This Is the Part Where I Jump on the Bandwagon

As you may or may not know, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants has hit a whole bunch of home runs. A lot of people think that he hit so many because he was on steroids for at least part of his career, although nothing has been proven yet. These home runs are a big deal right now because he is so close to reaching Babe Ruth's landmark achievement of 714 home runs, which is not the record (755 by Hank Aaron), but it's a whole lot.

Now, people are not excited about him overtaking any kind of record because Barry is not what you would call a likable guy, and by that I mean that the only people who seem to like are the San Francisco fans, and they only like him because of the vital role he plays for their offense. This was only proven the other day when he refused to sign the ball that he hit for his 713th home run for an enlisted serviceman. The article states that Bonds later took a picture with the man, but he still refused to sign the ball.

Why would you do this? It seems to me that if I were disliked as much as he is, I would make it a point to do things to better my image in the public eye, especially if that were as easy as signing a baseball.

This is why people are torn about him. We as a nation love to see people achieve extraordinary things because it makes us dream that we too can someday do something incredible. Unfortunately, by getting there through use of an illegal substance and just by being an all-around jerk, it's making it really hard for most baseball fans to appreciate his great talents and skills.

Bonds could draw comparisons to Muhammed Ali, who is regarded as an iconic figure in the world of sports, in that both believe that they are/were the greatest. However, whether people loved or hated Ali, they could always respect him, which is something that Barry Bonds will never have going for him again.