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We don't care about the game, we just want Barry

September 16, 2005 ~ 12:51 a.m.

Until I read this excellent piece by sports columnist Dan Wetzel, I�d always thought that New York Yankees fans were the most foolish�or to be nice, most na�ve�fans in baseball. And, to be sure, Yankees fans have tolerated the likes of Darryl Strawberry, convicted felon, and Jason Giambi, who shoots more than the sky.

But, not even Yankees fans have yet displayed the monumental stupidity that San Francisco Giants fans have. It is inconceivable that any �star� can pump himself full of steroids, lie about it, and be welcomed back by the home crowd simply because he is at least one guaranteed home run for every home game.

Yankees fans may have given Jason Giambi, another BALCO client, a bigger round of applause than the classy Derek Jeter on Opening Day, but this is wilful ignorance. To cheer the return of Barry Bonds is impudence.

There�s a reason why steroids are illegal. �Roid rage, anyone? But even if they weren�t, there is no place for drugs of any kind in professional sports. None. These guys get paid inordinate sums of money to play the same game at 25 that they did at five. The least they could do is to perform on the strength of their natural skill.

It is one thing that some members of the New York Mets (during the 2002 season) may have toked up a bit. To think that marijuana, of all drugs, could lend anything positive to a player�s statistical output is a pipe dream. Smoking cannabis was clearly an extension of college-boy tomfoolery. By no means worthy of overlooking, but excusable.

Steroids are a different matter entirely. The changes they initiate in the body are more negative than positive. And the effect on one�s sociability are stressed to the max. For years now, I have been an advocate for the decriminalisation of soft drugs. Hallucinogens, cocaine, heroin and anabolic steroids, with good reason, are hard drugs for which prohibition may be justified (even if the War on Drugs is a heavy-handed farce).

The biggest issue, however, is that of cheating. If Bonds breaks Hank Aaron�s home run record, it will be a dubious milestone entirely worthy of an asterisk. How come, at their ages, have these men have not learned that cheating is wrong? It is hard for me to believe one word that comes out of Bud Selig�s mouth when druggie liars/cheats like Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi are still allowed to play.

We may not have to worry about Raphael Palmeiro. Baltimore Orioles fans turned on him after he lied about his own steroid use and, if justice is to be served, his Hall of Fame eligibility has been forever revoked. And, with the publication of his book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big, Jose Canseco came clean. Yet, criticizing Bonds in San Francisco can lead to assault with a man-bag.

Can Giants fans really be so callous as to welcome back their �big man� when his continued presence in the game is nothing short of a travesty? How many more exposures of steroid-pumping stars will it take before something gets done about it�and them?

Are Orioles fans the only ones who still care deeply about the game and its sanctity?

� M.E.M.

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