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Where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio?
http://www.e-sports.com/articles/435/1/Where-have-you-gone-Joe-Dimaggio/Page1.html
Peter Gloviczki, Jr.
Peter J. Gloviczki is a junior at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He majors in Political Science and also has an individualized major in Ethics in Journalism. His first book, Twenty First Summer: Original Poetry and Humorous Short Fiction, will be published in late 2004. 
By Peter Gloviczki, Jr.
Published on 03/27/2005
 
A look at Mark McGwire's recent comments in the congressional hearings, and the state of America's pastime.
McGwire let his fans down -- and the sport -- down.
As I close my eyes Saturday night, I can't help but remember why I love being a sports writer. For me, sports writing is about capturing those moments that bring the game alive. It's about the moments that are lost on the stat sheet and the instances which SportsCenter will neglect entirely. At its best, sports are about camaraderie, sheer athleticism and an unadulterated love for the game.

As I close my eyes Saturday night, baseball, the sport I love, is simply lost. The game that once lauded Mark McGwire as a hero must now watch painfully as he refuses to "talk about the past" during congressional hearings regarding drug use. It's shameful.

Since McGwire refuses to talk about the past, I would like to do so.

I cheered loudly for McGwire and Sammy Sosa during the magical summer of '98. I was convinced that the game was back, and I thought it wonderful that two quintessential athletes brought the game back to life.

How wonderful, I thought, that my game was alive again.

As I close my eyes Saturday night, my resounding fear is that McGwire betrayed my confidence as a baseball fan. With his silence and pithy denials, McGwire has me convinced that he used steroids during his playing career. Why else would such a national hero -- considered among the finest athletes in the world -- respond in this fashion? In his silence, McGwire revealed his guilt.

As I close my eyes Saturday night, I hope that America's pastime will soon emerge from the shackles of drug use.

At its best, sports are about camaraderie, sheer athleticism and an unadulterated love for the game -- something McGwire seems to have forgotten. Major League Baseball must establish and enforce a strong steroid policy. It's not just for the sports writers, or even for the fans. Until such a policy is enacted, Americans must confront the reality that we have lost our national pastime. This notion is daunting in its own right, but given the disgusting state of the game, I must ask: How can the game recover?