http://www.theonion.com/content/news/destruction_of_national_pastime
Don’t geddit.
Probably because it isn’t very funny. Almost every sentence is ironical; I suppose the author is making the point that the game of baseball will continue, whether or no Bonds “cheated,” and all off the attention paid to his steroid use is an example of extreme hype.
But there is little humor there.
Barry Bonds has been accused of taking steroids to improve is performance.
He just broke the career home run record, held by someone who didn’t take performance enhancing drugs.
The article is basically reporting the recordbreaking but also busting the balls of Barry Bonds at the same time.
Ah I didn’t know the specifics. Yep, it’s not very funny anyway. Thanks folks.
One and the same.
A couple of threads on the topic.
I don’t see the humor either. The article appears to be a simple recitation of the facts.
And we know that how? 
I think they’re also poking a little gently at the notion that many fans will overlook some not necessarily illegal but certainly egregious behaviour if it’s their team member committing the foul. The Giants did their best to time the probable occurrence of the event with it happening at home because had it happened elsewhere, it’s quite possible the reception would have been very different. Yeah yeah, I know… “we did it for our fans.” Partially… but also to avoid a much less receptive audience almost anywhere else.
Baseball fans generally are very knowledgable and will respect and honor milestones, regardless of the uniform. But there was a real good chance that this one, arguably one of if not the very biggest, would have been met with a palpable air of derision had the controversial issue of his admitted steroidal use and its probable advantage been forced anywhere other than at home.
It’s no reflection on SF or even on baseball, just on sports fanatics. Some in Baltimore showed it with Ray Lewis, Dallas with Michael Irvin, Oakland with McGuire, etc, etc, etc.
Even if nothing else in the article is funny, the last sentence is LOL:
“The Nationals won the game.”
I think the article is actually poking fun at the outraged fans and commentators.
That was my take on it, too. They’ve taken all the flak Bonds has been getting, and stepped it up a notch.
Whatever The Onion article is attempting to do, it just isn’t funny. I haven’t checked The Onion out in a while, it used to make me laugh till my sides ached.
Is this article just a rare dud, or is The Onion really just not as funny as it used to be? (Checking out the other headlines on its current front page it seems to be the latter.)
They switched from a weekly format to a more daily format. I’m not sure that’s the only reason it’s not as funny as it used to be but I’m sure it didn’t help.
I thought this was a much better satire of the Bonds home run race: Craig Biggio Blames Media Pressure For Stalling At 285 Hit-By-Pitches
The best part is there’s actually a bit of truth in the article: Biggio is actually three hits (by pitch) away from breaking the all-time Major League hit-by-pitch record.
This one, too: Major League Baseball To Add Asterisk, Pound Sign, Exclamation Point, Letter “F” to Bonds’ Name In Record Books
The Onion is fairly consistent in its lack of consistent funniness. It’s hit or miss and it always has been.
The trouble with The Onion is that usually the headline is the funniest part of the story, and the story itself is just filler padding out the joke. The headlines are always damn funny, the stories themselves are hit or miss.
The phrase “sellout crowd” made me chuckle.
My favorite (Not in their archive yet - 6/18/07 edition) was:
“Hank Aaron: ‘I Will Not Attend Bonds’ 756th Homer Game, As I Will Be Busy Fucking His Mother’”