And What Can We Learn From This?

Okay, I am a sports addict.  SI comes in my name, Baseball Tonight is my ringtone.  On my 45 minute drive to work and back, my kids have to suffer through sports talk radio. I am constantly on Twitter during games to see who is saying what about that call or play. And on Sundays after Mass, I turn on the NFL network as soon as we walk in the door.  I probably need treatment.

And I am probably the only sports junkie in the world that is not fuming over the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2013, that is not a class at all.

I am the first to spout off that it is the Hall of Fame and not the Hall of Very Good.  And I heard some of the guys this morning on my drive in say that this is not the Hall of Nice Guys.  I know Babe Ruth came to games drunk, on a regular basis.  I am aware that there are rumors that the Brewers beloved Paul Molitor may have tried a powdery substance of the 80s.  I get all of that.  I also get that PEDs were not necessarily against the rules, even if they were illegal. I get all of that.

But it does not mean I like it.  

The snubbing of the roid raging, media hating, arrogant (in many cases) athletes of the 90s and 2000s has made a statement.  Maybe the Sports World has made a statement.  Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his titles for trying to go around the rules and now the BBWAA has shown their distaste.   I will admit, the homerun race '98 may have caused me to put away my "Go Ahead and Strike, Football's More Exciting Anyway" t-shirt, with the baseball bat at the bottom (which I kept and still have in a tub somewhere).  But at what cost??  Steroids and corked bats??   

And I am probably the ONLY baseball freak in America that is pleased.

But what does this tell us??  It tells us that we can now tell our kids, "See cheating is not the way to go."  Or "No matter how big and powerful you are, you should still be polite to people."  (Ahem, Mr. Bonds)  And I am okay with it.  I know that the guys that were believed to be first ballot hall-of-famers, will probably get in next year.  I know that I am in the minority on a lot of the records that have been broken in the last few years.  But I feel vindicated.  I can talk to my nearly 13 year-old on our drive home and be able to have the "cheaters never didn't win" talk this afternoon.

So, the weekend will be here before we know, but clearly not soon enough.  Help your muppets with their homework, laugh at their corny joke and let them know you love them.  Talk with your FFs, keep those lines open, let them know how much they mean to you and as always kiss them as they head off to their shift.