Barry Bonds

Though it may make me simultaneously, the most naive and disliked person in cyberspace, I believe Barry Bonds is completely innocent. That's right, amid all of the allegations, the growth of his now huge biceps (and possibly head) and his assault on baseball's all-time homerun record, I think he's innocent. I could engage in a lengthy discussion as to why I think he's innocent, but ultimately, I think I want so badly to believe him, because I want baseball to have heroes again. There was a time when baseball was king; when Mantle and Mays and Ruth were like superheros. Kids believed in baseball players. I believed in them. If Barry's guilty than it means this isn't real. It means that we aren't watching someone do what millions of us have only dreamed of. It means that we're not watching the records of heroes past fall. We're not seeing a new superman. Willie Mays is not coming back if Barry's cheating; neither is Mantle or Ruth. If he's cheating, then what was done in the past can never be done again. I just don't want to believe that. If Barry's cheating, then we'll forever be skeptics. If he's innocent though, then we have to live with the fact that we destroyed superman before he had a chance to do something really heroic.