The newest and latest revelation of steroid use by A-Rod and others makes me wonder not only when will it end but when did it start. The half baked, not heartfelt apology to satisfy the fans and move on that is the standard nowadays, doesn't pass the smell taste. Was it like that when I was a kid? Were the hopes and dreams I had as a youth shrouded in the mystery of drugs, unknown to me, helping my hero to be a hero?
Watching baseball highlights before school, sneaking a radio into class, rushing home to watch a World Series game after school, was it all a myth, a mirage? What made a sports star a star? We thought someone blessed with a load of talent, grit and determination, extra effort, playing through pain, aches, bleeding, bruised, bloodied, giving one's all, we thought that was what it took to be a star.
Performance enhancements. We thought that included the weight room, extra laps, running up hills, extra practice, studying technique, trying to be like the best. Be all you can be!
In reality we have entered an era of disillusionment. Everything is suspect. When a player has a great year, a career year, when everything comes together, when they win it all, one wonders how. The whispers won't stop. Code of silence. What goes on in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse. Look the other way. Ignorance is bliss.
The good old days, the age of innocence, lost forever.
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