the Tribulation of Sports Stardom

Okay so I'm in the Seattle, Washington area for a few weeks and had the opportunity to catch a baseball game between the Mariners and Yankees Friday night. First off I think Safeco Field is a great park, very open, good views from most seats and a great variety of food (sushi, Thai and garlic fries to name a few options) if you get the chance go. My friend and I were 11 rows back behind the plate just off to the third base side providing us a great view. Now growing up in the DFW metroplex and the Texas Rangers I gained an affinity to disliking the Mariners as AL West rivals so I'm not partial to providing a spirited support of them even against the Yankees, but after 3 innings last night I found myself pulling for ....Alex Rodriguez.

Now you might ask yourself why a guy who's spent 5 of the last 10 years in Connecticut and learned to cheer for the Red Sox, would be drawn to support a player of the "Evil Empire?" Especially the one most Yankee haters would cast as the Darth Vader of that empire. Allow me to explain. It's the top of the first inning there are two out and Mark Teixeira has just blasted a home run about 400 feet over the right field fence when the announcer says "now batting...Alex Rodriguez". I knew it was coming as he approached the batters box the chants of cheater, A-roid, traitor and the like were bellowed throughout his at bat finally resulting in nice single to right field and the game continued on, and I gave very little thought to the whole thing, until the third inning.

Teixeira was at bat again and A-rod was in the on-deck circle warming up, when the the clamoring began again as a group twenty-something guys 2 rows behind me noticed him and started a chant of one guy saying "A-roid," and his buddies echoing with "he's a cheater." This time though I noticed the little boy directly behind me joining in with a few jabs of his own. This young fan had been very impressive up to this point, providing stats well beyond those on the jumbotron for most every batter, and exhibiting an eye for defensive strategies as well. After A-rod earned a walk I turned and asked the boy how old he was and was promptly informed he was 8 and 3/4, his dad explained to me that his first Mariners game had been a playoff game in 2001 against the White Sox when he was about 8 weeks old. To which I replied so he A-rod was never here while he's been alive? and the dad said right but he's a true mariners fan you just have to hate him. As the game progressed I started timing how long it took the fans to start heckling A-rod as he approached the on-deck circle, by his final at bat in the 8th it was about 9 seconds between him stepping out of the dugout to the first jeer and they got progressively more venomous as the time went on. Now do I think A-rod is a great guy? No. Do I think A-rod has made some bad choices? Yes. Does that mean 10 years later I want to see him verbally abused by an entire fan base? No. I think it's time for Mariners fans to let that go. Yes he broke your hearts by taking the money from Tom Hicks and the Rangers (who are now bankrupt) and yes he lied about using Performance Enhancing Drugs, which will probably be the thing that mars his career more than that contract in 2000. {On a side note both Joe Mauer and Ryan Howard signed contracts worth more than 24 million per year in the last off season, almost 5% more than the big contract A-rod signed back in 2000, and this upcoming year will see Albert Pujols probably shatter those numbers. } So Mr. Alex Rodriguez, I won't root for your team but I'm rooting for you to escape the shadow of your past mistakes and I forgive you. I hope you've learned from this and can help mentor the young players around you.

All of this made me wonder, is this what Lebron James will be facing in Cleveland for the rest of his career? I think it might be and that saddens me, because it exemplifies our lack of benevolence and mercy as a society. I don't remember sports without million dollar contracts and endorsements. The modern era sports star not only has to be great on his/her field of choice but also maintain a spotless public image. The players of my parents age I'm sure made bad decisions, but it wasn't everyones' business the media was focused on the game. So remember that our stars are people too and deserve forgiveness as well. By the way I don't think Lebron could've made a "right" decision. I think he made a good decision by going to Miami with Wade and Bosh.