SF Weekly
(excerpts)
Apology Accepted
You may be an unwitting Barry Bonds apologist. Take our quiz and find out!
OVERHEARD BY MATT PALMQUIST
3) In a front-page story on March 2, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that, according to information given to federal investigators, Barry Bonds received steroids and human growth hormone from his personal trainer and longtime friend, Greg Anderson, who obtained them through BALCO, the nutritional supplements lab at the center of the government's investigation into a steroid-distribution ring. You read the revelations and think to yourself:
a) "Well, we will probably never know the whole truth, but this is the clearest sign yet that Bonds may have taken steroids. It certainly creates doubt in my mind about Bonds' achievements."
b) "Well, we may never know the whole truth, but the one thing we must avoid, at all costs, is speculation. Besides, why would Bonds want to take steroids?"
c) "Well, of course he received steroids. I mean, how do you know to avoid them unless you know what they look like?"
4) Your daughter is a budding sports enthusiast, and plays softball in a grade-school league. As you drive her to practice one afternoon, she tells you that some of her teammates have been teasing her because she wears No. 25 in honor of her favorite player, Bonds. They accuse her of admiring a "cheater." What do you tell her?
a) "Honey, Barry Bonds is a human like anyone else, and there are legitimate questions about whether he and other superstars are following the rules of fair play. It's good to have role models and people you look up to, but it's equally important to be honest with yourself about their fallibility and flaws. In fact, that might be the most valuable lesson heroes can teach."
b) "Hey, look at Kobe Bryant. Now there's an asshole."
c) "Your friends are saying what? I want names. Barry Bonds is the greatest baseball player who ever lived -- just ask the life-size cutout in the rec room."
8) You're browsing in a baseball memorabilia shop one afternoon, and you spot a Bonds rookie card from 1986 -- when he weighed about 185 pounds in his Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. Startled by how slim and diminutive the younger slugger appears, you conclude:
a) The wiry 21-year-old and 225-pound 39-year-old look like two different people. No workout regimen alone could account for the change in Bonds.
b) As people grow older, their appearance changes. Maybe Bonds has morphed a bit more than most, but increased muscle mass and better endurance hardly sounds like the work of steroids, does it?
c) Fifty dollars for a Bonds rookie card? Where's my checkbook?
(excerpts)
Apology Accepted
You may be an unwitting Barry Bonds apologist. Take our quiz and find out!
OVERHEARD BY MATT PALMQUIST
3) In a front-page story on March 2, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that, according to information given to federal investigators, Barry Bonds received steroids and human growth hormone from his personal trainer and longtime friend, Greg Anderson, who obtained them through BALCO, the nutritional supplements lab at the center of the government's investigation into a steroid-distribution ring. You read the revelations and think to yourself:
a) "Well, we will probably never know the whole truth, but this is the clearest sign yet that Bonds may have taken steroids. It certainly creates doubt in my mind about Bonds' achievements."
b) "Well, we may never know the whole truth, but the one thing we must avoid, at all costs, is speculation. Besides, why would Bonds want to take steroids?"
c) "Well, of course he received steroids. I mean, how do you know to avoid them unless you know what they look like?"
4) Your daughter is a budding sports enthusiast, and plays softball in a grade-school league. As you drive her to practice one afternoon, she tells you that some of her teammates have been teasing her because she wears No. 25 in honor of her favorite player, Bonds. They accuse her of admiring a "cheater." What do you tell her?
a) "Honey, Barry Bonds is a human like anyone else, and there are legitimate questions about whether he and other superstars are following the rules of fair play. It's good to have role models and people you look up to, but it's equally important to be honest with yourself about their fallibility and flaws. In fact, that might be the most valuable lesson heroes can teach."
b) "Hey, look at Kobe Bryant. Now there's an asshole."
c) "Your friends are saying what? I want names. Barry Bonds is the greatest baseball player who ever lived -- just ask the life-size cutout in the rec room."
8) You're browsing in a baseball memorabilia shop one afternoon, and you spot a Bonds rookie card from 1986 -- when he weighed about 185 pounds in his Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. Startled by how slim and diminutive the younger slugger appears, you conclude:
a) The wiry 21-year-old and 225-pound 39-year-old look like two different people. No workout regimen alone could account for the change in Bonds.
b) As people grow older, their appearance changes. Maybe Bonds has morphed a bit more than most, but increased muscle mass and better endurance hardly sounds like the work of steroids, does it?
c) Fifty dollars for a Bonds rookie card? Where's my checkbook?
