a little disappointed

I missed a few of the pregame festivities at Opening Day yesterday. Probably because the gate we entered was on the exact opposite end of the stadium and we had to walk around the entire field to get to our section. Fortunately, we missed our Mayor flat-out emabarass himself. I didn't know what happened until i saw it on the 10:00 news last night. And again on Sportscenter. And again this morning on Mike & Mike. I don't even know what to say. How can a fit 45-year-old man not throw a baseball? Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was a publicity stunt to get some national spotlight shining on him. Politicians will do just about anything to garner national attention. That was pathetic.

I think I've figured out why our fans are so supportive of Josh Hamilton. The young man has been through a lot, and he has made plenty of mistakes. He has always publicly admitted to making mistakes and never blamed anyone but himself for his problems. He has been vulnerable, admitted to weakness, and taken responsibility for his actions. In other words, he has been human. Our society seems to look at professional athletes as a different breed, not expecting them to go through the same trials we go through each day. Not to say that any of us are baseball phenoms with serious coke problems, but something about Hamilton resonates with so many of us. I believe it is because he is openly human. This is a characteristic that few sports stars exhibit, something i think we all take for granted. When you make $20 million a year to play a game, you don't have to be vulnerable or take responsibility. All you have to do is perform on the field and most people will forgive you. I think more Bengals fans are mad at Chris Henry for T-Rexing clutch passes from Carson Palmer than for having no moral or legal conscious. If putting up midseason Chad Johnson-type games, we would be much more forgiving.

Josh Hamilton doesn't have to hit .400 this season, like he did in the spring. He is just a guy who lost a great job because he had personal demons to overcome. He hasn't said, "I'm better now, don't worry about me, i'm here to play baseball." He has been extremely humble, grateful and respectful of the game and the people who have helped him get back to doing what he truly love. Gotta respect that.

Big ups Cincinnati fans for making yesterday so special for so many people on so many different levels.