Why do people go so nuts about athletes using performance enhacing drugs?
So I’m stuck working late and am left having to hear the TV in the back and the biggest story, apparently, after the end of the world and before Middle East-U.S. peace talks, is the allegation that Lance Armstrong was doping his blood and taking testostorone or what have you. I get that it’s a federal offense since it involves controlled substances and that there are pretty serious investigations into these kinds of things but why does it have to be paid this much attention? Do people really think no one ever uses performance drugs to achieve the results they’ve had? And really, since we don’t know and will never know who these people are personally, aren’t we all just imagining whatever we want about them on top of their accomplishments (sort of like a mass delusion but as long as it feels good, ah well). These people exist, effectively, to entertain the masses and the masses could care less, I think, whether Lance Armstrong did this or that (a few college freshmen everywhere will now throw out their bracelets but oh well) or am I wrong and is this really about people being somehow surprised that the business of sport involves something like cheating? And, oh geez, is it really about the kids, think of the kids (!) who, presumably, have no other people to look up to other than good old Lance? I just find it interesting that these allegations and negative reactions and the bru-hah-hah over this come up pretty often and just are the same basic story and it has to say something about us as society.
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It’s cheating. It sends the message that if you can’t get to the top on your own then you can by taking drugs (that aren’t very good for).
What about the people who don’t take them? They get the short shaft.
Sports are competitive and a lot of money is at stake for these athletes to include corporate endorsements. That money will go to the winners, the top performers. Using those substances is cheating plain and simple. That and the fact the image that the particular sport or league will suffer because of it. Nobody likes a cheater in anything. It’s the same thing as stealing
If a sports figure is cheating and stealing it’s certainly newsworthy.
@Aster Ok. Why do you, personally, want to know if they are?
I meant it’s news for the sports lovers to inhale. I don’t care about sports ; never heard about Lance’s sins. Testosterone? That is absolutely nothing to talk about. What?
@Aster Got it. I hope someone that does love sports answers, as well. I actually don’t think this is just so that sports lovers can be made aware, it’s about something else, making such a big deal over this. And I feel it’s pretty funny, kind of like ‘well duh! how can you be surprised?’
@Simone_De_Beauvoir I think it is really sad that sports have degraded to the point that people think, “well duh! how can you be surprised”.
I’m a hockey fan and I’d be upset if I found out that a player had that extra edge because he was doping. To me the thrill is how gifted these players are through their own effort. Anyone can pop a pill but not everyone can be the best hockey/baseball/football/cyclist etc.
It’s news worthy to the point that it gets the story out there if for no more than to create shame for a sport. If it wasn’t for shame and embarrassment some things would never change. It sucks, I know but that’s how it works sometimes. The clean players want these cheaters to be outed to the public and that is where the outrage will be. Without that, it may get swept under the rug and the sport industry will be a sham and nobody will want to be a spectator and the money will stop. So it all boils down to money just like everything else does.
Is it fair to the people paying by the rules and are just behind the ones that need proformance enhancing drugs to win, when the ones taking the drugs would not even be nearly able to compete with those that are not. If sports allowed it for all then when would be the cut off when our athletes are all dying off because they need to do more and more to compete. Its wrong for all who take them.
@creative1 Right, but do you want to hear about it on evening news? Not that a lot of evening news isn’t crap, but still. And if you, then why do you want to know?
@Simone_De_Beauvoir I don’t particuarly want to hear about all the soldiers that are killed in Afganistan or Iraq especially when my sister was over there. All it does is make the families worry more about their loved ones serving. I stopped watching the news altogether until she got home a couple weeks ago. This is just what the news media does, if you don’t want to watch it you don’t have to watch the news. I got all my news via the internet while she was there that way I could select what I wanted to hear about.
Why are Lance Armstrong and other sports “heroes” such a big deal? I don’t get it, but I know that should any of them do anything even remotely more exciting than have Rice Chex for breakfast, it’ll be breaking news.
I don’t watch sports but gets inspired when some athlete defies great odds by sheer human determination and does it honestly. To me that’s being noble. That gives me hope. If someone cheated to get fame and money, it’s newsworthy for me. I want to be inspired by great authentic human achievement, not artificial.
Well there are worse things to see on the evening news like, Arnold boffing the housekeeper. I didn’t really need to know that.
I could go on all day how performance enhancing drug taking in sport is cheating & is essentially hugely unfair to the clean, hard working dedicated folk who sweat blood &.......told you!
I agree with you though that it shouldn’t be rammed down our throats by the moral crusaders that dominate the media. Keep it “in house” that’s my belief.
For me the whole issue whether the athlete did or did not take dope is not so important.
They can do it and win the race and feel proud of their victory, although i doubt if they really feel proud then, deep inside.
The real issue i have with dopers is that they (most of them) are effing liars and hypocrites.
No no, of course they have never, will never do it.
Until they are caught that is.
That is what i ‘hate’.
They are not only lying to their colleagues, team managers/ -owners, families and such, but also to me, someone who is admiring them when they climb that Mont Ventoux, supposedly ‘clean’.
Then the next day(s) i hear they shot themselves with EPO or blood transfusions…..
I agree that it’s cheating, but I don’t see it as newsworthy either. It also baffles me as to why Congress has found it necessary to get involved, particularly with baseball 0_o
I think its absolutely wrong and cheating, that said, I think we put far far to much time/money into this shit. It doesnt need to be on every god damn news station when it comes out that Joe Schmo is using steroids or some bullshit, or worse, as @Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard mentioned when fucking congress gets involved in this shit. Like yes our whole country is doing completely fine right now, no war, no economy problems, nothing, so lets just use our congress to sort out some baseball issues.
@rebbel Yeah, same with cheating politicians or conservatives who are ‘not gay’.
@Simone_De_Beauvoir in that case, its a lot easier for people to care about athletes and what drugs theyre taking or who’s cheating on who than it is for them to actually open their fucking eyes and realize there are much bigger problems with this world right now. And since these people sadly seem to be the majority, the news picks it up because it sells and the cycle continues getting worse each time around.
Personally, I don’t give a rats ass what athletes do to enhance their performance. But I can guess that people into sports regard it as giving themselves an unfair advantage (i.e. cheating).
The congress getting involved is the end of the line for a controversy like doping. Everybody lies. everybody involved in sports and the trainers lie. If you take an oath in court and lie you get slapped with a fine or possibly jail? These athletes are millionaires so a fine is no skin of their ass. But if you lie to congress you’re going to prison, big time. Over doping? They tend to be a little more forthright about it.
Baseball is a uniquely American institution that IS America so therefore it is possibly a more serious thing to have it sullied by over zealous players/ teams.
I don’t know if I can get very worked about it. Some people naturally have more testosterone than others. Should there be a required blood test to participate, like a weight requirement in wrestling? I prefer sports ban the use of the drugs, but I just can’t get all riled up about it.
I hope Lance wasn’t doping. His story was so inspirational, knocking on death’s door, told to prepare for death, but overcoming the odds and surviving. But not just surviving going on to become one of the greatest ever.
It would make me sad. I would like to see just one elite athlete remain squeaky clean to the end. So far Roger and Rafa are going good, I have my fingers crossed.
I think I care because I just want to believe something or someone is still clean and pure. And @woodcutter that is definitely a ga above where you said a lot of the news is just garbage such as the govenator impregnating his maid.
I’m so glad that this popped up, because I really was just wondering the same thing (quite a long while later, but apparently related.)
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