'Roid Rage

When the Nixon/Watergate scandal broke, many Americans were outraged and became angry, upset, dejected and dismayed over how the President misused and abused his office to perpetrate what, essentially, was a petty crime, ie burglary. As a collective society, our pessimism and dissatisfaction and distrust of politicians since has not only deepened, but it has colored all elections since and has changed how we as a country regard our leaders, from the lowest town mayor to those men ascending to the Presidency.

This past week, it was revealed that both Jason Giambi, first baseman for the New York Yankees, and Barry Bonds, an outfielder with the San Francisco Giants, admitted, under oath in testimony before a grand jury (under limited protection from prosecution), that they each had indeed taken steroids in varying forms, both noting the "cream" and the "clear" -- the former being a lotion that gets rubbed onto the body, and the latter being a colorless liquid that is ingested by drops administered under the tongue.

Where it gets messy is that Barry Bonds, specifically, has been suspected of taking steroids and has repeatedly denied same publicly for the past year or two; he has set numerous records, including the single-season home run record, and, until this admission, was largely regarded as the best hitter in baseball. Now, however, with this new revelation, fans of the game of baseball have yet another reason to roll their eyes, close the newspaper and go take a walk.

The key to steroids and this whole issue isn't just that it taints the game of baseball (or football) -- it does. It's not that steroid use will obviously do long-term damage to the players who use these drugs -- it will (Lyle Alzado, anyone?). It's not that performance-enhancing drugs of any type are an unfortunate aspect of the commerciality of modern sports -- they are. What really bothers most fans is the "unfair advantage" -- why should certain players who want to endanger their own lives and taint the game (of baseball, or football, etc.) be entitled to an unfair advantage over their peers simply because they are willing to do steroids?

The modern athlete, replete with endorsements, long-term contracts, appearance fees, interviews and other PR opportunities, is someone (whether in baseball, football or even hockey) trained to "play through the pain" and to do whatever it takes in his or her respective sport to get the job done. Vince Lombardi, the NFL's first great coach (and perhaps its greatest coach of all-time), took the notion of fair play and turned it on its ear: "Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing-the result." Red Sanders opined similarly: "Winning is not everything; it's the only thing." Sounds to me like generals taking troops to war, not coaches preparing his team for a game. Thus, the following: "In war there is no substitute for victory." That last quote's owner: Douglas MacArthur.

What will the long-term ramifications be for the whole steroid controversy? Well, any and all records set by Barry Bonds will be similarly viewed by most fans of baseball, most certainly, in that no one will have the same respect for Bonds's accomplishments now that he admitted his abilities were chemically enhanced. More than ever, Babe Ruth's accomplishments seem more incredible, since one can be certain The Babe wasn't shooting performance-enhancers into HIS buttocks way back when. And the long-term ramifications for the athletes who have taken drugs? Some will be bounced from baseball -- Jason Giambi very well might have his current contract with the Yankees voided, although the pessimist in me observes that if Giambi's last couple seasons were impressive, there wouldn't be "void" talk at all. And is there any way Barry Bonds will be banned or suspended for his use of steroids? One look at ESPN's coverage of his at-bats suggests that, even with his tainting the game, there is no way baseball will ban or suspend him, because he simply pulls in too much revenue for the game, no matter where he goes. Barry Bonds has always been aloof, disinterested and reserved when it came to being "fan-friendly" -- he never hid his distaste for the entire publicity end of baseball. Now, however, fans will have yet another thing to shout at him when he comes to bat or heads to the outfield. And that's a shame.

So whether it's Jason Giambi, Lyle Alzado (RIP), Marion Jones or the aforementioned Barry Bonds, it seems to me that the fact that so many modern athletes have elected to attempt to cheat in their respective sports by using performance-enhancers not only taints the sport and the competition, but chips away at each of our love of the game, whether it be football, baseball, track and field, weightlifting, or cycling. And much like the Nixon/Watergate scandal did, it all comes out in the wash -- it always does -- and when it does, it takes a little more of our naivete and our innocence and dilutes it to jaded distrust and disappointment. Whether or not these athletes achieve greatness within their sports, the arena of public opinion will never be the same, and despite the commentary from Vince Lombardi that implores his team to win at any and all costs, there are some costs that simply are too great. Winning may be the only thing, but doing so by cheating -- which is really what we're talking about here -- nullifies and cheapens the game, makes it irrelevant, and corrupts and degenerates it into a less-predictable version of pro wrestling. Except where that "sport" is designed to tittilate and to entertain its "fans," the problem here is that, as children grow into adults, the revelation that these athletes are using drugs to cheat will be akin to the story of Santa Claus -- they will believe up to a certain age, then they will lose faith in their heroes and the sports in which they compete. And once people lose faith in sport, that's when they find something else with which to occupy their time. So the greatness these athletes hoped to achieve by cheating ultimately will destroy the sport and make it -- and their place therein -- irrelevant.

Vince Lombardi once said: ""I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle -- victorious."

Thankfully, Mr. Lombardi is no longer around; else he might wonder if there is a "good cause" left in modern, chemically-enhanced sports. It's my belief that if he were a modern coach, to this question he would give a resounding "No."