Hit the Roids, Hit the Road

Goodbye Roger Clemens, you disappoint me.

That's right, I said it. Roger Clemens, you disappoint me. You don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. You don't deserve to be on a team. Quit baseball and leave room for a real role model to step up.

Now, I do have to admit before I go on, that I never really was a Clemens fan as a kid, but I know plenty of kids who were and still are his fans. They stuck by him year after year and for that, they are loyal.  

But who are they loyal to? A steroid user.

In today's society of sports, it has become increasingly harder for the older, more experienced players to compete with the up and coming cream of the crop young athletes who are just getting their big breaks. When people like Clemens were 10, even five years younger, there were millions of people who would buy him dinner just to sit across from him. And it's not just Clemens. Bonds, McGuire, they all have the same problem too. After all that success, after you peak, how do you keep your machine rolling?

The truth is the body gets tired, especially when you are an athlete. The more strain you put on it, the sooner it wants to quit. And when it quits, it's time to bow out with grace, honor, and dignity. This is an unwritten cardinal rule in sports: Once you're over the hill, roll over and move on.

But there are those who can't give up the limelight, who can't give up all they've gained. They aimlessly hit the gym twice as hard, fire their trainers and hire new ones at twice the cost. But in the end they are only slowing the inevitable. The body will give out. It is then that most players call it quits and retire, with plenty of endorsement deals and words of encouragement from fans. "Great job Brett Favre, you kept it alive as long as you could."

But there are still those who, after their bodies have said "enough, enough!" stick a needle in their arm and say, "No you don't, body . . . more, more!"

There's no denying that steroids are abused, and no denying that they are bad for the body. But many people (especially Americans) would rather take a quick fix than a long-term solution.