Super Size Me

"Super size, super size, the American way
Going down, throwing down, all day, every day
Super size, super size, the American way
Getting fat, getting broke, either way you're gonna pay"
--Super Size Me, Toothpick

There are a few different connotations for the title of today's post, one of which is the movie of same name (the theme song of which is featured above), viewed for the first time in our hotel in St. Maarten last week, and a combination of images impossible to get over in any short order. After seeing said film, were I a fast-food eater of any repute (I don't consider my semi-monthly consumption of an El Pollo Loco Ultimate Grilled burrito to represent me as any kind of fast-food eater), there would be no possible way I could continue along that culinary path.
I'm not writing any longer on this topic, but allow me to make the Big Mac-Big Mac connection and bridge myself to the real thought du jour--the supersized baseball slugger (in general) and the left-out-of-Cooperstown Cardinals' former Big Mac (in France they call him Le Big Mac). I'm obviously quite pleased at the induction of Fat Tony, and Cal deserves to be there as well (what a great class of two), but the bigger news story on announcement day was that Mark McGwire received just 25% of the vote (far short of the required 75%), and will face a long, uphill battle in his quest to make it in future years. Much has been written on this subject by vastly superior sources, so I won't bore (all three of) you with preaching on either side of the argument, but I will offer my opinion, briefly, and with solid reason.
Mark McGwire belongs in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I walked out of an elevator in my building today and stared right at reason number one for this assertion. A series of promos for Fox Sports (or maybe Fox Sports Net, doesn't matter) depicted fans experiencing great moments and affirmed our (the royal we) connection to them (the fans) through these memorable moments. The tag line was something along the lines of "We understand" or something more clever (slogans have never been my strength, and recalling the slogan in this case is not integral to the success of my argument), and these crazed Cardinals fans were leaping out of their seats (at home, on couches and recliners) to celebrate McGwire slamming home run number 62 back in 1998. Joe Buck's call is written out on the poster as well, and since you can't see what's on the TV, that's your only reference to the event taking place. These guys were good actors, and the joy on their face is quite evident, but there were millions of people--no actors necessary-- in the summer of '98 who celebrated just the same, watching an historic (I'm not sure why people tend to use "an" in front of "historic," but I think it makes me sound distinguished in this case, so I'm going with it) period in baseball.
I care not for the Cardinals nor the Cubs, and my Padres made it to the World Series in '98 (darn you, Tino Martinez), but I'll forever remember '98 as the year of McGwire, not of Caminiti, Gwynn, Kevin Brown and Greg Vaughn. He and Sammy essentially saved baseball that year (another point that's been made numerous times), and whether or not Mac's feats were chemically-aided (and who in their right mind didn't think so, even at that time), they brought great joy to all the people (starting to sound biblical, sorry) at a time when the whole sport (and its vast fan base) needed just that. Based on those on-field accomplishments (and they are numerous) and his bigger-than-the-game influence on fans across the country, I don't think speculation should be sufficient to bring him down. In fact, I don't even think factual confirmation of said speculation (should it ever become available) should be sufficient either, because there's no way we'll ever know how many players in the late 90's and early 00's were using "performance-enhancing drugs," hitters or pitchers (and don't even get me started on Clemens).
The whole period's numbers are skewed, but the best players from the period should still be in the Hall of Fame. Baseball's history will reflect that drugs (and the surrounding suspicions) dominated this time period, and the players who enter the Hall from said period will (unfortunately, in guys like Gwynn's case) be linked to all that shadiness. Baseball writers should not blackball a generation of players, because everyone (from MLB itself down to owners, managers, players, and even writers) is to blame for the epidemic that this whole steroids thing has become, and for one member of that group (the writers, most of whom turned a deaf ear to any speculation, as long as it was good for the game--and for readership of newspapers and magazines) to decry another (the players) reeks of hypocrisy to me.
Okay, so I wasn't as brief as I initially intended, but hypocrisy is one of the most frustrating things in the world, in any field, so I'm obviously quite passionate in my assessment of the situation. I'll lighten up from here on, I promise.

Quick recap of that last week-plus, starting on New Year's Day, with an associated thought or two:

• 1/1 - Rose Bowl game (Michigan vs. USC), 10th row up in the Vince Young corner - Dwayne Jarrett is rather good (though I talked to Keyshawn Johnson on our set yesterday, and he's not convinced Jarrett's going to be an amazing pro); the Big 10 is slow (more on this in a bit); flyovers are really cool
• 1/2 - flew from LA to St. Maarten via private jet (steak dinner at like 4 in the morning, fell asleep on a recliner watching "Talladega Nights"), spent the next week or so on the beach, napping and reading (and improving my skin tone from ghostly white to pale white)
• 1/7 - flew back to LA, spent the next day coming to grips with the fact that I was no longer on an island paradise in the Caribbean - watched some NFL playoff games, and by far the worst thing that happened on Sunday was Subway Jared's appearance in the CBS post-game studio
• 1/8 - flew to Phoenix, spent Monday night on the Florida sidelines with Leeann Tweeden, a venture (paired with my buddy Joel's time with John Salley on the Ohio State sideline) which turned into an excellent piece that aired on our show Tuesday night - the Big 10 is REALLY slow (Troy Smith, 6 yards? Really?); Chris Leak seems like a pretty weird dude; Florida's cheerleaders were way cuter; found out during a quick dinner break in the 2nd quarter Leeann and I were at the same beach in St. Maarten, within about an hour of each other, last week
• 1/9 - flew back from Phoenix and came right into work, which included a nice chat with Antonio Gates before his appearance - his humility and dedication to team first are inspirational (tough game this weekend, but I'm feeling pretty good)

I'm out, afternoon meeting AT THE PLAYBOY MANSION to go to. No joke.
And one last thing before I go: greatest music video of all time? Quite possibly. Wow.