My fellow baseball fans, our long national nightmare is over!
Getty Images Photo by Justin Sullivan ( August 7, 2007)Now we can get back to worrying about the playoffs. And hopefully, the only time I'll have to hear the word steroids is when they are prepping me for another CT scan. For the record, I'm pleased for Barry and for the Giants and their fans. It is appropriate and just that the record was broken in San Francisco where Bonds has been supported throughout this controversy. I am saddened that the controversy overshadowed the accomplishment. Now I hope we can put all this behind us and enjoy the game again.
I realize that the quote I stole from President Ford was about a crisis a bit more important than whether or not Barry cheated. But Barry's record, the history of problems in the Tour de France, and the state of political discourse and just about everything else in the newspaper makes me wonder about the status of truth.
While I was visiting my family last weekend, I made one of the off the cuff , pot-stirring comments that my classmates, if not my family, have come to expect from me. Frequently, I am not sure if my comments actually reflect my opinion, but they usually start some pretty good conversations! In this case, it was:
Since ultimate truth is unknowable, the only thing that matters is what one believes.
So what does all this have to do with baseball? I grew up and continue to be a passionate baseball fan. My favorite player as a kid was Lou Brock. I had posters in my room with pictures of him setting the career stolen base record. Of course, Rickey Henderson would break it a few years later. But if you ask me today who the greatest base stealer of all time was, I'll say Lou Brock! Perhaps this is why I'm not so terribly upset by Barry breaking the record. It'll be broken in a few years. Maybe by A-Rod, maybe by Ryan Howard. What won't change is how people feel about Hank Aaron or whoever else they hold as a hero. And maybe that is a good thing.
I realize that the quote I stole from President Ford was about a crisis a bit more important than whether or not Barry cheated. But Barry's record, the history of problems in the Tour de France, and the state of political discourse and just about everything else in the newspaper makes me wonder about the status of truth.
While I was visiting my family last weekend, I made one of the off the cuff , pot-stirring comments that my classmates, if not my family, have come to expect from me. Frequently, I am not sure if my comments actually reflect my opinion, but they usually start some pretty good conversations! In this case, it was:
Since ultimate truth is unknowable, the only thing that matters is what one believes.
So what does all this have to do with baseball? I grew up and continue to be a passionate baseball fan. My favorite player as a kid was Lou Brock. I had posters in my room with pictures of him setting the career stolen base record. Of course, Rickey Henderson would break it a few years later. But if you ask me today who the greatest base stealer of all time was, I'll say Lou Brock! Perhaps this is why I'm not so terribly upset by Barry breaking the record. It'll be broken in a few years. Maybe by A-Rod, maybe by Ryan Howard. What won't change is how people feel about Hank Aaron or whoever else they hold as a hero. And maybe that is a good thing.
2 comments:
Very well said!!!!!
Here, here! concerning the unknowability of ultimate truth. Probably also apt concerning the unknowability of whether Bonds took steroids or not. :)
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