I don't get how this event became such a confusing situation for Padres fans. It seems soooo unbelievably straightforward to me. You absolutely do not applaud Barry Bonds. The man just hit a home run against "your" team to tie the game while we're in the middle of a pennant race. And to top it off, he hit what's arguably the most dreaded home run in history. The one that puts him in step with Hank Aaron, Baseball God. Who are these people? What, you're glad it happened? You're happy for who exactly? You're happy for Barry and his family? You're appreciative of his accomplishment, while out the other side of your mouth, you're telling people, "Oh I'm convinced he cheated." So why the hell are you clapping, sheep?
By the same token, I also don't fault people for wanting to save their stubs or taking a photo. It's what you do when you've witnessed something remarkable. I would've taken photos at Game 4 of the 1998 World Series even though the Padres lost. I saved my stub and took a photo of the scoreboard at Wrigley when Darryl Kile died, but I wasn't sitting there applauding when Joe Girardi told everyone the tragic news.
I was reading the SignonSanDiego forums where somebody made the point that "innocent until proven guilty" is wack. Sure, maybe Barry Bonds is "innocent until proven guilty", but people lean on that phrase too much. Nobody is literally "innocent until proven guilty". If some dude murders another person, there's nothing innocent about the murderer. Once he's proven guilty, then he can be punished. That whole time before he was proven guilty, he actually was guilty of the crime. Consider that in some cultures, the accused is guilty until proven innocent. It's not an American vs non-American thing. It's just how the American justice system works. Fortunately for us, American common sense does not work the same way. Before Everest was discovered, it was still the tallest mountain on Earth. Nothing changed except for what people wrote down in books. When it all comes out that Barry Bonds knowingly took steroids in an effort to hit more home runs, his "innocence" isn't replaced by guilt. The guilt was always there and there's no reason for me to acknowledge those accomplishments while I wait for the technicality of "proving" his guilt.
Barry Bonds took steroids. To deny the fact is naive and "innocent until proven guilty" is a sorry excuse for why Padres fans might even consider applauding him for attempting to beat the Padres. For those that took photos, I'm glad you did. There's no need to ignore events as long as we can learn from them. People took photos of the Titanic and the Hindenburg.
Somehow, Bud Selig of all people got it right. He noticed that the home run had been hit. He didn't even crack a smile. He stood up and put his hands in his pockets.
And it wasn't even his team that Barry was attempting to beat.
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