| 12 January 2010
Most people who say they live for the moment mean they're living for each day. They're trying to carpe diem the shit out of the week and showing the world that nothing can phase them. You know what I say to those people? Anything I want because even if I piss them off they'll still make some good out of it won't they? I'm pretty optimistic as well, trying to make glum things glorious and melancholy feelings miraculous. I don't try to live for the moment though. I want some moments in my life to feel more special then others and by trying to make everything feel so perfect at all times of the day just makes all situations blend together and the moments that should be unforgettable are just another page in the scrapbook. So I may not live for the moment in my everyday life, but I do live for the moment; the moment in sports when everything comes together to give us the perfect play at the perfect time in the perfect setting.
These special moments in the sports world that are unforgettable to us. They take us back to a time where we can remember exactly who we were with and where we were. These moments can bee unexpected, but most of the time they are built up throughout the course of an event. When it finally happens you almost can't believe; you kind of don't want to believe it, because you know these moments only happen so often and it could be a long time until another one comes. The moments can be different for different people. Some of my moments were seeing Big Ben pass to Santonio Holmes for a TD in last year's Super Bowl, watching every minute of all six overtimes of the Syracus/UConn game, witnessing Michael Phelps win by a .001 of a second in a fingertip finish that I still can't see on a replay, Sean Dockery's half court heave to beat Virginia Tech, and one of the biggest moments ever in this country in sports. Mark McGwire breaking the home run record.
Can't you all still see that ball line driving over the left field wall; just barely getting over it and watching Mark McGwire round first base while tripping. The ovation was amazing as he touched home plate and hugged his son. It was truly a classic moment that will never be forgotten. This was a moment that will be remembered by all the fans witnessing it in the stadium, all the fans watching at home, the game of baseball, the sports world, and America as a whole.
So Mark McGwire finally admitted to taking steroids. It was finally his time for him to find some solace in what seemed an obvious guilt that was inside of him. As we saw from his interviews he doesn't really feel like he did anything wrong. He understands it was wrong because it was illegal, but he still doesn't feel like he cheated the game in any sort of way. I'm fine with that. I'm sure we all do things were not proud of and justify them in ways that they feel right. The steroid issue is a whole different column at a whole different time that I will probably never write because everyone else writes about it. How much did it help him? Were pitchers he faced on it? Are other drugs just as bad? Did it allow him to hit all those home runs? How many should've he had? Did his career end early because of PED's? I don't care about any of these questions. All I care is that I got to witness a moment I will never forget.
You can judge anyone you want in any sort of manner you want in sports. I don't care. You can try and take away some of Mark McGwire's accomplishments and try to determine how great he actually was if you want. I don't care. All I care about is that you don't take away my moments. Let's not forget how memorable these moments are to so many people around the country. So pick Mark McGwire apart. Keep him out of the Hall of Fame if you want; antagonize him for his misdoings, but lets let the moments live on. We can judge a person and their actions down the road, but we can only judge a moment when it actually happens.
