Honour in Sports

[2 of 3]

So, we've got some records being broken in sports...or do we? Barry Bonds just broke the Home Run record held by Hank Aaron for what seemed like forever...but he didn't do it, without allegations of heavy steroid use. There is another thread here about the Tour de France having the same problems.
BUT......isn't is safe to say, that most are on the stuff in one way or another anyway? Is it not fair to say that Bonds broke the home run record on steroids....but he was also hitting pitches out of the park, by guys on the same steroids? Seems pretty even to me.

[chris]

very timely thread, oh fractional one. i've given this subject a bit of thought. getting caught cheating is not okay just because everyone else is cheating too. but, bonds didn't exactly get caught now, did he?

a lot of anger towards bonds has to do with him being an extremely unlikable a$$hole. he isn't a team player. he doesn't hustle out ground balls. if he gets replaced in the late innings for defensive reasons, he doesn't sit and watch in the dugout like everyone else would do...he'd grab his bats and head to the showers. he is the epitome of what being an overpaid athlete is all about.

several others have been suspected of taking performance enhancing drugs or human growth hormones. suspected but not caught. sosa, mcguire, and bonds. i have to raise an eyebrow when long standing records are being shattered by people who have never put up those kinds of numbers.

some, have been caught. palmeiro got caught after pointing a finger in congress face and claiming, i did not take illegal streoids. well, palmeiro as it turns out is a lying jerk. the yankee's giambi got caught, but apologized, and eventually was forgiven for his misdeeds. but what kind of message does this send our children? is it okay to cheat? even if everyone else does it? what if your college kid gets caught taking steroids to increase his offensive numbers? what if your high school kid does it? what if a ten year old midwestern kid playing little league had an opportunity to be the star of his team, but he had to take a few of these little pills. maybe no one would ever know...

when i was a kid, there was a show on saturday afternoon called this week in baseball. hall of fame pitcher rawly (?) fingers used to go on the show bragging about how he used to throw spitballs. he and the shows interviewer would laugh about it. maybe i did too. but it isn't funny anymore.

it isn't about hitting longer homeruns. its about fairplay. and more importantly, not taking drugs that can and will harm you, and affect the way you live your life long after you have stopped playing a game for a living.

it used to be that when you were traded from one team to another, no matter how unpleasant your stay was with the first team, you didn't tell a reporter with a camera that you hated playing for that coach. and you hated the other players. and you hated playing for that city. you looked into the camera, wearing a suit, and your hair combed. and you said...i enjoyed my time playing for so and so. i learned a lot. i wish the team and its fans nothing but the best, you didn't have to mean it, but it was what you said. times were different maybe. things may still be changing.

sports should be about fair play. an unfair advantage is...well, unfair. if bonds ever gets caught (more likely he'd be busted or lying to congress about not taking steroids) he should be allowed to keep his record,. but an asterisk should accompany his final number. maybe all record numbers that were suspected of steroids. if they get caught.

thats what i think.

damn, 2 of 3. can't you start a thread about my least favorite song on wildlife. my fingers wouldn't be so tired.

[mervap]

I hear ya, Chris...(Rollie Fingers, btw)

it used to be that when you were traded from one team to another, no matter how unpleasant your stay was with the first team, you didn't tell a reporter with a camera that you hated playing for that coach. and you hated the other players. and you hated playing for that city. you looked into the camera, wearing a suit, and your hair combed. and you said...i enjoyed my time playing for so and so. i learned a lot. i wish the team and its fans nothing but the best, you didn't have to mean it, but it was what you said. times were different maybe. things may still be changing.

I think it was Crash Davis in "Bull Durham" who said something akin to, "Know your cliches cold. You'll need them every day when you make the Show. Nobody cares what you really think, so if the reporters ask you questions, you gotta know your cliches". That's a paraphrase, btw.
There are a lot of areas in society in general where the 'honour system' is no longer being observed...I will not bore everyone here with a laundry list, we can all think of some good examples: on the job, out on the road, in the store. Nobody wants to play by the rules anymore and it's only cheating if you get caught, right?
Bonds is, as Chris said, the epitome of a non-team player...at least as far as the general public can see...and he has now supplanted an honest and team-oriented man for whom most people who follow baseball have the utmost respect. Henry Aaron is the reason I started watching baseball in the first place...Oh, well...gotta go to work. I'll have more on this later.

[mervap]

Now where was I? Oh yeah...Henry Aaron was basically the same size when he retired as he was throughout his major-league career...wore the same size uniform, in fact.(his words) The before and after photos of Barry are so different as to be laughable...of course, I must give Bonds his due...I have read that during his career, he has been a tireless worker in the gym and has a boatload of natural ability. Steroids or human growth hormones will NOT help you hit a 98 m.p.h heater or a snappy Uncle Charlie. What they WILL do is allow your workouts to be more productive and allow your body to recuperate faster...(that's what I've read...if anyone knows different, please offer more ). Bonds is perhaps the greatest hitter of his generation and the saddest part is that most people will never know or perhaps acknowledge that because of two things: the spectre of performance-enhancing drugs and a famously caustic personality. The drugs have not been proven as of now...there isn't a cure for the latter issue. I'll even go one step further...who does Barry Bonds do product endorsements for? Nationally...nobody. Why do you suppose that is? A major-league home-run king...and nobody wants him to say he likes their products?......What?.......I'll.....Ok, officer.....I'll just get down from the soapbox now.

[chris]

baroid bonds, right?

although, (and i am in no way defending the guy) he does seem to be taking the heat for everyone who has been taking steroids.

the state of sports is so in the crapper right now. nfl star michael vick gets indicted for fighting dogs. tour de france star...(okay, maybe not a star) gets sent home for illegal doping. bonds and the steroid thing. maybe we should start making people more accountable for their actions. you give young people (and this includes you, brittany, lindsey and paris) untold millions, free reign to do as they please. just look at the contempt baroid bonds has when he looks into a camera. just disgusting. its a shame that tons of kids out there look up to these people as heros.

[mervap]

Well, Chris, at least the Brewers are having mounds of trouble! It'd be nice for the Braves & Cubs to meet again in the playoffs, eh?
And please don't let's start talking about Vick...it's all guys are talking about at work...divided in the usual manner, dang it!

[2 of 3]

Well, that's the biggest problem right there. Why the heck do we make celebs and athletes into hero's? They're good at what they do. Big Deal. My plumber is brilliant, but I don't ask him for his autograph. It's no wonder these people let all this adulation go to their heads. The general public is filled with boobs.

[chris]

The general public is filled with boobs.

wait a minute there pal...are you referring to us answering your topic?

[2 of 3]

If the bra fits.

[mervap]

Very clever, 2...made me wonder, though...

Why the heck do we make celebs and athletes into hero's?

The reason this happens (at least one reason) is these 'heros' are very good at doing something we wish we could do that well...I don't aspire to be a great plumber, or any kind of plumber, although I do respect the hard work and dedication to the craft that it takes to be a good one...I'm a 'skilled' tradesman myself, but I don't harbor any illusions about someone admiring or even noticing my work, as long as their check clears!
To get to the point, however belatedly, the very nature of this fansite tells me that not all 'hero-worship' is a bad thing...I would love to be able to play a jillion instruments well like Macca, to write songs that would inspire people, to tour the world and meet interesting people....okay, and make a bazillion bucks! The Beatles are my inspiration for wanting to play in a band and try to write music...I'm quite sure I am not alone in that, and Macca is surely one of the better examples of a craftsman we all appreciate and notice...

Oh, and I hate those underwires.