Brooklyn Hates A-Rod
- Photo via SportsPickle
- I promised myself I wouldn’t make an “A-Roid” joke.
Really, seems like all of New York does at this point. So much so that an otherwise harmless deli in Clinton Hill called “A-Rod Grocery” is thinking of changing its name, so as to distance themselves from Alex Rodriguez, who they say has gone from being a hero for the Dominican community to a major source of embarrassment.
“The bodega’s name has been ‘A-Rod for 12 years now,” owner Ricardo Rodriguez told El Diario, adding, “Back then, our [A-Rod] awning was the pride of Dominican fans […] We don’t know what to name the bodega now, but the fact is some customers are boiling mad, even though they still come to buy food here because of our history in Clinton Hill.”
One customer also told the paper, “People buy groceries here because the bodega is very beloved in this community. But the name is no longer loved. Now people pass by this store, read the name ‘A-Rod’ in huge blue letters and they ask themselves ‘What are they thinking?’”
What, indeed. That just once, a beloved, talented professional athlete wouldn’t prove to be a crushing ethical disappointment in one form or another? Eh, no. And, honestly, having grown-up in Seattle, I’ve been at the “A-Rod is despicable” party for years. It’s not like I can claim I predicted any of this would happen, but it’s nice to have more people coming around to my way of thinking, and not just be the one bitter jerk in the corner trying to tell everyone that one of our city’s best athletes is actually garbage. But he is, and now everyone knows it. Welcome, guys. There’s room here for everyone.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.
