OK... it's great to see A-Rod devote free time to something that doesn't involve lap dances or fake medical clinics. Sunday, he met with the family of Avonte Oquendo, an autistic 14-year-old who has been missing since Oct. 4. Of course, the media also came, creating a naked p.r. event, clearly designed to help Alex try to salvage his scarred brand name.
“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” A-Rod told The Post, following a nearly two-hour get-together. “I’m doing this because it comes to my heart. This is a very serious situation. I have a lot of things I can do with my time. I thought for me, this was something that was important.”
Let's face it: In this world, the damned do pretty well, when it comes to attracting attention.
Still, it seems here that no matter what the kangaroos decide next month, A-Rod will have a lot of time on his hands in 2014. Maybe two months. Maybe the season. He's not going to be an ESPN analyst or high school motivational speaker. But he will retain that incredible super power - the magnetic ability to lure cameras and reporters, even if they only go for the chance to hurl insults at him.
It's all part of that big, money-greased grist machine that grinds daily in America, feeding celebrities to the media, and vice versa. (Of which this blog is a willing participant.) Still... this could be A-Rod's last chance to do anything of consequence with his life beyond hitting a ball.
I don't see A-Rod as the most empathetic guy in the dugout. But I do know this: When you meet nice people in traumatic situations, you never walk away unchanged. Something happens. The Grinch's heart grows three times its size. Never underestimate this. It is the last salvation for clowns and kings, for fools and sinners alike.
I hope A-Rod spends the next eight months going from one cause to another, drawing cameras and attention to people who desperately need it.
Listen: This wont save A-Rod's name. That ship has sailed. But it might save his soul.
And I hope somebody out there, maybe a Yankee fan, gets up today and says, Dammit, let's find that kid!
I think he's ready for sainthood. I guess first the Pope has to make him beatified or whatever it is. But sainthood is definitely in the cards.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be like St. Augustine...a wayward youth, sinful past, then SHAZAM!! Sees the light and waltzes into heaven, all is forgiven and sainthood is granted.
It's a better story than the constant villification. America likes a happy ending. The feel-good story of the decade. 'I laughed. I cried. I loved it!'--Gene Shalit
Saint Alex. The big HR off the Beantown Beaner WAS a miracle. We can all agree on that!
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