Talk Elections

Since we are in the midst of football season...  

neither, don't care that much

genuinely talented / using steroids are not mutually exclusive

What Tweed said.

If you think you need drugs to improve your performance on the field, you must not be as good as everyone thinks you are.  

A real athlete doesn't need steroids.  

much like the capitalists, a great athlete is never content with a certain level of performance, no matter how high that level is.  they're indoctrinated to be ultra-competitive from very very young ages and drugs are used as a tool to reach the even greater heights: Bonds 2001-2004 as a perfect example.

If I'm watching cycling, it's all a bit more complex, but generally when I watch sport I assume the athletes are clean. That said, I only really watch tennis and footy with regularity, and neither is really steroid-friendly.

Agree with everything Tweed has said essentially but it should be noted that most of these athletes are capitalists as well.  In most cases, there is also. monetary reward component to the decision making process to use.

So it doesn't bother anyone here that those sports athletes we watch on television or in a stadium are on steroids?  It doesn't detract from your enjoyment of the game -even if you spent a small fortune for those tickets to watch two teams of dopers battle it out?  

I assume the average athlete in team sport is clean.

no, they're highly-paid workers.

This isn't an issue that has any bearing on my life.


After paying a small fortune, wouldn't one want to see the best play possible?

Yeah, pretty much what Tweed said. A lot of times when steroid use has supplanted talent, it kind of takes care of itself anyway ie. Shawne Merriman.

Clean, unless they're a woman who looks like a man.

By that definition you can include many CEO's and CFO's under some conditions.

before the stock-option revolution, yeah, sure.

Nowadays, I think they're mostly clean and support severe punishment of anyone who cheats.

In the late 90s, early 00s, I think almost everyone cheated, pitchers and hitters, and thus must support amnesty for everyone.  It's disappointing, sure, but it's the only fair solution.

They can't be particularly "talented" if they chose a sport where steroids make much of an impact, ie a sport that relies overly much on brute force. (Or even pure endurance as in cycling, though that wouldn't be steroids.)

Of course, it's a bit of an open secret that FIFA's drug controllers keep well away from players recuperating from a long injury break but not playing or even practicing with the team yet... which happens to be the one time in football that steroids should really, really help a lot.

I believe in the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing. So I assume they're clean until proof says otherwise.