Whose Really Cheating?
I'm For: U2's Joshua Tree (the greatest 50 minutes in Moderate Rock history), Inspirational Speeches from superiors, drinking beer at work on a Monday, and Chuck Klosterman author of Killing Yourself to Live the book I selected.
I'm Against: Matchbox 20 (the most mediocre "Rock" band in history) Unorganized ramblings from superiors based on half-thoughts, the pain in my torso that occurs while checking my blind spot, and the lack of response to my request for authors.
Long live cheaters! Bring me your dopers, your steriod users, your EPO pumpers, and your body chemists!
That is precisely what the media is doing to professional athletics. Every time a sports columnists brings out his jukebox and bags on Cycling, Track and Field, and the athletes that participate them they are in effect encouraging more people to cheat. Its an ass backwards way of thinking, but hear me out.
Floyd Landis and Justin Gatlin have made recent headlines about their individual doping scandles and all the media have come out to criticize them and their respective sports. Many pundits have been quick to point out the dirty past of Track and Field and Cycling bringing out laundry lists of top athletes that were guilty of failing drug tests. This is where the media is wrong, Cycling and Track and Field are not the ones with the dirty past and doping scandles, they are just the only ones that are making a real effort to find the cheaters. Prior to this years Tour two of the favorites were disqualified from the race as a result of doping problems. After the race they actually investigated the "miracle" performance that was a difference maker in the final result. Track and Field has had similar situations, investigating former champions and stripping medals and records as a result of drug tests. These sports should be praised for actually making an effort to removing drug use from the sport by punishing the people who it makes a difference for, the sports top performers.
They most certainly are not doing that in the professional leagues in the States. Where the only people who are getting punished for failed drug tests are third rate players and minor leaguers. If Todd Saubreun the PUNTER for the Denver Broncos is the only person who is using roids in the NFL you can go ahead and shrink my testicles to his size, because there is no way in hell that is true. In fact I would garuntee he is not even the only guy on his special teams line that is using roids.
A better question to ask is who in the major professional sports leagues is not using illegal performance enhancing drugs? Let's face it we are producing a lot of 6'3 250+ lb dudes in this country that can run a sub 4.7 second 40. I am 6'1 170lbs and in excellent shape and I have never been able to run a 4.7 second 40. I am not an extrodinary athelete but I should not be outrun by 300 pound men.
Lets face it, sports are becoming as much about body chemistry and training techniques as they are about natural talent and practice. People are using just about every resource available to them to maximize their bodies to gain any hint of an advantage over their opponents. Everybody is using performance enhancing drugs its just a difference of degree.
Every time I play an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament I alter my body chemistry by intaking unnatural amounts of sodium and potassium through pickle juice, and double the recommended dosages of Ibueprofin. This reduces my pain and thins my blood and increases the amount of water my body can retain to reduce muscle fatigue and cramps. Is this dangerous? If I did it frequently enough yes. But its a risk that I will take to compete.
My body chemistry alterations are minor compared to higher level atheletes. Its just an example to show that highly competitive athletes at ALL levels are chemically altering their bodys to enhance performance. It is a difference in kind beteween protein shakes and vitamins, creatine and supplements, and straight up steroids and illegal hormones; its a difference in degree. They all have the same purpose to make you bigger, faster, and stronger. The difference is that the former are more available, less risky, and legal and the later are less accessible, more risk, and illegal.
I do not have any statistics or real evidence to support the claims that I am making, because they do not exist, or at least are not available to me. However, I do have my intuition, stories from people who are trying to make it in the minor leagues, and the reports I have recieved from the media. It is safe to say that the majority of professional athletes are more aligned with the fuzzy line towards illegal performance enhancing drug use than the legal side.
If people in the Reserve Division of Major League Soccer and Short Season Rookie Baseball are using steroids to get to the next level, you have to believe that there are a significant number of players who are using them at the top level. Professonal sports is one of the most competitive job markets around where talent is often subjective that any tangible evidence like speed, strength, or leaping ability can be the difference maker. We might like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but if its the difference between making 6 or 7 figures at the top level or quitting a sport that you have dedicated your entire life to, a lot of people will turn to illegal enhancements.
We are rewarding athletes for being bigger and stronger while maintaining quickness, speed, and health. We do not put a whole lot of value on being athletes of integrity, because there aren't any signing bonues for that. You won't see a clause for athletes who don't take performance enhancing drugs, but you will see a clause for hitting 40 or 50 home runs. If our incentives are based on superhuman levels of performance, you are going to have athletes turning to inhuman means of attaining those incentives.
Right now the media cries foul at Cycling and Track, but the way I see it those are the only sports that should be praised. Because as long as we lecture Cycling for being dirty, the NFL, NBA, and MLB are going to keep their skeletons in the closet. Sure they will throw out a name that we may have heard of here or there to make it look like they are testing. Meanwhile they will keep on reaping in the big bucks as we watch their juiced athletes break records.
After all, all of the best cheaters are in business.
I'm Against: Matchbox 20 (the most mediocre "Rock" band in history) Unorganized ramblings from superiors based on half-thoughts, the pain in my torso that occurs while checking my blind spot, and the lack of response to my request for authors.
Long live cheaters! Bring me your dopers, your steriod users, your EPO pumpers, and your body chemists!
That is precisely what the media is doing to professional athletics. Every time a sports columnists brings out his jukebox and bags on Cycling, Track and Field, and the athletes that participate them they are in effect encouraging more people to cheat. Its an ass backwards way of thinking, but hear me out.
Floyd Landis and Justin Gatlin have made recent headlines about their individual doping scandles and all the media have come out to criticize them and their respective sports. Many pundits have been quick to point out the dirty past of Track and Field and Cycling bringing out laundry lists of top athletes that were guilty of failing drug tests. This is where the media is wrong, Cycling and Track and Field are not the ones with the dirty past and doping scandles, they are just the only ones that are making a real effort to find the cheaters. Prior to this years Tour two of the favorites were disqualified from the race as a result of doping problems. After the race they actually investigated the "miracle" performance that was a difference maker in the final result. Track and Field has had similar situations, investigating former champions and stripping medals and records as a result of drug tests. These sports should be praised for actually making an effort to removing drug use from the sport by punishing the people who it makes a difference for, the sports top performers.
They most certainly are not doing that in the professional leagues in the States. Where the only people who are getting punished for failed drug tests are third rate players and minor leaguers. If Todd Saubreun the PUNTER for the Denver Broncos is the only person who is using roids in the NFL you can go ahead and shrink my testicles to his size, because there is no way in hell that is true. In fact I would garuntee he is not even the only guy on his special teams line that is using roids.
A better question to ask is who in the major professional sports leagues is not using illegal performance enhancing drugs? Let's face it we are producing a lot of 6'3 250+ lb dudes in this country that can run a sub 4.7 second 40. I am 6'1 170lbs and in excellent shape and I have never been able to run a 4.7 second 40. I am not an extrodinary athelete but I should not be outrun by 300 pound men.
Lets face it, sports are becoming as much about body chemistry and training techniques as they are about natural talent and practice. People are using just about every resource available to them to maximize their bodies to gain any hint of an advantage over their opponents. Everybody is using performance enhancing drugs its just a difference of degree.
Every time I play an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament I alter my body chemistry by intaking unnatural amounts of sodium and potassium through pickle juice, and double the recommended dosages of Ibueprofin. This reduces my pain and thins my blood and increases the amount of water my body can retain to reduce muscle fatigue and cramps. Is this dangerous? If I did it frequently enough yes. But its a risk that I will take to compete.
My body chemistry alterations are minor compared to higher level atheletes. Its just an example to show that highly competitive athletes at ALL levels are chemically altering their bodys to enhance performance. It is a difference in kind beteween protein shakes and vitamins, creatine and supplements, and straight up steroids and illegal hormones; its a difference in degree. They all have the same purpose to make you bigger, faster, and stronger. The difference is that the former are more available, less risky, and legal and the later are less accessible, more risk, and illegal.
I do not have any statistics or real evidence to support the claims that I am making, because they do not exist, or at least are not available to me. However, I do have my intuition, stories from people who are trying to make it in the minor leagues, and the reports I have recieved from the media. It is safe to say that the majority of professional athletes are more aligned with the fuzzy line towards illegal performance enhancing drug use than the legal side.
If people in the Reserve Division of Major League Soccer and Short Season Rookie Baseball are using steroids to get to the next level, you have to believe that there are a significant number of players who are using them at the top level. Professonal sports is one of the most competitive job markets around where talent is often subjective that any tangible evidence like speed, strength, or leaping ability can be the difference maker. We might like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but if its the difference between making 6 or 7 figures at the top level or quitting a sport that you have dedicated your entire life to, a lot of people will turn to illegal enhancements.
We are rewarding athletes for being bigger and stronger while maintaining quickness, speed, and health. We do not put a whole lot of value on being athletes of integrity, because there aren't any signing bonues for that. You won't see a clause for athletes who don't take performance enhancing drugs, but you will see a clause for hitting 40 or 50 home runs. If our incentives are based on superhuman levels of performance, you are going to have athletes turning to inhuman means of attaining those incentives.
Right now the media cries foul at Cycling and Track, but the way I see it those are the only sports that should be praised. Because as long as we lecture Cycling for being dirty, the NFL, NBA, and MLB are going to keep their skeletons in the closet. Sure they will throw out a name that we may have heard of here or there to make it look like they are testing. Meanwhile they will keep on reaping in the big bucks as we watch their juiced athletes break records.
After all, all of the best cheaters are in business.
posted by IrishZag at 8:44 PM
1 Comments:
Hey Brian! Long time no see. I've been enjoying your blog for a few days now so I guess I should comment for once.
Here's a couple of books to read. State of Fear by Micheal Crichton. Definetely his best book in a while. It's a great thriller with an interesting take on global warming. Also, check out Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It has interesting examples of how everything is affected by incetives.
Later
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