Here come those St. Louis fans, all of them out of the woodwork. "KENNY ROGERS CHEATED. KENNY ROGERS CHEATED. SHAME ON MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. SHAME ON KENNY ROGERS. HE CHEATED. HE CHEATED."
He did cheat. Kenny Rogers cheated the game of baseball and he cheated the Cardinals. There's no denying that. Absolutely no denying it. The substance was there, it was prominent. It was obvious. And who cares whether he did it for one inning or for eight innings, right? Absolutely. Cheating is cheating. And he should have been thrown out immediately and given a ten game suspension. But MLB turned their heads, once again, and nothing happened outside of a Tigers 3-1 win in Game 2.
So he cheated.
So did Mark McGwire.
And here's what I'm sick and tired of when it comes to St. Louis baseball fans. We hate Barry Bonds. We hate Sammy Sosa. We think Rafael Palmerio is a joke. We think Jose Canseco is a backstabbing cheater. We're pretty sure Roger Clemens is cheating. And now we hate Kenny Rogers.
But Mark McGwire remains a God-like figure. St. Louis fans seem to turn their backs on the fact that Big Mac was just as guilty as them all. St. Louis fans think the homerun record should be stripped from Barry Bonds and given back to McGwire. St. Louis fans now sport baby blue shirts at Cardinal games that say "McGwire to the Hall of Fame. Join the Movement."
But we're sure quick to jump on Kenny Rogers, aren't we?
"Oh, but Dave, Kenny Rogers did it in the WORLD SERIES."
You're right. He did it on the grandest stage of them all, right? Well, Big Mac supposedly broke the ever-illusive homerun record. And this captivated baseball. This forced ESPN to track every one of his at-bats, something they don't do for the World Series. This forced every newspaper in America to have a McGwire homerun count on the front page of Sports. This forced media all over the world to come to Cardinal games hoping to catch a glimpse of 62. This forced Bud Selig to be at every game when McGwire had a shot at breaking the record. This forced MLB to stop the game for over ten minutes so McGwire could celebrate.
Sounds to me a like a pretty grand stage as well.
Hey look, cheating is cheating. And I don't think what Kenny Rogers did was right. At all. And I don't think what Mark McGwire did was right either. And I think Kenny Rogers should serve a ten game suspension and the Cardinals should be awarded game 2. But I also think Big Mac should be banished from the Hall of Fame and his record erased.
No matter what town you live in and no matter what team you cheer for, cheating is cheating. So before you jump on Kenny Rogers and move him to number 5 on your "all-time most hated baseball player list" think about whether or not you're still a supporter of Mark McGwire. In my book, when it comes to baseball, they both broke rule #1. They both cheated.
Ok, let me hear it...
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5 comments:
I think that was a pretty poor stereotype of a Cardinal fan. Sure, maybe that is your friends mom who never cared about the Cardinals until the year Big Mac was on the chase. And we would get pissed off because she had tickets trough work for what seemed like every other game. So, yes there are fans like that. But, I wouldn't go comparing Kenny Rogers and Big Mac. We can't live in the past. Rogers cheated. Larussa screwed up big time. He has got to say something and he has to have that looked at before Rogers has a chance to get back into the dugout. I don't know what was said between Rogers and the umpire, but I'm almost afraid to know. Here is my guess at what was said, "Kenny, get in there and wash that off, and I'll pretend I didn't see it." That scares me to think that could've happened. But like I said, you can't live in the past. It's time for the birds to win at home. Maybe MLB will look at the video tapes from all of his post season starts this year and see what everyone is seeing, but I don't think that will even make a difference. Too bad he won't get to pitch again anyways, Cards in 5!
i admit. big mac is a cheater. and so is kenny rogers. i could care less weather big mac gets in the hall of fame. rogers should have tossed in the series vs the yankees and i hate the yankees. cheating is cheating, and its a shame bug selig and the umpires dont have the guts to do what is right. julian taverez?
I don't hate Big Mac and I don't hate Kenny Rogers. Heck I don't even hate Barry Bonds. I think you are selling the true Cardinals fan a little short. I don't believe in cheating regardless of what team you play for.
Mark McGwire is by no means a godlike figure in St.Louis. No one in the city really gives a damn about Big Mac anymore.
Mark McGuire is my role model.
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