I am not happy about Jason Giambi's admission. I'm not happy that the man who once embodied the spirit of the green and gold is going to be a pariah among sports figures.
But what does make me happy is that the New York Yankees are getting burned for their repeated pillaging. That finally, after Catfish, Reggie and so many countless others, they got their just desserts.
Wait...stop for a minute and remember what you felt the day you saw this photo:
If you're a passionate green and gold follower, you felt backstabbed, betrayed and disgusted with the clean-shaven, selling out first baseman. Soon after we would be bombarded with an advertising campaign featuring a performance-enhanced Arm-N-Hammer spokesperson. Every time you'd turn on a baseball game, there Giambi was, flexing his Balco-ballooned guns.
I'd mentioned before that I had followed the A's peripherally while I was growing up in Boston. I loved Jose Canseco. The man's mammoth home runs were like watching the bearded lady come out from behind the tent. He was a walking freak show.
And later I found out that he was on performance-enhancing drugs.
Now, I truly found a passion for the A's several years ago after moving to Sacramento. Giambi was a major reason why. His tats and goat and hair seemed to define the team's Sunset Strip attitude.
I took it as a personal affront when he left. But it truly hit home with me the day I saw that photo. That photo just turned my stomach and pained me.
I do feel bad that Giambi has had health problems due to abysmal bad personal judgment, but it reminds me that fate can sometimes be a bitch. Now the Yankees are reportedly investigating voiding that huge contract.
Let's hope the Yankees are stuck with their mistake. Giambi has had to pay a serious price health-wise from his choice to do steroids, and now he's going to be the poster boy for cheating in pro sports. If the contract sticks, maybe the Yanks will finally learn their lesson.
Yeah, probably not.
