i’ve been listening to the whole steroid issue on espn radio and whatnot and i’d like to give a lil insight on what i’m thinking. for those who don’t know what i’m talking about, MLB and NFL are in some big ole senate debates talking about what they can do to stop the steroidal use in their sports. sports radio stations are talking about this like mad and i’m tryin to figure out what the debate is all about. first off, it’s illegal to use steroids and yes, people do use them. but i’m thinking why do people use them? everyone in their right mind knows that they do VERY bad things to your body (kills your liver, side effects (roid rage), etc.) so what would possess someone to use em?
my theory about the decline of sports holds true to this simple principle. the wrong types of people are using them – when i say the wrong types of people, i’m talking about the thugs and trouble makers that are professional athletes these days. these are not people that kids should be looking up to – not at all. these are not people that kids should be idolizing. these are not people that should be making millions of dollars to be playing a game (and complaining about how they’re not getting paid more). professional basketball is a joke because of the ‘players’ who don’t respect the game and only want to get paid. football is going in that direction and baseball is well on it’s way. hockey we don’t have to worry about cuz it’ll be a couple years before they even play again… idiots (but that’s another story).
my point is with this whole steroid debate: if they get caught using em, don’t let them play. don’t give them another chance to warp the minds of kids across the nation. don’t give them another chance to taint the game that at one time was pure. people these days are lazy and will do anything to take the easy way out. it makes me sick. i find myself getting caught up in this mess from time to time – and THAT makes me sick. not only stiffen the penalties, but increase the testing – it don’t take long to piss in a cup. i mean, you ever seen a bathroom before a game? (some maybe havn’t) – there are usually lines for the stalls, cuz the adrenaline kicks in and you gotta pee – it’s a normal reaction (i don’t have any resources, but this is true – go ahead look it up, i don’t have the time).
seriously folks, football, baseball, basketball… they’re all going downhill. you wanna know why it’s so difficult to get people to a vikings game? cuz a vast number of people think the team is nothing more than a group of overpaid thugs. and while in many cases this is dead-on accurate, this is not the way it should be. what ever happened to the rolemodels, decent individuals and good, honest people? nobody focuses on these people. i HATE the media cuz they’re so negative, cuz that’s all they focus on. during the draft, the commentators kept talking about aaron rogers, the cal QB who the packers picked with the 24th pick. he was slated to possibly go #1 in the draft. for whatever reason, he didn’t. and the commentators kept talking (and to some degree still are talking) about the fact that with every pick that passed and he didn’t get drafted, he was losing about $500,000 in his signing bonus/salary. i’m sorry, but he’ll sign for a nice lil chunk of change bigger than anything we’ll ever see. and he ended up in possibly the best scenario for him. he’ll get to study the game under one of the best QB’s in the league (ever). and when favre besides it’s time to hang up the cleats, he’ll have experience and more to build on. rather than going to a team that needs a QB instantly and he’s thrown to the dogs and the stupid media gives him hell, cuz he’s strugglin a bit. just an example. another case in point: ahman green (RB for the green bay packers) just got arrested for domestic violence. i don’t know the whole story – i havn’t read anything about it, i just saw the headlines… but it’s in the headlines, it’s all over the sports sections across the US. now in contrast, Jerry Parins, a long-time member of the packers organization (former assistant coach) has been working diligently on his Cruise for Cancer campaign. where a handful of packers players will help out with this event and donate their time. will we ever see this in any newspaper outside of green bay? i doubt it.
that’s just a quick example, there are probably better ones out there, but that popped into my head right away.
my point is, i play semi-pro football because i LOVE PLAYING THE GAME. we need more people to play professional football who are doing it for the right reasons not because they can become famous and make millions of dollars – but because they like playing the game. it’s not all about the benjamins folks, it never has been and it never will be.
T – nice take on the steroids issue and on pro sports in general. I would take it one or maybe two steps further though, good role models are getting harder and harder to find, period. Right down the list from pro sports to politics to business leaders… there’s hardly a day the goes by that someone is not caught for cheating in some way. This is why it’s getting even more important that good guys like yourself continue to keep positive attitudes in life so my eight month old son will have a few good role models to look up to… and not just his Daddy to imulate 😉
Also – if you like the Nike gloves… they’re yours. See you at practice!
I agree with both of you. Why is it people make things so complicated? You use = you don’t play – simple enough? NOOOOOOOOOOO. They’ve gotta drag it out and bring politics into it, which makes the process ridiculously slow. But then there would be nothing to write about or talk about on the news, cause heaven forbid anyone talk about anything good in this world.
And don’t even get me started on Hollywood…I don’t know if people don’t understand that the more they are in the light of people, the more they have an effect on the younger generation…and look at the younger generation. I hate to generalize, but seriously…what is the world coming to? I think those actors, sports "heroes" and so called "famous people" who CLAIM to be Christians should rally up and do something good for a change.
That’s all…