Debates rage about the controversy swirling around Barry Bonds as he chases Hank Aaron for the career home run record. Fans are fundamentally racist, some trumpet; this is like Jack Jones becoming heavyweight boxing champion. Other's feel the fan negative reactions revolve around Bond's almost certain use of PEDs.
Folks, the people of Boston might not all like Bonds' performance on the field, however it doesn't sound like he was forced to use segregated bathrooms off the filed. The Boston Globe reports Barry Bonds enjoyed his trip to Beantown:
It was clear his perception of the city, the fans, and all of the things negative about Boston, which he once referred to as a racist city, changed over this weekend.
"He genuinely enjoyed himself here," said one teammate. "He walked around the city a lot and people were really nice to him. They weren't yelling at him, or yelling stuff at him or anything like that. People were very respectful of him. I think for a lot of us, this was kind of a test because we heard Boston would be rough on him. In the ballpark, sure there were the asterisks that people were holding up, and the "Steroids!" chants and all the things he's seen and heard before. So that part wasn't any different. The part that was different is the reception he got on the streets. And even the reception he got when he hit the home run."
It is true, we all looked forward to this series when we thought of Bonds playing in Boston, where the fans would surely be brutal. I had predicted long ago that Bonds would skip this series. When he was hot early in the season, the Boston series was projected as a possible place where he could break the record. Many felt he would never break it anywhere but San Francisco, where most fans have supported him.
But he showed up, did the normal first-day news conference that he's done in every city (which is a requirement in his contract) and he also did two post game interviews. He left here feeling a lot different about Boston than when he arrived.
He heard boos, but he also heard cheers.
Wow. Bond is human. Wow, fans in Boston were actually congenial to the slugger off the field. Indeed, Bonds found himself smiling at a press conference. There might be hope for this wretched world yet:
Bonds took his time after the game as he made reporters wait by his locker for a while, but once he spoke he did it with a smile. On many occasions over the past two years he always spoke defensively and with a scowl. He seemed happy yesterday.
Asked about his homer at Fenway Bonds said, "I believe I had two." He was referring, of course, to a ball that was called foul Friday night. "I think it was [fair]," Bonds said...
"It was never gone," said Bonds of his home run stroke. "It's the person. It's me. Sometimes you don't have it. Sometimes you do."
The joyless pursuit had a little joy this weekend. In Boston, of all places.
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