Dissed By The President...

This is a blog about AROD (not pictured).

The New York Yankees went to the White House on Monday. It's an honor reserved for champions. And frankly, I think one of the coolest perks of the job for the commander-in-chief.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As every President does, Barack Obama gave a nice 8 minute or so speech congratulating the champs on their accomplishments.

It was your stock speech, which, if you weren't a Yankee fan would bore you to tears (even if you were, perhaps you'd be bored).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allow me to preface this by saying, none of this is substantiated. This is merely *MY* interpretation of the events I witnessed.

The President singled out several Yankees for their achievements on and off the field. He praised Mariano Rivera for his great cut-fastball. He talked about Mark Teixeira donating money for a scholarship. Mr. Obama talked about meeting Jorge Posada at a charity event and the work Posada has done for children.

And then things got really interesting.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The President asked 'where's Jeter?' He turned around and found Derek Jeter, Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year." Obama praised DJ for the way he carries himself, for being a consummate professional.

But my favorite part was seeing Alex Rodriguez standing right next to Jeter.

I'm sorry. I know the topic is played out and all. It doesn't impact wins and losses (as is evidenced by the championship they were celebrating).

But AROD had a TOUGH job masking his contempt for the fact that *HE* was not being recognized.

Let's be honest.

AROD had more to do with the Yankees winning their 27th championship than ANYONE. For the first time in his career, he was the BEST player in the world at the most meaningful time. He did a LOT to repair his image as a choke.


But, if you're the President, can you really single someone out who has admitted to using steroids?

You don't want to touch that controversy.

So you pick the safe choices.

But that leaves Alex there to stand with an uncomfortable grin.

No one ever said he wasn't pety.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's an anomaly of being a sports fan.

You can like a guy, without actually liking a guy.

I think Alex can be vein, silly, small, phony, and self-serving.

But I don't care.

Our relationship isn't structured that way.

He hits home runs for the Yankees, and I smile.

He's useful to me so long as he's driving in runs.

When he's not, all the other elements of his personality which I see (be they real or imagined) become much bigger.

When he's hot at the plate, I praise the ballplayer.

When he struggles, I take shots at the human being.

It's not fair.

But then again he makes 25 million dollars a year and I have to fill out a timesheet every two weeks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, I'll admit it's much more satisfying when the athlete or movie star or writer or rock star, is a good person.

When you can admire someone for WHO they are in addition to WHAT they do, it's an added bonus.

But at least for me, I usually don't care.

I tend to be results oriented.

Obviously it's great to form attachments to athletes, like the one I feel towards Dwyane Wade, but it doesn't have to be that way.

I think Woody Allen is truly a genius. As an artist, he's a hero of mine. As a human being, to put it kindly, he's a little shady.

My grandfather (who incidentally hated Woody Allen) once told me, the closer you get to someone, the more you learn their flaws.

That's why with hero-worship, it's best not to cloud our judgements with pesky things such as facts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My only concern watching AROD try to mask his hang-dog look as 'others not named Alex' were recognized, was, how will it impact him on the field?

He can be fragile.

Any perceived slight can send AROD into a tail-spin.

Maybe the President dissed AROD on purpose.

He is a known White Sox fan.