I love being wrong.
On August 15th, I wondered, prophetically, how the baseball world would react if Rick Ankiel were found to be on steroids. At the time, I figured I’d be fine with it—that Ankiel’s cheating would be evidence of his humanness, and proof of that inevitable longing which makes Us who We are.
But that’s not how it is.
On Friday, Rick Ankiel got busted for HGH—and I’m nowhere near fine with it.
In fact, I’m thrilled.
Initial public reaction to the Ankiel story was predictably apoplectic. In St. Louis, the people donned sackcloth and beat their breasts. In Bristol, Buster Olney wept openly over his laptop. At water coolers around the country, hollow-eyed baseball fans wondered how they could ever possibly go on.
- B/R Ticket Guide
And then Saturday rolled around.
And We were all still all right.
And hopefully—hopefully—a few of us managed to pick up on the lesson that was there for the learning.
There are some diseases that must be bled from the body politic. I suspect our pathological devotion to professional athletes is one of them. We’re not there yet, of course, but maybe a few more Rick Ankiels—a few more instances of wholly misplaced and utterly forsaken ardor—will finally help us see the writing on the wall.
Faith is a precious thing, Bubba.
It’s best not wasted on grown men in tight pants.
It’s a mistake to believe in baseball, or baseball players. It’s a mistake to believe in much of anything, really—except the act of believing itself, which in my experience is pretty well immune to corruption by HGH scandals. We’re stronger than we know, is my point—more fulfilled, more complete—and if it takes a hundred more feel-good-stories-gone-sour to jar us into recognizing it, we’ll at least be able to thank Rick Ankiel for getting the ball rolling.
Baby steps, Bubba.
The best we can do is baby steps.
In the meantime, we’ll have to settle for only just saying, is all...
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about 1 year ago
I never thought I'd say it, but sometimes you make too much sense Alberti.
about 1 year ago
If there's one thing we -- people, sports fans -- are, it is resilient; in a summer that's seen so many bad things happen, particularly in the world of sports -- 756, Tim Donaghy, Michael Vick, and now, Bill Belicheat -- we've almost had to be.
Despite the aforementioned though, we've all come back to sports. We've all tuned back into ESPN. We've all continued on reading our issues of SI. That alone says something of us.
Does it show that we're getting desensitized toward all of the negativity? Maybe. But more so than anything else, I think it simply showcases how we have the power to keep on coming back.
about 1 year ago
Steve brings up a great point. I ask myself, why am I still such an avid fan of sport, when several of the athletes who are idols to thousands and thousands of fans turn out to be cheaters or plain evil men?
Next to Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick was my favorite player. I had his jersey and wore it around all of the time. I stayed glued to the television any time Vick was playing. I didn't idolize him, but I thought he was freaking awesome. Then, the allegations come out about dogfighting and rather than being heartbroken that one of my favorites is an aforementioned evil/stupid man, my biggest concern was that the jersey was now worth next to nothing on ebay.
I think I'm desensitized toward all the negativity. There's been so much, but I still believe it's the individuals at fault in isolated situations, not the group. The core of the NFL, NBA and MLB remain intact. I guess I'll just have to deal with the occasional hiccup - such as Jay Gibbons taking HGH - and keep on watching for entertainment.
about 1 year ago
Yup, you're right -- It's individuals in isolated situations, not the group. Though it's still sad to see even one person screw up as bad as any of the aforementioned have -- Donaghy, Vick, etc -- it's still nice to know that, most likely, the core of what we know and love isn't wholly corrupt. That's part of what makes it easier to come back at all.
3 months ago
Lovely editorial Mr. Editor, loved the 'it's a mistake to believe in anything, except the act of believing itself' bit cause you are so right on the dot.
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