I've been studying Barry Bonds the last couple of years because I really wanted to dislike the man. The mere fact that I tried so hard to dislike him wasn't like me and I wondered what caused it. Was it because he was a very confident African American when I am white and because he broke the wonderful record of 70 homeruns that was set a few years before by a heroic white man? That was a possibility and because of that possibility, I really had to study myself because that's not the person I want to be.

But wait. Mohammed Ali was one of the most confident African Americans who ever lived and he was an absolute hero of mine. But maybe that was because I didn't get to see him until he was stripped of his crown and became the underdog the rest of his career. He was Mohammed moving the mountain. The difference was that Ali had a certain charm that got beyond his arrogance. You had to smile at him as he was so out there.

Bonds is a confident African American who doesn't overflow with charm and wit and doesn't seem to care what we all think of him. Bonds presence in our consciousness has increased since his historic season. He has been seen on dozens of interviews and when you listen to him speak, the term arrogance is misplaced. Arrogance is when you have talent that few others have and you throw it in the face of your foe. Bonds is just straight-forward and factual about his talent. He doesn't make false statements about his talent when it is so obviously there. He accepts his talent matter of factly as a given and that's refreshing.

I was also really impressed with how he learns from a player like David Eckstein. Bonds mentions how Eckstein put tears in Bonds' eyes for how hard he competes and how well he uses the little talent that he has. He also mentions that he learned a technique in Eckstein's swing that Bonds thinks will help him be quicker. Bonds learned that technique so well that he hit ten homeruns in Spring Training.

I was also moved by how Bonds always seems to mention his family and his father and Willie Mays and how important these people are to him. How can you hate a guy who has his priorities in the right place?

What is true is that Bonds has had two of the most amazing seasons in baseball history. 73 homeruns followed by a .370 average and 48 more homeruns. His on base percentage and slugging were record breaking. We are seeing a talent at his peak unlike any talent in our lifetime. He is the best at what he does and is the Michael Jordan of MLB. The Giants had no business being in the World Series last year. They just didn't have the talent that the other teams had. Give Baker a large credit for that, but Bonds single-handedly dragged that team into the World Series.

Another major knock on Bonds is the kind of teammate he is. Oh please. Michael Jordan shot fifty percent of the Bulls shots for the six years they won the NBA Championships. How popular do you think he was with his teammates? Not only was he the top scorer, the one with all the publicity, the one who shot the most, but also the one that made the most money who also happened to think he was the assistant coach. Yup, he sure must have been popular with his teammates.

Bonds wants to win. Bonds knows matter of factly that he is the best player on the field and it galls him that he hasn't won a World Series. I have opened my eyes and viewed him with an open mind and I respect what he's done. I admire and ride along with history as it's being made. And he has a great smile and gives a great and honest interview. You won me over, Barry, and what makes me laugh saying that is that you really couldn't give a rip if you win us over or not.