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Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run last night, after this blog was posted…

Whether you like baseball or not, chances are you have heard the names Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron, and you may even know that Bonds is now tied with Aaron for the all-time home run record, 755 in a lifetime. Sometime in the next few days, chances are that Barry Bonds will hit 756, becoming the all-time Home Run King.

Some people call this the greatest record in sports.

Some people believe that Bonds is not playing fair, with rumors of steroid use hounding his record.

Some people believe that accusations against Bonds are unfair, offensive efforts to deny his achievement.

Some people aren't sure what to think or how to respond, not wanting to take sides. According to Washington Post Sportswriter Michael Wilbon, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig seems to be in this mushy category, attending games but keeping his hands in his pockets.

Here's what I think: Baseball is a game, a fantasy that makes a very few people very rich. Real life is very hard, and most people I know cannot imagine the wealth and fame of professional athletes. I know so many people — Trinity students and alumnae — whose life accomplishments mean so much more than hitting balls with sticks. I know many people — me included (I remain a hopeless Phillies fan, even after all these years!) — who enjoy watching professional sports as a form of entertainment, escapism, pleasant diversion.

For real, raw athleticism, frankly, I prefer amateur sports — Olympics, college athletics outside of the big Division I behemoths, our own wonderful Trinity Tigers! What counts is playing your best, honing skills to the best level possible, competing fairly and cleanly, accepting the realities of wins and losses along the way. The goal is a great game, not a fake achievement.

Professional sports long ago crossed some intangible line between healthy competition and ultra-hyped business/entertainment, repressing the marvels of great natural athleticism that mere mortals could emulate in favor of feats of brute strength and artificially-boosted achievements. Wilbon is right that it's not just Barry Bonds, frankly, it's a pervasive problem in pro sports.

But when a celebrity athelete grabs the headlines, responsible people — commentators, educators, commissioners — need to call the play accurately.

I have no idea whether the accusations about Bonds are true. I would expect the Baseball Commissioner to know, after all these years. I find the questions, doubts, rumors, suspicions to be an indication that this sport is in grave distress. So's cycling, basketball, football. Major professional sports are in serious trouble, made worse by the failure of the leadership to stand up to the problems.

But we fans need to keep our heads as well. It's just a game. Players are just that — players, not "role models" or other deities. The Home Run Record is NOT a test of where we stand on great social issues of our times. It may be a bellweather of how a great sport has changed, perhaps for the worst. But it's not real life.

Real life is women working hard to provide for their families while finishing their degrees. Real life is young students working many hours to pay for tuition and books so that they can realize their dreams. Real life is faculty and staff who don't give up on the potential latent in even the most challenging of students. Real life celebrates college acceptance letters, passing Precalculus, getting to Cap & Gown, holding up that hard-won diploma at Commencement.

Whenever Barry Bonds hits 756, let's remember it's just a game — note the moment as you wish, and then look around and cheer for the heroes who triumph in real life.

barry bonds, barry bonds

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Sunday, August 5, 2007

For the longest time we just sat there staring at each other. She gazed fiercely in all her majestic glory, jaundiced eye piercing my lens. Having survived the near-extinction of her entire species, this bald eagle on Nanjemoy Creek was not about to allow a mere mortal paddling a small boat ruin her day. She teased me, fluttering to higher branches, winging to another tree farther along in the marsh, turning to see if I followed. A heron squawked up from the reeds, disturbing the silence of our little game, and the eagle took flight with the big blue bird trailing behind, disappearing in muddy flats well beyond what even a kayak could reach.

The restoration of bald eagles after nearly four decades on the Endangered Species List is one of the great triumphs of conservation. These great birds have come to symbolize both the fragility of the wild environment and the success that can occur when humans undertake a concerted effort to protect the environment and its inhabitants.

One of the remarkable features of the Washington region is its proximity to breathtakingly beautiful natural habitats for wildlife, particularly along the tributaries of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. In the summer I sometimes spend a Saturday afternoon paddling along Nanjemoy Creek and the Port Tobacco River in Charles County, home to increasingly strong populations of bald eagles, osprey, blue herons and many other species. But even as I enjoy the wildlife and more leisurely pace of life along these Potomac waterways, threats to the environment are clear everywhere, from the oil and refuse that powerboats spew into these fragile waters, to the trash along riverbanks and increasingly dense developments that denude forests all the way to the water's edge, removing naturally protective barriers and increasing polluted runoff. This summer's drought is also clearly visible in the acres of dried corn crops along the roads and brown grass everywhere.

Paddling back to the launch site, the osprey in tall nests and tree branches raised a ruckus whenever they could see me, and the heron and cormorants took flight quickly when I turned corners along the marsh banks. The birds know their place, and they send clear signals that those of us who can't fly should leave them alone. They're probably right, though I love to sneak a peek every so often. They remind me of the context of human life, part of the great ecosystem, not supposed to dominate or destroy other species, but bearing a greater responsibility for the protection of all because we are the species with the brains that make it possible for us to choose destruction or conservation. We also are the species with the conscience that should lead us to do the right thing.

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