Is doping in sports an accepted practice so we can have our super hero's?

I don’t think that performance-enhancing drugs are OK. They call into question every record achieved with them.

I also do not think that they are accepted in this country.

I guess the question is: Will sports be as entertaining if everyone stopped doing the drugs? I’m sure no one cares, because sports is for entertainment anyway.

I remember watching Ben “look ma i’m dancing” Johnson’s eyes pop out like hard boiled eggs as he crossed the finish line in the Seoul Olympics. What made it all the more funny was seeing the look on Carl “don’t touch the hair” Lewis’s face as he realised he was beaten by a cheat. Priceless memories, don’t know who was the bigger dope!

As long as there is money and fame to be gained in sports, athletes will be tempted to use chemicals to enhance performance. There is not much you can do about it.
My objection to the practice is the effect that it has on developing athletes i.e. children.

The more spectacular the performance and appearance of their older “heroes”, the more pressure they will feel to emulate them-especially those who aspire to olympic and/.or professional sports.

It is not healthy for anybody, but it is particularly unhealthy for a developing child or adolescent.

I think drug use is an adults choice. If they want to screw themselves up, that is their business. But if by turning a blind eye, the practice creeps into childhood, then I think something should be done about it.

I’d like to think that athletes compete on an even playing field. With doping, I know that’s not the case.

Clearly doping can’t be controlled. So what should we do? One idea I have is to have two leagues—the doping league and the clean league. People in the clean league would have to sign away their firstborn if they are ever found to be doping.

I really liked Lance Armstrong. I liked his strength and tenacity. I like the way he ran his team. To find out he doped is really a blow. Imagine me not being cynical enough? I guess I just didn’t want to see it.

Because he was caught, will doping stop? Hah! People will just get more and more clever about it. We’ll never again know if the athletes are competing on a level playing field. We’ll always be wondering who cheated the best.

Or will we? Maybe it doesn’t really hurt our enjoyment in watching these athletes do what they do.

I don’t believe it about Lance. He never tested positive. I will be severely disappointed if it turns out to be true. Not because I think he is a great athelete, but because I think he is a great person.

A hero isn’t someone who can run faster, jump higher, swim faster, or hit harder. A hero is someone who can face great adversity, and beat it. Heros are inspiring. If Lance doped, that inspiration will lose some shine. Perhaps the real lesson is that heros aren’t perfect. That’s why we all learned in school that Christopher Columbus was a great man, rather than a genocidal tyrant. Because we, as a society, are afraid to find fault with our heroes.

I think George Carlin had the answer for this question. Since NASCAR and sports teams upgrade their equipment on a constant basis, there should be no reason why PROFESSIONAL athletes can’t do the same with their bodies. After a they are grownups and willing to accept the rigors of their sport. The fans want to see more spectacular fetes on the field and are willing to pay to see them. Look at “Professional Wrestling” There is nothing about sport in those exhibitions; I feel the same about football, basketball, and baseball. Why shouldn’t we let the pros modify their bodies any way they see fit? This is all on the same scale as the gladiators in Rome and about the same level of decline of our empire.

None of this will matter because soon the barbarians will come crashing through our gates.