The Justice

Barry Bonds has faced steroid allegations throughout his pursuit of baseball's all-time home run mark, but San Francisco Giant fans cheered when he broke the record Aug. 7 against the Washington Nationals. Photo by Ben Margot/The Associated Press

Being at AT&T Park the night after San Francisco Giants' outfielder Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's all-time home run record probably sounds anti-climactic.

The bleachers were nowhere near filled when I sat down, not at all resembling the packed, energetic crowd from the night before.

Still, my spirits were relatively high as I basked in the afterglow of the triumph that took place on that field 24 hours previously. I also hoped, though the big moment had passed, that I would get to see Bonds step up to the plate.

Not even the steroid allegations against Bonds dampened my mood.

I received tickets for the August 8 game earlier in the summer, before I knew Bonds was inching closer to Aaron's record of 755 home runs. I was ecstatic when I realized I had the chance to be among the lucky fans to witness the making of a new record.

But alas, I was too late. At first, that disappointment diminished my enthusiasm and that of many other San Franciscans who had dutifully cheered on Bonds all summer. Why sit through another game for the last-place Giants when history wasn't on the line?

Bonds promptly answered that question in the first inning by smashing his 757th home run into "McCovey Cove," the portion of the San Francisco Bay situated just outside the stadium. I had witnessed history after all: a new record, one night later.

Everyone in the stands stood and cheered, music played over the loudspeakers, hats waved in the cool night air and an instant replay of the powerful swing was shown over and over again on the big screen.

Though this celebration must have paled in comparison to the previous night's bonanza, that didn't matter to me. I felt vindicated.

The people who spent the day telling me that Bonds probably wouldn't play because he needed the night off to rest, the people who didn't feel the need to watch the Giants anymore since Bonds already reached his record really missed something special. When he launched the ball into the Bay, Bonds made San Franciscans proud all over again.

Continued...

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