

 

I used to take advantage of the internet to get a feel for how a topic or issue is viewed on the Midwest as opposed to the DC Metropolitan area. It was a nice change up. I say this in the past-tense for a reason.

 

As of late, a new trend has emerged in sports journalism. That trend is hopping on the bandwagon. This was never more apparent than in the fiasco of February that was the Alex Rodriguez Steroid Saga.

 

Locked and Loaded: A-Rod

 

When the news first broke that Alex Rodriguez had tested positive for steroids in 2003, I was a little surprised but not taken completely aback. It was, after all, the most tainted era in baseball history. We had seen each of the homerun “kings” fall from grace in the face of allegations. Why would A-Rod be any different?

 

The news of A-Rod’s positive test immediately led the analysts on ESPN, among other sports networks, to go on a 24/7 binge of basically forewarning Rodriguez that he had better come out with the truth and admit his wrong doing or else. Sure enough, Rodriguez scheduled an interview with ESPN’s very own Peter Gammons.

 

What did the media expect from the interview? An admission of guilt and an apology.

 

Rewind to the Past

 

Looking back at Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire, the media got anything but that. They got the following:

 

Bonds—Metaphorically put his finger in the air and gave the media nothing. Lips sealed. Broke the most heralded record in baseball and watched writers and purists cringe.

 

Sosa—Suddenly forgot how to speak English in front of Congress, an insult to everyone involved.

McGwire—Famously, was not in the mood to speak about the past. Cleverly, he neither admitted or lied about using steroids and weaseled his way into retirement and relative obscurity.

 

Back to the Present

 

Based on the previous experiences, one would think that an apology and admission of using a banned substance would suffice for the media.

 

In the Gammons interview, Rodriguez did both. He said he was sorry, called himself stupid, and admitted to using performance enhancing drugs from 2001-2003—a time when there was no penalty for testing positive for the substances.

 

I thought the media had what they wanted. Rodriguez’s career would be tainted, but the end all would be that we move on and get back to 2009 and onward.

 

Wrong.

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