job i would least like to have
12/08/2004
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How about the job of being Barry Bonds' publicist? What a nightmare that job has to be right now. Did you even know he had one? For 15 years? I'm sure she prompted him for the priceless quotes, "Can't I just be good?" and "Dude, whatever" in response to questions about steroid use.
Major League Baseball has decided not to pursue corporate sponsorship of Bonds' quest for homer 756...and I don't blame them. He's going to hear a lot of boo-birds this season.
We fans demand an awkward balance with our professional athletes. On the one hand, we want them to be just like us, coming from humble backgrounds and hitting it big after enough perserverance and practice (think Jordan getting cut from his HS b-ball team). This myth fosters the idea that anyone could make it big in sports, even without the great genetics of a 6'6 man with a 42 inch vertical leap. On the other hand, we want to see superhuman feats of skill, as nothing less with impress us anymore. We want 500 foot home runs, dunks from the top of the three-point line, 100-yard dashes in 8 seconds, and we always want the next generation to be better than the last. As the media scrutiny of athletes has intensified, a.k.a the ESPNization of sport, these two constrasting demands tug in opposite directions. I think the tension has reached a new level with the steroid controversy.
Major League Baseball has decided not to pursue corporate sponsorship of Bonds' quest for homer 756...and I don't blame them. He's going to hear a lot of boo-birds this season.
We fans demand an awkward balance with our professional athletes. On the one hand, we want them to be just like us, coming from humble backgrounds and hitting it big after enough perserverance and practice (think Jordan getting cut from his HS b-ball team). This myth fosters the idea that anyone could make it big in sports, even without the great genetics of a 6'6 man with a 42 inch vertical leap. On the other hand, we want to see superhuman feats of skill, as nothing less with impress us anymore. We want 500 foot home runs, dunks from the top of the three-point line, 100-yard dashes in 8 seconds, and we always want the next generation to be better than the last. As the media scrutiny of athletes has intensified, a.k.a the ESPNization of sport, these two constrasting demands tug in opposite directions. I think the tension has reached a new level with the steroid controversy.
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