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Bonds on Bonds
Apr. 5th, 2006 | 10:48 am
Anyone watch the first episode of Bonds on Bonds on ESPN last night? It doesn't take a braintrust to figure out that the goal of the show is to make Barry Bonds seem more sympathetic. For a lot of reasons, Bonds seems to be one of the least sympathetic figures in sports. Journalists have hated him for years because he shows disdain for them. Fans outside of SF have disliked him because he seemed like a prick and now they're really against him with evidence of steroid use building up. My take on him is that he's a bit of an asshole and he probably knowingly used steroids, but he's far from the monster he's made out to be. The one thing I sort of sympathized with him on before seeing the show is the way he treats reporters. Some of those guys are bigger assholes than Bonds will ever be and I can only imagine what a drag it is to always have people shoving a microphone in your face and asking asinine questions. On the other hand, Bonds doesn't only shit on the asshole reporters. I'm sure there are some genuinely decent people who are just doing their job who've been treated poorly by him. But overall, I sort of understand why he treats reporters the way he does.
As for the show, it was pretty much what I expected with a couple of surprises. Though the show is supposed to make him seem more likable, Bonds comes across as sort of schizo. At times he seems cocky and arrogant and at others he seems overly sensitive. One minute he's going on a profanity-laced tirade about how he's never given a shit what anyone thinks and that he never will. The next minute he's whining about how miserably he's been treated and breaking down in tears. The getting emotional part didn't seem like an act, but it's a little tough to feel sympathetic for the guy when he's brought a lot of the stuff on himself. I'll admit that Bonds does, at times, seems like an okay guy. That didn't surprise me so much. What did surprise me were the two scenes that actually made me feel some sympathy for Bonds.
The first involved how Bonds gets a lot of hate mail. They showed a couple pieces of it and this isn't garden variety stuff about him being a jerk or taking steroids. This stuff was calling him a "black ape" and a "nigger" and all kinds of nasty racial shit. I'm sure he's gotten death threats too. Even if you don't look at all of that stuff (which I'm sure Bonds doesn't), it has to be difficult for him and his family. I remember hearing how Hank Aaron got death threats when he was about to pass Babe Ruth's HR record and it reminded me of that. Steroids or no steroids, there are a lot of racist goons out there who don't want to see a black man break records that white men have set. The other scene was about how Barry's father Bobby constantly berated him when acting as his coach. I could relate to that and it made me realize that some of Bonds asshole behavior probably stems from that. That's not to say it's okay that he's a prick to people, but his dad's emotional abuse probably helped create that hard shell he puts around himself.
I guess I'd say that even though it seems like a total propaganda piece, there's enough that's unexpected and interesting about Bonds on Bonds to keep me watching. I'd be interested to hear what other people thought of it.
As for the show, it was pretty much what I expected with a couple of surprises. Though the show is supposed to make him seem more likable, Bonds comes across as sort of schizo. At times he seems cocky and arrogant and at others he seems overly sensitive. One minute he's going on a profanity-laced tirade about how he's never given a shit what anyone thinks and that he never will. The next minute he's whining about how miserably he's been treated and breaking down in tears. The getting emotional part didn't seem like an act, but it's a little tough to feel sympathetic for the guy when he's brought a lot of the stuff on himself. I'll admit that Bonds does, at times, seems like an okay guy. That didn't surprise me so much. What did surprise me were the two scenes that actually made me feel some sympathy for Bonds.
The first involved how Bonds gets a lot of hate mail. They showed a couple pieces of it and this isn't garden variety stuff about him being a jerk or taking steroids. This stuff was calling him a "black ape" and a "nigger" and all kinds of nasty racial shit. I'm sure he's gotten death threats too. Even if you don't look at all of that stuff (which I'm sure Bonds doesn't), it has to be difficult for him and his family. I remember hearing how Hank Aaron got death threats when he was about to pass Babe Ruth's HR record and it reminded me of that. Steroids or no steroids, there are a lot of racist goons out there who don't want to see a black man break records that white men have set. The other scene was about how Barry's father Bobby constantly berated him when acting as his coach. I could relate to that and it made me realize that some of Bonds asshole behavior probably stems from that. That's not to say it's okay that he's a prick to people, but his dad's emotional abuse probably helped create that hard shell he puts around himself.
I guess I'd say that even though it seems like a total propaganda piece, there's enough that's unexpected and interesting about Bonds on Bonds to keep me watching. I'd be interested to hear what other people thought of it.