Originally posted by Niners99:Originally posted by jrg:Originally posted by Niners99:Put yourself in his shoes though. From childhood on his dad told him the media was scum, and wanted to take advantage of you in any way to get a story. He was pre-trained to despise them. And as far as attitude towards fans, a mega superstar in any sport rarely is humble and down to earth. Michael Jordan was no more friendly to fans than Barry Bonds. When people constantly mob you for autographs any time you step outside, its hard to be super fan friendly.
He was better than everyone else, and he knew it. Willie Mays is the same way, but hes just more reserved about it. When he tells his stories for interviews, Mays basically says "yeah, I was better than everyone, i knew it, they knew it, and thats how it was."
Hes percieved by fans and media as cocky and rude, but he never did anything away from the game that reflected poorly on himself. He wasnt out snorting coke or assaulting people.
Like I said, if he played for the Cardinals for 15 years, youd love him. It should tip people off that Giants fans still defend Bonds vehemently, even after the Balco scandal and the perception of what a jerk he was. We know how special of a player he was. Its such a shame that people want to just throw his career out the window because of the steroids. They dont really have a clue how much of his performance and ability was legit outside that.
Trust me, I know. I was rejected of an autograph by Bonds personally.
He wasn't out snorting coke or assaulting people because he was too busy doing steroids.
You have this weird assumption that I just like all Cardinals players. Mark McGwire is a douche as well. Does that help you a little? I'm not a fan of any of those steroid users.
I understand what they did...and am thankful that the McGwire/Sosa season helped baseball tremendously..but doesn't make it right.
Barry Bonds could have been a special player without the steroids.
Aha...it makes sense now. Your opinion of Bonds is a bit biased because of that personal experience, wouldnt you say? What if he was in a great mood that day, signed your autograph, shook your hand and said "thanks for being a fan". You wouldve had a fond memory, and probably been more likely to defend him now.
I remember in 2003 the Giants went to KC to play an interleague series, and during pre-game warmups Bonds jumped over the wall along the 3B line, walked about 10 rows deep, sat down, and started signing autographs for everyone in the section. On that day, every Royals fan in that section of the crowd probably became a Bonds fan, possibly to this day because of that.
Bonds probably had a personality disorder, caused by being treated as better than everyone around you from a young age. He viewed life through a unique perspective. He grew up in Major League dugouts, with Willie Mays as a godparent. Reggie Jackson was his cousin, and he played with the Alomar brothers as kids. Most players grow up as regular people, and become famous later. Bonds was basically told he was special from day 1, and probably didnt even see making the big leagues as anything special, he had to be the best ever. The point is he was an odd person because of it, and didnt know how to come across as a normal person, especially to the media.
I think people miss the point about why Bonds used performance enhancers. He was the best player of his generation, and in order to prove it, he had to even the playing field with everyone else. He was willing to go down that path to prove it, and wasnt going to let other people's steroid use overshadow his career.
Mark McGwire isnt a good comparison here. He was never the same caliber of player Bonds was. He came to STL at age 33, played just 4.5 years there, set the HR record in 1998, and quickly broke down and fizzled out after being caught red handed with a hardcore, blatant anabolic steroid. He hardly had any time to endear himself as a Cards legend. The fanbase he built up with the 70 hr season fell apart shortly after. If Bonds had signed with STL in 1993, accomplished the same things as a Cardinal, and then retired 15 years later in 2007, you would view him as a legend like Pujols. You wouldve grown up with Bonds being your favorite player.
Bonds was a special player before the roids, during the roids, and after the roids. Did he have access to substances that no one else did? Because he was using what hundreds of players were using, yet he was the only one putting up Babe Ruth type numbers. If he had been 100% clean his entire career, he still wouldve been the only player in history with 500 HR and 500 SB. "the cream" and "the clear" shouldnt define his career. Giants fans who followed his entire career up close understand that.
99- you are speaking for us all and you aren't right. Older giant fans don't defend him like that. I think he was an HOF player before the roids, but he took them and f**ked up his integrity, honored statistics, etc. I have no problem with his outcast, regardless if I watched how great he was. Its the younger fans who grew up on Bonds that can't let it go. Ask John, others around 35-45, they will agree with me. He was awesome, but he f**ked up.
