Tour de Steroids
Oh cycling world! Let me lament thy demise. The Tour de France had its leading rider tossed out after he tested positive for steroids. Makes you long for the days of Lance Armstrong, who either didn’t dope (unlikely) or was at least smart enough to not get caught. These days, it seems like athletes dope just as much but are under increasing scrutiny for doing so. Steroids have become a dangerous and hated drug, and have even been blamed for former fake-wrestler Benoit killing his wife and son.
But who really cares? The fact of the matter is that even if someone like me took steroids, that person could never make it to the top of any sporting field; you need coordination, determination, some kind of natural ability. So these athletes who have that, but feel they need an extra boost, who can blame them? But at the same time, who’s looking up to them? Do we only credit those who have the purest of pure natural ability?
In the end, everyone recognizes sporting’s greats after they’ve long retired. Tiger Woods, even if he passes Jack Nicholas’s Masters record, probably won’t be declared best golfer ever until well into his retirement. There’s too much talk about technology in golf assisting someone like Woods, never mind that the courses are made harder and harder every year to adjust. Barry Bonds won’t ever eclipse Hank Aaron in greatness, and not just because of the steroids controversy; it’s because Bonds can never do for baseball what Aaron did. He’ll never be a leader in that way.
So what about those steroid users? We can no longer look at them as purists, the best of the best in terms of natural ability. But they’re still a lot more athletically talented than anyone I know. I’m not saying we put them on a pedestal, especially after they’ve doped, but if we continue to worship athletes as the best of the best, is it any wonder that some will take drugs to increase their potential? A scholar may read more books to increase her knowledge ability. So too may an athlete inject chemicals into his body. The athlete may now be cast down as worthless, but was he ever worth something to begin with? He’s a competitor and an entertainer. Knowing the Beatles took drugs to write their songs doesn’t make me any less appreciative. They just don’t become role models for how I want to live my life. Ditto to athletes – doping or otherwise.
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