Barry Bonds - Mixed Emotions Over the Homerun Record

So Barry Bonds hit his 756th homerun late Tuesday night on August 7th, 2007. How do you feel about this? Are you excited to see such a great record broken? Are you aggravated because it was Bonds who did it? For most people the answer is likely both.

Bud Selig called Bonds afterwards. Hank Aaron had a message on the big screen in the outfield. Neither seems too excited for Bonds. The fans cheered, but some booed. So why was there so many contradicting emotions? Are we truly upset that Bonds broke the record when we believe he used steroids? When Bonds broke the single season record by knocking 73 homeruns out, there wasn"t such an outcry about steroids so we didn"t complain so much then, but still some people complained. There was no real outcry when McGuire hit 70 a few years earlier. In fact people were more excited for McGuire than they were for Bonds. As much as we hate the steroids issue, it is not the steroids that causes so many people to be angry with Bonds breaking the record, or even not care about it. What really gets to many of the fans is Bonds disposition throughout his career.

Bonds has never been one to embrace the fans. He has had multiple issues with the media. As his career has moved along, he has turned many of the media and the fans against him with his sour attitude. It was his angry disposition that has turned the realm of baseball against him and rather than embrace him for breaking the record, many have become irritated with it instead.

Sure, if Bonds had been the cheerful sort all along, there would still be those who would complain and want an asterisk next to the record. If he would have embraced the fans from the beginning, there would still be those who would boo at him when he broke the record. However, there would have been many, many less anti-Bonds fans. Selig would have been in attendance and clapped. Aaron would have been there to cheer him on. As McGuire had saved baseball with his record breaking season while he was on steroids, the fans loved him and the fans would have done the same for Bonds if he hadn"t turned them against him.

As I have mentioned already. There would still be fans who would boo him, but let"s face the facts. The fans love the homerun! For the homerun, the fans will forgive a lot. Those same fans are a vengeful lot though, and if you turn them against you, nothing will be forgiven. Bonds second greatest mistake was to turn to steroids. (allegedly!) wink wink! Bonds greatest mistake of them all though, was to turn the media and fans against him though the years.

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