Dopers Taint The Next Generation of Fans
Dopers Taint The Next Generation of Fans
Dopers Taint The Next Generation of Fans
Tension ran high in my house today. As the players prepared for a big game, my sons were fired up to watch their team. Travis and Wesley's eyes beamed when line ups for the game appeared on the TV screen. Their worlds freeze when the San Francisco Giants, their beloved team, gets ready to play. They anticipated a great game with the hottest team in the league, the Washington Nationals. Unfortunately, a doper ruined it.
The Giants' Melky Cabrera, a fan favorite and studly player, got busted for juicing. His fans were blinded by his success and cheered his amazing performances. You should have seen the wide smiles on Travis and Wesley when I gave them "Got Melky" t-shirts. Now a dark cloud hangs over the sport and team. Those shirts will probably work their way to the bottom of the drawer and go out of their wearing rotation.
The feeling of loss displayed Travis and Wesley was different than if we suffered a death in the family. Melky broke their trust. What Travis and Wesley know of baseball is being on a little league team, playing pickle in the back yard, and hoping to catch a batting practice ball from a big leaguer. It does not seem that my sons had their baseball hearts broken. Rather, they just took a guarded step away from the game.
Instead of discussing the pennant race, now the question of “why?’ exists in our house. Dopers distract everyone from the game itself.
Travis hit my track and field nerve when he showed curiosity regarding how good Melky could have been as a clean athlete. Strong drug suspicion arose the women’s Olympic 1500 final. If dopers were in the race, we will never know how the event would have played out with a clean field.
In track and field, feelings of push back, lack of trust, and retreat define behavior when dopers are caught. Because times are an objective measure, suspicion arises with greater merit in track. When a big name is busted in track, the damage is greater than when one baseball player goes down. It seems to beat down a very fragile sport in a brutal fashion.
I would love to see my sons be future track and field fans, but we are one major drug bust away from losing them and millions of other potential supporters. Being a parent and raising sports fans brings to light not only how fragile innocence of sport is, but how quickly one can be turned away due to a negative event. Travis and Wesley will get over Cabrera’s doping because they love the team. A Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, or Allyson Felix positive test, for instance, would cause significantly more damage to track. Just ask any track nut who was there when the Ben Johnson scandal broke at the 1988 Olympics.
Friends, families, and fans are brought together to root for their favorites. Doping turns the energy down on cheering and passion, fragmenting the connection between fan and sport. I can almost guarantee that another 40,000 Giants fans will fill the park at the next home game. The same cannot be said for sports like track and field where cynicism runs higher and fans are already scarce.
Let Melky Cabrera’s positive test be a warning to all track and field athletes interested in doping. You will lose young fans. They will not trust you. You will not have the sport you want to dominate.
Hopefully future sports conversations with Travis and Wesley will be about Olympics, home runs, and touchdowns instead of how steroids are administered. Unfortunately, drug discussions are part of sport and are not a way to build a fan base. My sons are in love with sports It is in the hands of the athletes to build a bond that will keep them cheering throughout their lifetimes and not questioning whether big stars are using drugs.
The Giants' Melky Cabrera, a fan favorite and studly player, got busted for juicing. His fans were blinded by his success and cheered his amazing performances. You should have seen the wide smiles on Travis and Wesley when I gave them "Got Melky" t-shirts. Now a dark cloud hangs over the sport and team. Those shirts will probably work their way to the bottom of the drawer and go out of their wearing rotation.
The feeling of loss displayed Travis and Wesley was different than if we suffered a death in the family. Melky broke their trust. What Travis and Wesley know of baseball is being on a little league team, playing pickle in the back yard, and hoping to catch a batting practice ball from a big leaguer. It does not seem that my sons had their baseball hearts broken. Rather, they just took a guarded step away from the game.
Instead of discussing the pennant race, now the question of “why?’ exists in our house. Dopers distract everyone from the game itself.
Travis hit my track and field nerve when he showed curiosity regarding how good Melky could have been as a clean athlete. Strong drug suspicion arose the women’s Olympic 1500 final. If dopers were in the race, we will never know how the event would have played out with a clean field.
In track and field, feelings of push back, lack of trust, and retreat define behavior when dopers are caught. Because times are an objective measure, suspicion arises with greater merit in track. When a big name is busted in track, the damage is greater than when one baseball player goes down. It seems to beat down a very fragile sport in a brutal fashion.
I would love to see my sons be future track and field fans, but we are one major drug bust away from losing them and millions of other potential supporters. Being a parent and raising sports fans brings to light not only how fragile innocence of sport is, but how quickly one can be turned away due to a negative event. Travis and Wesley will get over Cabrera’s doping because they love the team. A Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, or Allyson Felix positive test, for instance, would cause significantly more damage to track. Just ask any track nut who was there when the Ben Johnson scandal broke at the 1988 Olympics.
Friends, families, and fans are brought together to root for their favorites. Doping turns the energy down on cheering and passion, fragmenting the connection between fan and sport. I can almost guarantee that another 40,000 Giants fans will fill the park at the next home game. The same cannot be said for sports like track and field where cynicism runs higher and fans are already scarce.
Let Melky Cabrera’s positive test be a warning to all track and field athletes interested in doping. You will lose young fans. They will not trust you. You will not have the sport you want to dominate.
Hopefully future sports conversations with Travis and Wesley will be about Olympics, home runs, and touchdowns instead of how steroids are administered. Unfortunately, drug discussions are part of sport and are not a way to build a fan base. My sons are in love with sports It is in the hands of the athletes to build a bond that will keep them cheering throughout their lifetimes and not questioning whether big stars are using drugs.
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