Beneath The Outer Shell

when i was a kid, for years my brother would joke to me about my favorite baseball player. a man with arms the size of my waist...a man by the name of Jose Canseco.

"he's on steroids! just look at him!" my brother said, so sure of his direct accusations. me, sitting there getting angry, trying to defend my top baseball role model, had nothing else do but exclaim back with a vengeance, "no he isn't...shut up!"

well, as it turned out he was right. just how did he know? think about it...this was back in the late 1980's. WAY before the internet, and WAY before ANY kind of hint of steroid use in the sport of baseball. my brother amazes me sometimes with the things he knows, or thinks he knows. most of the time, he's right. looking back, i guess it wasn't rocket science. the man clearly looked juiced.

today, we have a myriad of professional sport athletes breaking long lasting records on a regular basis. i'm talking about EVERY sport...from Cycling, to Soccer, to Basketball, to Tennis, to Hockey, to Badminton, to Football, to Wiffleball, to Ping Pong.

face it...there is a very wide use of steroids in EVERY sport on the planet. for some, this may be a hard pill to swallow, no pun intended. i have been trying to come to terms with the fact that there is a high likelihood my favorite players and favorites teams are involved somewhat in the current steroid scandal.

i mean, who wants to admit that their favorite player may feel the need to take drugs, that make their genitals smaller, just in order to compete. it's a sad sad realization..but if you think that your favorite player, sport, or team cannot be involved...think again.

today, Jose Canseco even said on a daytime talk show that Alex Rodriquez is "not who he says he is". i don't like A-Rod, but the man has been an avid spokesman against steroid use in baseball. Canseco has NOTHING to gain from lying, and yes...he has nothing to lose either...but why wouldn't A-Rod be taking steroids? people call him the best player in the world, even though baseball is mainly an American fascination.

remember Lance Armstrong failed at least one drug test. it's all the same with these guys...they all say one of 3 things in retaliation: 1) "i have never used steroids!", or 2) "the test was wrong!", and my personal favorite, 3) "i was set up!".

RIGHT!

i have lost ALL respect for EVERY professional athlete. now i'm a HUGE Boston Celtics fan, and this year...quite frankly, they are kicking ass in the NBA. this comes after an off season where an NBA referee was found guilty of gambling, cheating, and fixing the scores of NBA games he officiated. nice. ya know, my brother also always told me that the NBA referees were being paid off. bingo. man, you've really gotta hand it to my brother. he just KNOWS. uhh, Sylvia Browne who???

my point is...i don't know who to trust anymore. i'm still gonna watch the games and pay attention to every sport, out of habit. but nothing surprises me anymore regarding people who make millions of dollars. they are ALL scum. they ALL make too much money for very little "work". this also goes for actors and politicians too.

so, if you think that your favorite player or favorite team isn't involved or is NO WAY associated with unfair practices. think again. no one's perfect.