seven•fifty•six

So it's finally here.  We've all waited for it and wondered what our reactions would be.  Mine, well, I got chills through my body.  For a long time, when I thought of Barry Bonds, I used to think of one word... cheater.  But let's really break that down.  Here's basically what happened.

•In 1994 there was a strike that shortened the season.  The Montreal Expos, yes the Expos, were on their way to winning their first World Series. 

•In 1995, nobody wanted to go to games anymore.  What fun is a game where all they really care about is money and are willing to sacrifice the season over it.  Fans don't want to see that.

•Major League Baseball needed a gimmick, quick.  So players started juicing and owners, managers and even the holier than thou Bud Selig turned the other way and allowed this to happen.  By this happening, players started hitting homeruns and fans started showing up.

•Baseball became popular again, so Selig needed a villain.  He started going after the same people he watched and allowed to do steroids to make himself look good.

Why did Selig need to look good?  Because he was an owner of a baseball team before he was commishiner.  He was looked upon as a puppet and easily gave into other owners.  He needed to take the spotlight off of himself... sound familiar?   So listen up people:

•Hey fans, you don't know who took steroids and who didn't.  I'm sure some of your favorite players have juiced.  And if other players are cheatin, he needed to keep up with the other players.  It's not fair that players that weren't as good as him were suddenly better than him.

•Journalists, you seem to hate all the wrong people.  Hate the people who used steroids and stilled sucked (a little humour for you).  Plenty of players took roids and they didn't accomplish nearly what Bonds did.  Just proves that he's a better overall player.

•We were all there cheering him on when he broke the single season record, why the change of heart? 

Look, I'm not saying he didn't juice, we all know he did.  And yes, it is cheating.  I know he did, but he was a hall of famer before he juiced and his numbers prove it.  There's a lot of cheaters out there, not just Bonds, so remember that the next time your favorite player steps up to the plate.  Oh and one more thing... whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty.