American Heroes

Here is Mark McGwire’s chance. For the last four years, he has hidden inside his gated community in Southern California while his reputation and legacy withered among a public that branded him a coward who never followed through on a promise he made under oath before Congress.

One of the lasting images of Mark McGwire is his evasive performance before Congress in 2005.
Now, redemption calls. The St. Louis Cardinals hired McGwire on Monday as their new hitting coach, exposing him to vouching for the very words on which he turned his back. On March 19, 2005, in between informing a roomful of elected officials probing baseball’s steroid problem that “I’m not here to talk about the past,” McGwire found himself engaged in a particularly telling exchange with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).
Cummings: “You’re willing to be a national spokesman?”
McGwire: “I’d be a great one.”
Cummings: “So, that means you would do it?”
McGwire: “Be a spokesperson?”
Cummings: “Yes.”
McGwire: “Absolutely.”
If, by absolutely, McGwire meant he’d completely ignore the steroid issue short of a few token donations from his foundation, well, then he’s been a paragon of spokesmandom.

Embrace and own his errors. Speak with candor. Convince a public that he turned his back on four years ago.
Be a hero. The real kind this time.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-mcgwire102509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


Oh, the moral and ethical dilemmas that the almighty U. S of A face. Are there not more important things in this country than whether or not an overpaid "professional athlete" takes a "performance enhancing drug"? I love that term, "performance enhancing drug". I bet their wives would disagree. When I read things like this, and the pseudo disgust for athletes who don't accomplish their fame "naturally", I shake my head in wonder. I hear all kinds of trumped up outrage over some kind of "betrayal" at the hands of men like Mark McGuire. I was an athlete, a long time ago. The human body has limitations. Athletes push their bodies and minds beyond what is possible. That is how they become the "best", at least until someone else pushes further.

The question that we all need to ask ourselves is, why do they push so hard, and so far? The answers are actually pretty simple. The first is fame. The second is money, and the third is personal achievement. What are they achieving? They have the ability to say, "I am the best", or "my team is the best". They have thousands of people adoring them. They make millions of dollars, and live lavish lifestyles. It was YOUR demand to see the bigger and better athlete, it was YOUR willingness to pay hundreds of dollars for their jersey, it was YOUR need to be a part of a group that can claim "bragging" rights for your city that created these monsters. YOU are the ones who tell your children that they need to destroy their young, developing bodies for fame and fortune. YOU are the ones who feel the need to live vicariously through your children and communities. Yet, you are then the ones who express outrage at the idea that they have taken a drug that enhances their abilities. Why? That answer is also a simple one. Those drugs are harmful, and the people who opt NOT to take them are at an unfair disadvantage. Right? Oh come on now, you don't care about an unfair advantage when you are demanding more and more from your children and athletes, unless it is YOUR child, or team who can't make the cut.

Why do we place so much emphasis on the ability to defeat another at a game? This is what all of this boils down to. You aren't racing to help mankind, or expand your knowledge. You are racing to win a game. Baseball is a game. Football is a game. Hockey is a game. Why are these men held to a standard of being a "hero"? Simply, because they were willing to push what was a natural ability to the breaking point and beyond? Many professional athletes donate time and money to their communities. That's great. Where did that money come from? The community who PAID to see them perform! Do you really think that they TRULY give more of a shit about the community than their tax breaks? You are truly naive if you think that a person whose natural drive to defeat another also has the spirit of a true humanitarian.

So now, Mark Mcguire has all but been shunned from public view. He has been cast out like a leper, and why? Because you are pissed off that you made a professional "game player" a hero to your sons and daughters. You trusted a man that you don't even know to be a role model for your children. HA! The joke is on you, and he has made you look like the fool that you are. I say, good for him! He took your money, your adoration, your trust and your status as "hero" and laughed all the way to the bank. The true American spirit shines through. Did you learn anything from his "betrayal"? Nope. You just trusted someone else, because you are an idiot.

I say, let them take steroids. Let them pump whatever they want into their bodies. Hell, give them to your kids! Why stop at dragging a crying child to the fifth practice that week? Hey, if you want to be the best, you have to be willing to do what it takes, right? If you want to be a hero, you have make sacrifices, people. I mean, heroes do that. Think about our war heroes. We have Vietnam, Gulf War, and who knows what will come from "operation Bush lie". They are suffering chemical effects, yet they aren't living a lavish lifestyle and followed by thousands of adoring fans. I figure that if you are to obtain the status of "hero", you should be as fucked up as the REAL heroes that we ignore everyday!

That sounds kind of extreme, doesn't it? Well, it isn't. It is about perspective and priorities. If you have made a hero out of someone who plays a game for a living, then you are a poor excuse for a parent and human being. Don't pretend to be so damn offended when you get caught up in your own stupidity. I guarantee that 75% of the names on your adored jerseys have taken some form of "enhancement drug" at one time or another. You just don't care because they haven't been caught. You will be happy as long as you have your precious titles and trophies. So, why not revel in your pathetic greed? Let them eat roids all day long! Just think of the extra entertainment value that you will get from a roid raging fight on the field! Now THAT is worth $600 a ticket. If you are going to worship gladiators, then put a damn lion in the ring, only the lion is simply a metaphor for steroids.

PS, Make sure you read the warning label on your child's ADD or ADHD or whatever three letter disorder medication you give them. You want to make sure it won't interfere with the steroids. Come on, people, to be the best, you have to be willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES! YOU are the ones making the demands. Put YOUR child in the arena, and enjoy! Maybe someday, he or she can be a hero too.