Steroids: Time To Forget About the Pros?

This was a letter I wrote a few years ago. It's incredible how it is still so relevant today. For me, it is even more relevant now because one of my sons is really excited about baseball. With all of the news lately regarding A-Rod and Manny Ramirez, it's tough telling him to admire the skills that a lot of the players possess, while still taking some of it with a grain of salt.


It's hard to watch the headlines each day. I check to see who is under suspicion, who tested positive, who was "cleared," if only in the legal sense. The more I watch and read, the more I tend to give up the idea that things are ever really going to change regarding drugs in sports, as long as sponsors will pay to support the events or the guys wearing their corporate logos on TV. So at times I think we should just forget the records, forget the morals, forget the professional side of sports, and just make sure we teach the kids that riding a bike is a fun, healthy way to get around, spend time with other people, maybe even compete.But we need to make it clear to them that once they get past a certain competitive point (like moving up from pee-wee football to the high-school game), somebody is going to be cheating. The higher up you go in the sporting ranks, the better the chances are that a competitor is doing anything and everything he can to win.

I'm a father to three awesome little boys. Would I want them to strive to be professional athletes? No way. I want them to be happy and healthy. To be able to complete a triathlon, play a game of baseball, shoot some hoops, play some golf. Maybe even get good enough at any one of these things so they can spend their summers teaching other kids how to play. It worked that way for me and my dad, and I thank him all of the time. I thank him for not making me focus on just one sport. For not making me think that the only reason to play was to win. He was never officially my coach at any of the sports I played, competitively or otherwise. But he was always willing to play with me and teach me what he knew. He is certainly my coach in life, and he is the best role model I have for how I want to raise my boys. I want them to be well-rounded athletes and individuals. No college scholarships required; no need to cheat to get an advantage.

Did I know the guys that did all that stuff? Absolutely. Some of them made a decent living playing a few games on Sundays, or swinging a bat. Nothing against them for it, but they need to be able to look at themselves in the mirror each day. Maybe some day they will have to tell their kids what they "had to do" to compete on the field, or in the peloton. As long as everybody knows what the risks and consequences are, maybe we should let them have at it. Let the best prescription win.

But what do I know? I just want to be the second-best dad in the world. Oh, crud, is there something out there that somebody is taking to get one up on me there? What's his doctor's name?

Chuck Matsoff
Published on Velonews.com

Wanna Fight?

In a lot of ways, I grew up soft. I never got in a fight. I didn't play football or wrestle. Nobody ever picked on me. If there ever was any real conflict, I could just stand there or talk through the situation. A few times I had to stick up for somebody that couldn't stand up for themselves, but like they say, usually bullies just back down when somebody stands up to them.

As much as all of that is good, I still feel like I missed out on something. I guess it is just the nature of Man, but I feel like I never got tested. How would I have reacted if I actually did have to fight?

I guess that need for physical tests led me to triathlons. Nobody was trying to hurt me, so I decided I would put myself out there and test myself. Pretty quickly I realized that in triathlon, one of the biggest challenges you can take on is the Ironman. It's a 2.4mi. swim, 112mi. bike and a 26.2mi run. You get 17 hours to cross the finish line. My first one took me 16:40. I ended up finishing three more Ironman races after that. Once I got done with those tests, I got lazy. I stopped exercising and put on a ton of weight. I had passed the test. But something was still missing.

In triathlons, you are competing against other people, but the bigger competition is with yourself. Are you going to quit or keep going? Having "been there and done that" a few times meant I needed to find a new challenge. Again, it is just part of being a man.

I wasn't going to go out and pick fights at the bars just to see how I would do. Besides, when a big night on the town usually means dinner with my wife before going to Target to pick up some diapers, you don't run into a whole lot of people looking to start trouble.

I had seen one of the earliest UFC events back in the mid-90's. Here was this guy (Royce Gracie) who was a master at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), beating up all guys that usally outweighed him by 50-100lbs. I started looking into it a bit more and found out there was a BJJ school right near where I lived. I wasn't there for self-defense. After all, I had made it 35 years without getting into a fight. But I needed some reason to exercise. And I found out that they have BJJ competitions all the time. Perfect!

So now, whenever I go to class I get tested. I have a chance to either choke somebody or get choked myself. Every night is a test. And then, every few months I sign up for a competition to test myself against people from other schools. Sometimes I win. Sometimes I lose. But at least I'm out there challenging myself. I'm filling that void.

And as a Christian Dad, it is good for my three sons to come watch every once in awhile. They see that Daddy isn't scared. They see that I'm working hard. That this is part of being a man. And they see that I don't always win, but that I keep on trying. They still love me, even when I lose, just like they know that I love them - win or lose.

Just keep on fighting, boys. Your Dad is proud of you, Just like your Father is.

Done Living...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50DOiWq8zaI

Here is a song that I listened to over and over again while running the Austin Marathon. When it gets toward the end, and speaks about running until you can't take a step, it really spoke to me. As a Christian dad, I need to keep reminding myself that it isn't about doing everything alone. (2:01 on the video) Sometimes we need to ask Him, as well as those around us, for help.

Done Living
by Justin McRoberts

Well, I spent the whole night fighting
Fighting with some ghost
And when the break of morning found me
I’d both won and lost

You see the question isn’t
Are you going to suffer any more
But what will it have meant when you are through?
The question isn’t are you going to die, you’re going to die
But will you be done living when you do?

Yes, I spent the whole day running
Trying to catch the sun
But when the darkness overtook me
All my running had made me strong

So run till you cannot take a single step in strength
Then crawl on your hands and knees, till your hands and knees they ache
And when you cannot crawl
It will be me you call to carry you back home again.

Ahhhh.....Disney

The memories we each pick out from a trip with the kids are as different as the people that were there together. My memories this Monday morning are mostly of the journey up to Disney.

A little custom my wife and I have is that we keep the whole trip to Disney a secret for as long as possible. There are a number of reasons behind this…it cuts down on the number of times we have to answer the question “is today the day we are going to Disney?” It also allows for some unforeseeable change in plans that would cancel the trip. (My parents always taught me that as a parent, try to never say “yes” and then “no” to something.) It doesn’t always work, but it’s something I strive for as often as possible.

We picked up the kids at school for “lunch” telling them the whole time that we would bring them back to school afterwards. After all, Austin did have a very important Cereal Party that he didn’t want to miss. While we were going to lunch, we had to stop off at the Cardiologist for Angie. She had been having some issues with her defibrillator, and the doctor called her that morning and said she needed to come in and get checked out. There was still a chance that they could say she would not be able to go. We were very glad that we hadn’t said anything about Disney at that point.

Once she got the o.k. (they turned off one of the electric leads to here heart, and said she could go and just needed to come back on Tuesday to figure out what to do with the machine. She may end up needing a new device put in. What about going on the rides? They just said if you go on a ride and it zaps you, you may not want to do it again. Well, Duh! She was less concerned then I was. Every time we waited in line, I must have asked her a dozen times if she felt o.k. and if she really wanted to do it. Each time she just looked at me and smiled. Of course she was going to do the rides. How silly of me to even suggest anything less.

After nearly an hour on the road, the boys started to realize that it doesn’t usually take that long to get back to school from the mall we stopped at near Angie’s doctor.

“Are we going back to school?”

“Do you want to?”

“Yeah. My class is having a Cereal Party.”

At this point I adjust the rearview mirror so that I can watch their faces as they get the news.

“Well, we thought that maybe because you guys had done so well in school this year, and we are so proud of you, that maybe you would rather go to Disney instead. What do you think?”

“Huh?” they said as their mouths hung open.

“Well we can turn around if you want, unless you think you might want to keep going to Disney.”

“DISNEY!!!! WAHOOOOO!” they screamed in unison.