The so-called "Mitchell Report" is about to explode, just like Barry Bonds' head presumably will when he rolls out of bed one day and lets out a big sneeze.  But how will you feel, how will you rationalize everything when it comes out that your favorite player or your favorite team was aided by steroids?  Or on the flipside your team was beaten in an important game and #### over by a steroid user?  In any event some will care, some will be shocked, some will disappointed, some will rationalize and make excuses and others will say oh wow and oh well and simply move on and keep watching  the sport.

My take, the media cares about this story way more than the fans do and the attendance figures over the last four years which keep rising prove it as such.  Fans were much more upset with baseball after the 1994-95 strike than they have been with this steroid epidemic.  That having been said, fans are still very protective when it comes to the integrity of records ala, Hank Aaron and Roger Maris.

I believe that this stems from the fact that like a poorly officiated game in which your team gets #### over, you're still resigned to the fact that you can't get it back.  Sure you can put your own black mark on it and the league can apologize and admit it messed up, but what happened, happened and unless there's an immediate correction then why care about it if the league doesn't care to do anything, because really you the fan can't do anything, except not show up and really when has that ever happened except for post-strike circa 1994-95?

Some fans when their favorite player comes up or an important star on their team is listed will simply say they don't care.  Now part of that stems from an attitude that says well yeah it's wrong but everybody is tainted at this point or has been at some point and it's far too ambigious to know for sure how much of an effect or advantage this has given to certain teams and players.  Additionally those same fans must realize that not caring all-together means you're cool with Barry Bonds as the all-time HR king or say for instance of speculation's sake, Roger Clemens as the best pitcher of this generation.

On one side you'll have Yankees fans screaming at Red Sox fans about what was injected by trainers into Curt Schilling's leg that allowed to let him pitch in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS and just how did David Ortiz go from platoon player in Minnesota to overnight Fenway sensation?  Then you'll certainly have Red Sox fans countering back at Yankees fans about Jason Giambi's two HR's in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS and Roger Clemens who shut them down in Game 3 of the ALCS in 2003 as well.  How might another nation besides this one and the one in Boston, Mass. react in Japan if and when Hideki Matsui's name crops up.  You'll have Mets and Giants fans wondering if back in 1998 if they and not Sammy Sosa's Cubs should've made the playoffs as the NL Wild Card, or those agruments become quickly irrelevant when suddenly it surfaces that Barry Bonds and Mike Piazza were also implicated.

If nothing else fans finally know what's going on, even if they don't know all of what's going on.  They know it and it stinks, like a poorly umpired game where their team gets hosed and they're left with nothing but empty apologies like we're sorry you didn't like our calls and the fans gripe but proceed to move on.  Gee it's no wonder baseball doesn't want to implement instant replay, they might get caught with their pants down.  Too late for that!