I've been wanting to write this article for some time now, as it is quite controversial. Members of The Warehouse even got into a passionate argument over the weekend about this issue. I believe one member of The Warehouse called another member by the name "dumb f***." Now I don't condone that kind of language (even though I might have been the one who said it) but what I do condone is....... STEROIDS.
Ok, I don't really condone the use of steroids, but I don't care that professional athletes are using 'roids. Just think about it, nearly every single one of you sports fans out there has been 'crushed' by the fact that your favorite athlete has at some point in his career tested positive for a "performance enhanced drug." Wake up! Now what I'm about to tell you might bring back bad memories of when you found out that Santa Clause wasn't real (sorry kids)... but get your head out of your ass, YOUR FAVORITE ATHLETE HAS PROBABLY DONE STEROIDS. Obviously, I don't have bloody gauze from all of these athletes as proof, but common sense should be proof enough.
We live in a society where anyone and everyone does whatever it takes to get ahead. I.e; Enron, Martha Stewart, Bernie Madoff. Moving forward, common sense tells us that 99% of the athletes who have the chance to use the rage drug, will. If I could get my hands on some PED's, there's no doubt I would take them. Who wouldn't want to be bigger, stronger, faster, quicker, sexier?! In a profession like sports, you HAVE to try to get ahead of the game, by any means possible right? If not, you'll get cut. Period.
As for the state of sports today, the main reason why I don't care that people are using is the fact that EVERYONE is using, and it is in all sports. The fact that today we learned that Rashard Lewis, a basketball player, was suspended for 10 games for 'elevated testosterone' only furthers my point. Professional athletes have tested positive for PEDs in sports such as; football, baseball, basketball, track, swimming, rugby and heck even cycling. You'll probably sit there and argue that using steroids is cheating and that it is a competitive advantage.... blah blah blah.
Is it really a competitive advantage though? Look at it from this perspective; If Roger Clemens faced Barry Bonds, who has the advantage? They are both "cheaters," right?! Neither has an advantage, it is actually as level of a playing field as their can be. That is the reality of the last two/three decades of sports. Everyone is doing it, so are they really cheating? Instead of being bitter about it, appreciate what you are seeing. Regardless of how they are doing it, appreciate the fact that they ARE doing it. You may never see anything like it ever again. At the same time, you can still look back in history and appreciate all the things those guys did.
The game will get clean. Right now, the game ISN'T clean. Get over it. Enjoy sports for the beauty of them and the fun of them. Forget about steroids, it should be a none issue because it is a nonadvantage, at least for now. That's just the reality, sorry to shatter your world.
Steroids. Out.
Word.
P.S. I miss you Barry.
That's a very good point. I don't so much care about it either for that same reason.
ReplyDelete"We live in a society where anyone and everyone does whatever it takes to get ahead. I.e; Enron, Martha Stewart, Bernie Madoff."
ReplyDeleteGood point. All of these people spent time in jail.
"As for the state of sports today, the main reason why I don't care that people are using is the fact that EVERYONE is using, and it is in all sports."
Is this really a fact?
I, too, can appreciate the entertainment value of sports. But more than that, I yearn, like most, for the incredible human interest that arise out of the triumph and defeat that sports provide. Ordinary people that, through hard work and determination and under extraordinary circumstances rise ascend to become something better and greater than they ever thought they would be. Steriods simply deprive us, the fans, of these instances. Not all of them, but most of them.
I just want to start by saying I am an avid reader and clicker on advertising... Also I am terrible at writing so my thoughts tend to be all over the place… You mentioned that 99% of athletes do steroids and that may be true however, that is still cheating the game. That 1% that doesn't do it and you may say it's crazy but not everyone does steroids. Some players do have morals and obey the rules set by baseball and these are the people that are being cheated. I agree the game is not clean anymore and being an avid baseball fan it sucks and is saddening. I also believe the media is also to fault for this. If players would be disciplined quietly the game would not be as tarnished as it has become. With as much that is on the news about steroids, people begin to lose interest and stop caring. It also takes away from all the great players of the past who didn't use steroids or other forms of PEDs. The records and stats they posted are something to be impressed with. That is true athleticism and talent. I know I would have still been excited when Mark beat the single season home run record but just knowing he was juiced up takes something away from it. And my final thought that I leave you with is that they are illegal in the US. Why are these players not in jail... our justice system is screwed... solid article keep up the good work…
ReplyDelete99%...99%? That is a little steep; try extremely steep. The facts are that behind cycling, baseball is probably the most rampent steroid using sport out there. More players use steroids in baseball than football, basketball, soccer, and the olympics because it was the only sport out there that did not consider them illegal. So, now if baseball is the second highest steroid using sport then 99% is way off considering that in the infamous 2003 list of positives, 104 out of 1200 players tested positive. If you know math then that is 8.67% of players tested positive. You cannot say that the 1200 players is a small sample because in baseball they have a 40 man active roster, 1200 divided by 40 is 30, coincidentally there are 30 teams in MLB. So whether they did the 40 active players for each team I do not know, but this basiclaly shows that baseball tested more than 30% of baseball, which is a higher percentage sample than they use for cigarette smokers, cancer deaths and presidential polls. It is a highly accurate percentage because I highly doubt that 1,084 players on the list, the amount to make the percantge 99, took steroids and got away with it. Especially when the high money earners like A-Rod and ManRam could not buy their way out of it, I highly doubt that low money earners in double A ball that are on the 40 man roster could find the means to pay for steroids that are not detected. Here are the facts that 99% of athletes do not take steroids, and that it is probably more around 10% of athletes if even that take them, but do not let facts get in the way of your blog.
ReplyDelete