A-Rod just passed Willie Mays on the all-time homerun list, and I’m kind of loving it.
Full disclosure: I am a Red Sox fan.
And in being a Red Sox fan, I have an inherit dislike for the New York Yankees. I appreciate everything the Yankees have meant to baseball and I willingly acknowledge that it is the greatest organization in the history American sports.
You know what? I am even grateful for the Yankees. With out the Yankees, the Red Sox aren’t the Red Sox, and I’m not sure that applies the other way around.
But let’s get real. As a kid, I hated the New York Yankees.
Unfortunately, over the last decade, the rivalry has died down and the intensity of my localized fandom has abated. (Although, I still find I have a slight, visceral aversion to that white and navy NY logo.)
In adulthood, I remain a sports fan: I root for underdogs and superstars simultaneously, I thrive on chaos and urgency. And I love a interesting story. Because of this, I find myself (dare I say it?) rooting for Alex Rodriguez – the greatest villian in sports not named Bill Belichick.
On the surface, I root for A-Rod because the situation is laughably uncomfortable and I enjoy seeing the Yankees squirm. For the past several years, A-Rod’s steroid controversy has been a thorn in the team’s side, distracting from the on-field product. And now that he has zero marketable value, A-Rod proves he still deserves a spot in the order.
But there’s more to this: I want to believe that, “yeah steroids help, but they don’t help that much” and that talent is talent. Because maybe if A-Rod proves that he can crank home runs with out PED’s, then that means my years of naively rooting for Manny Ramirez are a bit less embarrassing.
I know its a long shot, but could A-Rod’s success this season, in some twisted way, help validate my generation of baseball fan? We have been told over and over that the steroid-era ruined baseball; meaning that our long-time love for the game is largely built upon illegitimate moments. And that really sucks.