Well, it's over. At least the Nats have that monkey off their back, and can hopefully win the next couple of games against the lowly Giants. That was probably the best part about last night: Bonds (or rather, Big Head BALCO Barry Bonds*, as Caps Nut likes to call him) hit his HR, and the Nats still won. The SF Chronicle had an illuminating article about the scrum that resulted when the ball was hit, and how everyone in the area reacted:
Randy Finley of Mountain View, just behind Johnson, said he touched the ball, too. Then he watched in horror as a woman got knocked over and her husband disappeared into the scrum, leaving their 4-year-old son to cower with his teddy bear. Finley said he never found out who they were but that it did not appear to be the pinnacle of responsible parenting.
Excellent bit of writing there. Anyway, I hope that poor kid was quickly reunited with his money-grubbing parents.
How about this:
There was plenty of heartbreak to go around. One young fan, 15-year-old Mark Jackson of Philadelphia, said he was sure he was the guy with the ball. But Jackson had fallen for the fake ball trick -- during big home run scrambles, mischievous fans are known to toss other balls into the area to watch the resulting chaos. Jackson picked up one of the fake balls, stuffed it into his pants and then headed below the bleachers to consult with security guards, who broke the bad news. If Jackson had inspected the ball, the guard pointed out, he would have seen it was marked "CIAC'' -- which stands for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, not generally known as the supplier of major league baseballs.
Is it wrong that I think that's awesome? Mean-spirited, to be sure, but how funny is that?
I'm glad that the guy who ultimately got the ball was a Mets fan as opposed to one of the Giants' blindly faithful and misguided fans. Finally, a Mets fan does something right! (It will likely be the only time.)
USA Today's Hal Bodley had a good column about the event. As he points out, Ripken's consecutive game streak was a much more compelling (and less divisive) milestone to witness. Can't argue with that; Ripken's a classy guy, unlike the jerk in SF. Who wouldn't have rooted for Cal? (Probably the same type who support Bonds and believe he's innocent.) Whatever, I'm just glad it's all over.
4 comments:
I feel bad for the 15 year old. Imagine the rollercoaster of emotion. Poor kid.
Just to clear up some issues with the SF Chronicle story. The mother was pushed two rows, the husband jumped into the scrum. The mother returned to the son quickly. I had protected the boy until the mom was able to regain her footing. I never questioned the parents ability. Just a note the boy was a warrior he held his "Giant" teddy bear tight through the mayhem. Rfinley
OK, I stand corrected on the issue of the parents. Glad the kid is all right.
Yeah, I feel for the 15-year-old kid too.
I'd gone to bed before this happened and when I was watching it on SC this morning, I was explaining to my son that posing like a pro wrestler on the top turnbuckle when you hit a homer and when you come into home plate is not the way to act in baseball.
Of course, he's three weeks old and didn't understand a word I was saying but I'd like to think that he did.
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