Barry Bonds, the Ultimate Underdog

People are naturally drawn to underdogs, especially in sports. Some of the greatest stories come from underdogs like the 1980 U.S. Hockey team, the George Mason basketball team, Seabiscuit, and James Braddock, the Cinderella Man. That's why I've recently become a fan of the biggest underdog in sports today: Barry Bonds.

While Bonds is in pursuit of one of baseball's most hallowed records on the field, his biggest obstacles are off of it. He's pitted firmly against a triumvirate of evil more powerful than any one player in the history of sports has faced: the media, management, and the government. Yet, so far, against all the odds, Barry is still playing baseball.

It's been clear that some members of the media flat-out hate Barry Bonds. They have their reasons, although most of them revolve around the fact that Bonds is a complete jerk to members of the press. Some of them, like Jay Mariotti from the Chicago Sun-Times, are openly rejoicing Bonds' struggles. "Barry Lamar Bonds is the one with the issues, more than anyone in sports," Mariotti recently wrote. "And I speak for much of America when I hope his pathetic saga soon ends unhappily."

Add Major League Baseball brass to the list of Bonds haters, as the latest steroid commission is a direct result of Bonds closing in on the home run record. Baseball has had plenty of chances for an investigation of this magnitude, which would've been justified at any point in the past 15 years. The fact of the matter is that Bud Selig and company waited until their hand was forced by outside influences, and now they had to act against Bonds. Simply put, we aren't having a steroid investigation if Bonds isn't within striking distance of Hank Aaron.

Now, even the government is after Bonds on a perjury charge. Granted, as Chris Webber can attest to, lying to a grand jury is a major issue, but come on, this is over the top. I thought LeBron James would have a tough time in the NBA with the enormous amount of pressure that came with his hype, but this was far beyond King James level even before the threat of jail became a factor. Former Bonds manager Jim Leyland said it best when he told an AP reporter that "this is a hands down go-after-Barry-Bonds thing.'' Yet, amazingly, Bonds is still going.

How is this man still playing baseball? I thought the constant attacks in the media combined with the effects of old(er) age would push him to the edge. And I believed the MLB steroid commission led by Former Senator Mitchell would be the final straw that broke the back of the strongest camel in professional sports. On top of that, he's now one of the most hated people in sports. Honestly, he'd be more popular if he was the captain of the Duke Lacrosse team. 99.9% of athletes would've given up long ago under these circumstances. Unbelievably, he keeps on fighting. Bonds is still up. What will it take to stop him?

The federal investigation, that's what. It's just too much for any man to handle. Bonds can deal with the fans, he manipulates the media almost better than his bat, and he can withstand baseball's investigation, but the grand jury investigation and potential jail time? It's impossible for anyone to overcome all that.

"They ain't gonna break me,'' Bonds said. "They can try. This is not going to happen.''

The 1980 Olympic Hockey team benefited from a complete and utter choke job by the Soviet team. George Mason was overlooked by every team except Florida. Hell, even David had a pretty lethal slingshot when going against Goliath. And Bonds is missing something that nearly all underdogs have — crowd support. Fans are driving hours to throw oversized syringes and lame insults at him. (Bear-oids? Tell me someone can do better than that.) It seems that, for once, Jay Mariotti does speak for most of America. To me, though, Bonds isn't really that hard to root for.

People, for the most part, hate their bosses, distrust the media, and have a general disdain for the government. Barry is tackling all three, while going for one of the greatest records in baseball. There's no question that he's under more pressure and scrutiny than any single player in the history of sports, but it's the pressure that reveals who is truly great.

And there's just something appealing about rooting for the impossible.

The Sports Gospel According to Mark is sponsored by BetOnSports.com. BetOnSports.com gives you the greatest sports action to bet on. Wager on football, cricket, boxing, rugby, horse racing, and more. Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].