What, Me Worry? Performance Enhancing Substances

Quote: zippyboy

Tour de France has been going on since 1903 when bikes used to be 1-speed, then 3-speed, 10-speed and so on. Is 27-speed cheating? How about a 36-speed bike or lighter weight? Surgical enhancements? Is Lasik eye surgery cheating in baseball when the player can now see the ball better? How about eyeglasses or contacts? How about vitamins?

It seems to me that the things you're mentioning are either available to everyone at no health risk (different speed bikes, aluminum bats, etc.) or are designed to bring the athlete up to "normal" standards (lasik surgery, glasses), not enhance them beyond normal.

Personally, I'm against steroid use because I don't think athletes should do damage to themselves just to be more competitive.

Quote: MonkeyMonkey

Personally, I'm against steroid use because I don't think athletes should do damage to themselves just to be more competitive.

Then that's your choice. Others may think steroids are worth the sacrifice to win the race. All I'm saying is it's wrong for a few to try to enforce their own opinion on others as law. I've just listed other ideas as to what could be construed as cheating.

Many species medicate themselves. We had TV slogans about Better Living Through Chemistry but don't really seem to believe it when it comes to self medication or recreational drugs.

We hear the scare stories and the utterly nonsensical "overdose" stories. We rarely hear about the professors who've been on heroin for thirty years and yet lived productive lives or the successful authors and artists who are similarly situated.

When it comes to steroids there are risks and certainly purity and strength varies greatly. Its like the man who went into a bar to have a beer and a burger: this foot-high little man jumped out of his pocket and kicked dirt into his food while cursing him. To the bartender's quizzical expression, the customer replied: I asked the Genie for a twelve inch prick. Its the same with steroid use: they may want one thing but get another!

Some of the greatest feats of physical achievement have been made in this country, yet films about them are often set in foreign locales simply because Americans are culturally close minded to such events and culturally close minded to artificial enhancement of abilities.