Bernie Williams:

I feel like because Bernie Williams is a quiet person, he never receives the kind of an attention that he deserves.  Oh sure he won 3 golden glove awards, was mvp and so forth but he is being shadowed by other players who are more media friendly.  It’s a bit similar to Lou Gehrid.  He was overly shadowed by Babe Ruth.  So as I watched the post games & the world series, I was frustrated.  He was walked so many times and wasn’t given the chance to hit the ball and to be a “hero”. 

When did my crush start as well as my respect? Well, I love telling this story because it is a classic and I’m sure it’s also many sportscasters and players who witnessed it.  Yankees were playing the Oakland A's and Bernie was at bat. The bases were loaded, he was at 2 strikes and 2 balls and then pitcher pitched another ball.  Bernie thought that he got 4 balls and started to make his way to first until the umpire called him back and told him it was only 3 balls.  So with the smile that shouted out, I’m so embarrassed, he went back to the plate.  The embarrassment well-contained and wide smiles from all the players, the pitcher pitched again and Bernie, with his grace and power swung his bat and the ball flew to its destination.  It was a grand slam.  As he ran base to base with the crowd going wild, he blushed all the way to home with a smile. (I like to say thank you to sunshine from Yankees.com forum for providing the full details of this incident.)

Isn’t it a classic? Doesn’t it bring a huge smile on your face? When I heard about ken griffey, jr joining Yankees as a possibility, I became extremely nervous.  My brother was saying that Bernie might be traded for ken griffey.  That would be tragedy for me. No one better touch Bernie Williams.  He’s a Yankees and I hope he will always be. :) 

At any rate, it was disappointing to see there were so little Bernie’s webpages in the cyber world while you can find TONS of things about Derek Jeter. But then again I thought, I think Bernie would’ve preferred it this way. 
 

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Derek Jeter:

Meanwhile Derek Jeter, if he is the kind of person I think he is, would’ve preferred the quietness as well but he isn't destined to have it that way.  Why? Simple.  He’s “hot” in all aspect.  He is good looking, he’s a great player, and he’s young and single.  (As if this is a new NEWS.)

Many are speculating, including Joe Torre, he’ll most likely be a hall of famer. You can see it, I've been told and read countless times.  He’s what in his middle 20s? Oh jeez, can you imagine the pressure?  As for the good-looking thing, quite honestly, I don’t think he’s that great looking.  Little above average but not great looking that all these women are going nuts over.  I think that because he has the whole package, including good manners and level headedness, the eye lenses have air brushed his looks.  Then again, perhaps the pictures and tv does not do justice to his look. I’ve never seen him in person so I guess I shouldn’t talk huh? 

In the beginning, I didn’t think he was a big deal.  I was more into Bernie, but then Derek Jeter caught my attention as a batter and as a shortstop.  He is REALLY good and hardly makes any errors as a shortstop.  Then this famous Derek move, when he sweeps the ground ball, jumps and in midair whips the ball straight into tino’s glove. It’s such a great play that it’s beautiful.  (As if I'm the first to say this ;))It’s like having an aesthetic experience just watching those moves. (Perhaps it’s like when Michael Jordan slam-dunks and it seems like the time stops when he’s up in the air.)  He’s also a power hitter and he stays so cool when he strikes out.  He always has this smile that almost looks like a smirk but isn’t.  (I think that smile is more for himself.) He’s also a stealer.  I always laugh because it never fails, but he has a permenant stain on his chest from all that sliding he always does. My, my, he does everything! 

This all but wraps into one thought (maybe several) and that is what is this obsession we have with athletes? Why do we dedicate specific webpages, collect photos, join fan clubs, and hope desperately to at least catch a glimpse of the person in real life?  What is this hunger to find out who he is and nose into his personal life?  We read about anything and everything about him and try to learn about his history. We, likewise, read the gossip section and are at the mercy of printed words and soak them into belief.

From what I’ve gathered he seemed to have a good head on his shoulder and a good heart.  He also has a good sense of who he is and his ethics are intact. His parents are respectable, he started 2 foundations, he is a professional, he has a cute personality, but what I like most about him is the way he keeps his personal life quiet.  It’s admirable that he doesn’t speak a word about his well known past relationship with that very popular pop diva, Mariah Carey. 

How do we know what we are reading about him is really him?  Who knows how he’s really like in real life?  Do we even care? Is it him or is it the idea of him that we are obsessed with? 

Sometimes I wonder during his off-season, does he go into the internet and see all these webpages about him. I wonder if he's curious because if I was a star, I would be surfing.  I mean, his best friend A-Rod has his own webpage... But then again, he might be a computer illiterate.  I laugh out loud if he’ll ever get to see them and would he find this page and laugh at what I’ve written.  It is just a hopeless thought. :)

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