Shuddup! Talk About Something Else!

[DOUGHBOYS]

I hate talking about PEDS. I do. Nothing good comes from talking about them. And when I hear other people talking about them, I wanna say, 'Hey, Shuddup, talk about something else.'
In fact I wanna tell myself right now, 'Hey shuddup, talk about something else!'
And I can if I want..
But, I'm tainted.
We hate Barry Bonds cuz he took PEDS. Well, that and he seems to be a dick.
We hate ARod cuz he took PEDS.Well, that and he seems to ba a dick.
We hate Ryan Braun cuz he took PEDS. Well that, and he seems to be a dick.
Note to self: Don't take PEDS, I think they turn you into a dick.

It's a new generation. Everybody likes things faster and stronger. The original Superman was maybe a bit chunky. Folks didn't care. When he put on that cape in a phone booth, he was SUPERMAN, no matter the love handles.
Our imaginations conjured Superman. We didn't need George Reeves to BE Superman.
Now, phone booths and love handles don't fly.
Just Superman.

Professional wrestlers were mostly stocky guys. Well ok, there were midgets and other side shows too. But, we were quite happy with the athleticism of these pseudo athletes.
Makes me wonder if they look at the behemoths that wrestle now, shake their heads, and know that if they could just get their arms around those modern thick necks, a good sleeper hold would still send them to La La Land.

Jim Brown would be nothing in today's NFL. Brown, tough as nails, would break tackles from tacklers who weighed more than he did. Like Bo Jackson, it was a pleasure to see a more athletic, strong man bully even larger athletic, strong men.
Satisfaction reigned supreme in seeing Bo Jackson make Brian Bosworth a skid mark on his way to scoring a touchdown.
Now, there are no more Bo Jackson's. However there does seem to be hundreds of Brian Bosworth's. Every defensive player and most running backs and now, even wide receivers have muscles piled on top of muscles.
Lance Alworth, whose nickname was 'Bambi', because he ran and jumped like a deer, would now meet the same fate as the character for which he was named.

Bob Cousy would have to dribble six times to get from the top of the key to make a layup.
It was fun watching a skinny guy handling a ball in a land of awkward giants.
Now, it could only take one dribble before some player is flying in the air, dunking, and ducking a head so that his noggin doesn't hit a back board on the way to a dunk.
The only similarity to then and now, is that they both still count as two points.

Are things better?
No, Not really.
Just different.
This generation can say that athletes are stronger and faster. But every new generation says that.
Are the three major sport better?
No.
You see, it doesn't matter if they're played at a faster pace with stronger players.
It's the game.
Each generation has seen evenly matched games. At least, that is what they paid for.
And although we'll admire a moon shot by Barry Bonds, we'll have even more admiration for a player like Dustin Pedroia. We like rooting for the little guy. We always have.
Pedroia and his type join Bob Cousy and his time in trying to manuever through a land of giants and be successful.
We like that.
PEDS users will never be that little guy.
We're all Cubs fans. Even if we're not. We still are.
There's that little part of us that wants everybody to win. Even losers.
No, ESPECIALLY losers.
We like the underdog.
PEDS users have no desire to be the underdog. (Would even 'Underdog' have muscles now?)

What are the after effects?
I don't look back and smile at the McGwire-Sosa home run race. I don't smile when thinking of Barry Bonds getting intentionally walked with the bases loaded. I don't smile after seeing Ryan Braun lie to even his family and friends in taking a plea from Major League Baseball.
PEDS offers up little in the way of smiles.
They're selfish. They put money before fans, teammates, friends, and family. Even, before themselves.
They make the decision to make themselves faster and stronger for the large contract or super ego.
To become Goliath.
They forget.
They forget that David kicked Goliath's ass.
They forget that David has fans, even today.
Goliath, none.
It's just the way its been through history. But some, some never learn.