You Serious?

I laughed out loud in the car this morning at the report that "millions" of baseball fans were likely to be shocked that a whole bunch of their favorite players were about to be outed for steroid use.

Fer real, Ruby??

I mean, come on.

If a kid is good at a sport, we plop them into competitive leagues as soon as their little feet are large enough to support the weight of cleats. They practice two, three, sometimes four times a week while their families arrange their schedules around weekend and nighttime games. The sport becomes the center of the family, and little Babe Ruth is cheered on and begun to be taught that he is the best _____ player ever! Keep practicing, buddy!

Once school starts, the hard work continues. So, of course, does the adoration. My kid is six. SIX. And the most popular kids in his class are those who dominate the playground with their baseball or football skills. Little Pied Pipers in uniform. Jocks in the making.

Who do the girls want to date in high school? You betcha--the quarterbacks. And who gets the very bestest scholarships to the most well-regarded universities? The kids who play sports. We won't even get into the fact that the vast majority of those scholarship winners don't meet the minimum academic requirements for admission. Sports equal money, baybee, and those colleges want those all-stars! Bring on the free rides!

I read a study recently that said the University of Maryland hasn't graduated a basketball player in more than six years. Not a single one. Zip. Zero. Nada. And UMD isn't unique--the statistic held for nearly every state university in the country. How many of those players can't really read very well? How many probably can't do basic algebra? But we glorify them. Adore them. Hoist them up onto marble pedestals in the sky, and tell our kids that those are the people to admire. They're the million-dollar babies, and if you work really hard and become the very best at your sport, we'll all cheer for you too!

Steroids are a fantastic way to be your best. And when everybody else is doing them, well, it's hard to compete unless you do too. It's not rocket science, gang. Two plus two equals four.

The baseball commissioner came out today in favor of putting the whole soggy mess behind us. Let bygones go and all like that. How nice. What a kind, forgiving man (who also wants his pockets lined by all his winners).

What a cop-out.

I'm sorry to anyone who's shocked by all of this. I'm saddened to think there are people out there spending money on jerseys and tickets and all the accouterments of fan-dom, and who help drive the cranes that balance our heroes up on those marble altars in the sky, and who really truly had never once thought their playas were doping up for their talent. Who thought a college education was legitimate, even if one did wear an athletic uniform and spend most of their time either on the field or on the road. Who believed this was all on the up-and-up.

The athletic industry is a mess. And until we all demand better and stop brushing this under the rug and being so darned forgiving, it's going to stay that way. What a sad commentary.