 |
|
In Bay Area, Barry Bonds remains a giant
Hometown fans are often more tolerant of an athlete whose alleged behavior on or off the field has drawn the ire of others.
By Ben Arnoldy | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorand Erik Spanberg | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the June 1, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 4
This town still hearts Barry Bonds. Outside the San Francisco city limits, the slugger's quest to surpass the record for career homeruns – currently held by Hank Aaron – is viewed with skepticism, if not derision. But here, the steroid allegations, the surly reputation – all that noise can be muted with the crack of a bat.
Just ask Gary Faselli. For the past two years, he has spent most Giants home games in the 55 degree water of San Francisco Bay, sitting in a kayak waiting for the slugger to whack one into the drink. "I think he's great. I don't think any of this talk that's going around really has much to do with where he's at now," says Mr. Faselli. He fended off a kayak scrum to scoop up Bonds's 738th home-run ball in April.
Residents of any city outside the Bay Area might shake their heads at this kind of devotion to Bonds. However, as so often happens in sports, hometown fans are often more tolerant or forgiving of athletes whose alleged behavior on or off the field has drawn the ire of others.
The steroid allegations against Bonds haven't led to official sanctions, meaning #25 can still count on the timeless, ahem, bonds formed between hometown fans and star athletes.
"People are not objective about their own players," says Ed Hirt, a psychology professor at Indiana University who often studies sports issues. "They excuse behavior or minimize it depending on the circumstances."
The circumstances can usually be boiled down to this: Can he help us win? If so, almost anything can be forgiven – short, perhaps, of an escape run in a white Ford Bronco.
"I always thought San Francisco was a pretty sophisticated city," says veteran Sports Illustrated writer Frank Deford. "I guess this proves they're just like anyone else."
Some Bay Area fans concede as much.
RSS feed