Barry Bonds Fan Response a Tale of Two Cities

SAN FRANCISCO, April 8, 2006 — -- With the new season, Major League Baseball is beginning a sweeping investigation into steroid use, widely expected to focus on San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, who's now starring in his own reality show.

The fan reaction to the scandal has diverged. In fact so far, it's been a tale of two cities.

When Bonds took to the field for his home opener this week, he got a standing ovation, proving some hometown fans don't care whether his homers were muscled by drugs.

"If he was doing it and everybody else was doing it, he's still that much better than everybody else," said one.

"It still takes a lot of skill to hit a ball," added another.

But opening day in San Diego was a different story. Bonds was booed, and someone threw a big syringe on the field.

In San Francisco, Bonds was safe at home in more ways than one. If Yankee Stadium is the house that Ruth built, San Francisco's ballpark may well be the house that Bonds built. In five years in their new stadium, the Giants have doubled their attendance, and the main attraction is Bonds.

But off the field, those questions about doping follow him.

"We can react about baseball questions, or we don't have a conversation," Bonds said recently, rebuffing such a question.