Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Each week it seems one of our fabled heroes falls from his lofty perch and crashes hard back to earth as we, the once faithful followers, point our fingers and shake our heads in disappointment and shame.
This month, it was Michael Phelps and Alex Rodriguez. Who's next?
Will Tiger Woods finally admit that in 1998 he replaced his arms with robotic limbs and replaced his eyes with two telescopic lenses? Will LeBron James tell all that he's been hiding a harem up in North Dakota since he graduated high school? Will Lance Armstrong confess that the only reason he dated Sheryl Crow was because her voice provided him with the same effects steroids would have had when biking through the hills of France?
With the current stream of fallen heroes, one cannot help but wonder why any athlete, diva, or politician in America would ever think about cheating, lying, stealing, drug dealing, or even passing gas in public?
A-Rod didn't need to take steroids. He said he started taking steroids in 2001, after the Texas Rangers had already signed him for a record $256 million. In his "tell all" ESPN interview, he said that steroids were a part of the culture and that he needed something that could give him an extra edge on his competitors.
What kind of reason is that? A-Rod didn't need an edge; he was already averaging over 40 home runs a season the three seasons before 2001.
What is the incentive for a multi-million dollar athlete to do a stupid thing? A-Rod gained maybe 20 home runs over a three-year period and Phelps gained a few minutes of nothingness after a whirlwind publicity tour. But both lost the respect of millions of fans that were mesmerized by their feats of strength and off-the-field charisma.
Now there is only doubt. How many more cheating, lying, "good-for-nothing" athletes can the throng of worshipers that is America's public handle?
How many Vicks, Joneses (Marion and Pacman), McGwires, Bondses, and Clemenses does it take for those worshipers to realize that maybe it's partially our own fault for our heroes' fall from grace?
Taking steroids and smoking marijuana should be condemned and punished, but maybe we were the one's who made the pedestals too tall for our heroes to balance. Maybe it was the vibrations of our cheers and chants that caused those pedestals to shake to-and-fro, tossing our idols from their perches. Maybe it was our clumsy, uncoordinated, junior varsity basketball hands that could not catch them when they fell.
It's true that our athletes need to take a long, steady look in the mirror and ask themselves, "Is it worth it?" But we, the fans, need to look in the mirror as well. We need to see our reflection and realize that our faces are no different than the athletes we idolize. We need to realize that our heroes are human too.
You can reach this columnist at sflynn@theeagleonline.com.
