Giants’ Stalinist Approach to Barry BondsRandy Shawbyline‚ Jul. 21‚ 2008After Joseph Stalin seized control of the Soviet Union, the official history of the Bolshevik Revolution was altered. Onetime heroes were redefined as traitors and counter-revolutionaries, creating a pattern of erasing/rewriting of history that continued through the 1980’s. I don’t know if the owners of the San Francisco Giants studied Soviet history, but the team’s treatment of Barry Bonds is consistent with this legacy. Not only are Bonds’ accomplishments disparaged and/or ignored, but now the team’s broadcasters are claiming that the current Giants team is superior to those in the past because Bonds undermined the fighting spirit and hustle of fellow players. Funny how we never heard how Bonds was hurting the team during his 15-year tenure, a period in which he often carried the team on his back. Do the Giants think fans have entirely forgotten the past, or is the rewriting of Bonds’ history simply a desperate strategy to convince fans to pay to see a losing team? |