It wasn't just McGwire and Sosa just got big all of a sudden. It was just about every prolific slugger who claimed that "weight training" over the off-season is what made them bigger. It took a couple years for guys to start showing elongated effects of steroid use for the gun to start smoking (McGwire breaking down and reducing to a sub-.200 hitter his final two seasons; Sosa, McGwire & Bagwell developing acne like teenagers; Giambi developing f'n INTESTINAL PARASITES; etc). The reason it came down hardest on Bonds, well there are two reasons that truly stand out.

1) He came into the picture JUST as people were first starting to ask questions based on Sosa and McGwire's freakish productions. People were first starting to educate themselves on effects of steroids, and somebody gets swoll over the off-season and hits 73 homeruns IN THEIR LATE-THIRTIES......come on. If people are already searching for 400 lb gorillas, an elephant walking into the room isn't going to be able to make it's self inconspicuous.

2) Barry Bonds practically BEGS the media at large come after him. He's surly, he's a hypocrite, and he looks down on other people. He's an asshole, and he loves broadcasting the fact that he's an asshole to anybody within range to notice it. Barry Bonds gave the media every reason in the world to "make his life a miserable hell".


And even with all that stated, what you forget to mention or at the very least forget to realize is that PEOPLE WERE CELEBRATING BONDS WHEN HE WAS SETTING HIS RECORD, TOO!!!! When Bonds was closing in on 70, ESPN followed the Giants to every homegame. They interrupted whatever programming they had on at that given moment. Hell, Chris Berman was practically providing a home team call every night during the chase. The next year when he was in the World Series, all the talk centered around "can Barry finally get the ring that'll justify his storied career". Wasn't nobody leading off SportsCenter on some "good God, let's hope that ni**er doesn't break the record or else...". Shit, call it like it is. ESPN'S STILL FUCKING GOING EASY ON HIM. They're about to start airing a reality series on him for crying the fuck out loud.