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Fandom and Barry Bonds

  
 
Gendudehashadenough
19:35 / 14.08.07
I haven't started a thread in a while, but it seems like this is a topic I have rich history with so here goes:

I was reading in a local weekly recently about the doping scandal that has gripped virtually everyone's attention in the MLB for the last 5 or so years. There is definately a point to be made that had this whole home run thing not gotten started by a couple of (verified?) ¿abusers? during the competition to take down B. Ruth, that I'd doubt we'd have heard much of peep out of anybody about the fact that the PENULTIMATE record in American Sports is now up for grabs by someone who has been accused of engaging in the exact same methods of cheating...

The focus of the article wasn't on the using or abusing of drugs in general, but was certainly about (and cited statistics for) the division in "fandom" (from article) between those who supported Bonds, despite the allegations, as well as those who didn't, whilst also pointing out a palpable aspect of the study that indicated the rift being along racial lines. That is so, the columnist cited the opionon of University of California academic which summarized a poll carried out by AP stating that of the people polled %55 of black people wanted Bonds to break The (Hank Aaron's)Record without any qualms whatsoever. Merely %34 of white people believed that Bonds had the right to break the record.

I find this to be somewhat of a surprise difference of opinion in that I'm in agreement with the UC academic's further point that sporting competitions are usually an area of society in which racial barriers tend to weaker or at least more pourous than in other areas of society.

However, American's love to watch people beat the sod out of each other too (see UFC) and I think from a certain perspective this somewhat gutteral fascination with competing physical bodies allows more fog to roll in as the things like racism seem to be all the more prevalent. In other words, there are more people who would rather just watch the game, than be told they were helping demolish stereotypical race/ethnic barriers, and that if they did somehow catch an inkling that they might be helping this, then they'd probably be quick to deny it, 'cause, you know, the counts 3-2 and it doesn't matter who it is at the plate anymore...

I'll try to find the weblink, but in the meanwhile...

What are peoples feelings on statistics like these, given that they are precise or accurate? Is baseball special, given that it helped to escort certain methods acceptance that simply couldn't be turned away, given the prominence it'd accrued already? How to other American sports compare? (i'm thinking boxing, track/field, pigskin, etc.) Do other nations experience similar divisions? Should these qestions matter if there were no manner of verifying the statistic used were reliable? I love baseball. Always have. and I have very strong, percise opions on this that go beyond race...
 
 
Gendudehashadenough
22:48 / 14.08.07
Frank Munnich - August 8, 2007
Perhaps it's inevitable given this country's history, but steroid use isn't the only thing skewing perceptions of Barry Bonds' inevitable crowning as baseball's home run king: The specter of race hangs in the backround of this chase as well. Nationwide surveys of fans' attitudes toward Bonds show that white fans see Bonds' pursuit of the all-time home run record as tainted, possibly to the point of an asterisk, by steroid use; a majority of black fans see nothing wrong, use or no use, about Bonds' entrance into the land of 756 and beyond.


Enter UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus Harry Edwards.

A consultant to pro sports teams and a longtime commentator and critic of race relations in sports, Edwards is well aware of the apparent great racial divide among sports fans. The attitudes toward Bonds among black and white fans nationwide are what he calls a "mirror image" of each other: A recent Associated Press poll showed that while 55 percent of minority fans wanted Bonds to break Hank Aaron's record, only 34 percent of whites surveyed did. Edwards says that it's not surprising to find some "racial leakage" into white fans' perceptions of Bonds, nor does he think it's surprising to see what he calls a "black backlash" to the criticism of him. Come face to face with racism as an African-American, and you can readily see racism in a negative reaction to a black sports superstar.

But there is one thing, Edwards suggests, that trumps the race factor: homer-dom. (Not as in "home runs," but as in local fans seeing only the best in their hometown team.)

Edwards says that once you cross into the land of black-and-orange baseball caps, something changes. The racial chasm seems to narrow noticeably, if not altogether disappear, Edwards says. He didn't cite any specific polling data, but anyone who has been to a Giants home game or listened to KNBR knows he's right.

What's at work? Edwards suggests that "fandom" may drown out racial bias. If blacks and whites nationwide are identifying with color lines, Bay Area residents are holding true to the team colors. In other words, for many Giants fans the "us and them" is defined by who's sitting in the third-base dugout and who's spitting out sunflower seeds on the first-base side.
 
  
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