Love Them or Hate Them?
Written by Chriso, Wednesday August 05 2009
Do you know how there are some opponents you can't stand? And others, you hate what they do to your team, but you respect them as a player.
Let's step back to the beginning of the discussion. Last week, I blogged about David Ortiz being named as one of the 104 names from the 2003 not so anonymous test.
And another playerpress member started an interesting conversation in the comment section. He stated (and apologies to Jon if I misrepresent his point) that he felt that the other names should remain anonymous. I found it interesting to see baseball immortal Hank Aaron weigh in on the topic.
Aaron lost his home run record to the steroid era, so at least we can listen to him. I continue to say that I am not looking forward to seeing the 100 names that remain come out, but I agree with Aaron's point that getting the names out there will make it easier to move on from the subject.
A secondary topic that came from the "100 more to go" comment section was about hating Jeter. And my exact words were "as a Red Sox fan, you can't root against Derek Jeter, you have to give him respect." Re-reading this, of course I root against Jeter. But there's a larger issue about who you root for and who they play for. Some examples with a Boston perspective: Randy Moss, he was a great villain, classic bad guy. Then he came to the Patriots, teamed up with Tom Brady, and now every New England fan loves him. Or Johnny Damon. He looked like Jesus and brought the Red Sox a World Series win in 2004. Then he left as a free agent to the Yankees and the fans called him Judas.
So I came up with a list of players, in the four major sports (Bostonians consider Hockey major, I know this is a different debate that I don't want to get into right now). This is my list. Probably wouldn't be your list. If a player played for Boston, it kind of disqualifies them from making the list, because it changes your perspective of the player. But the basic idea came from what I was trying to say about Jeter. I respect Jeter, I can't stand Alex Rodriguez. Even though they are both with the Yankees, my opinion is very different about the two. The third name on the list represents the greatest talent I could think of, for a basketball example, it was Michael Jordan. He never played for my team, and I never considered him a villan, because they were lean years for the Celtics anyway. But I was never really a Bulls fan, because I really couldn't tell you much about the Bulls before or since. The fourth is a very good player, not the greatest, but someone I admired that played on an opposing team.
OK, the ground rules for the list are complicated. But maybe some examples will clear things up.
I respect Derek Jeter
I can't stand A-rod
The greatest opponent I've seen is Albert Pujols
And I always admired Cal Ripken, Jr
Does the game make sense yet? I hope so. Ripken was always one of my favorite opponents. It sounds like an oxymoron, but I rooted for him, without really being an Orioles fan. And there are no pitchers. Roger Clemens could have been here, but he was with the Sox, so he falls into the Damon rule. Randy Johnson also fell into several categories, because I rooted for him in the 2001 World Series, but found him detestable with the Yankees (naturally, but enhanced by the video of him looking for his car) and now you have to respect the 3000 wins, especially where he could be the last pitcher to do that.
I respect Magic Johnson
I can't stand Isaiah Thomas
The greatest opponent I've seen is Michael Jordan
And I always admired Tim Duncan
Once again, it's about opinions, and isn't that what this is all about? Another thing that can change the opinion is timing. Maybe if Duncan stood in the way of Celtic championships and Johnson won during the draught, I would have switched the names.
I respect Peyton Manning
I can't stand Dan Marino
I think the greatest was Joe Montana
I always admired John Elway
Yes they are all quarterbacks. It kind of makes up for the lack of pitchers in the other one. And besides, Randy Moss had his own rule, so he was not eligible. It's just a silly game of favorites anyway.
I respect Patrick Roy
I can't stand Ulf Samuelson
The greatest was Wayne Gretzky
I always admired Mario Lemieux
Dedicated to my niece Maria, who, at 5, is not much of a U.S. sports fan, but loves to ask "who's your favorite....?"
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