Steroids get a bad rap in sports, and rightfully so.  After all, they give athletes an edge over their competition, and can subsequently take jobs away from “clean” athletes who are physically overmatched by “dirty” athletes.

Yet, a fundamental reason we spectators watch athletics is to witness, and vicariously share in and celebrate, the limits and athletic prowess of the human body.

This is one reason the Olympics has forever been successful, despite the fact that it often features sports that are obscure to the masses for the better part of 4 years.

Thing is, increases in human performance are beginning to taper down as we reach our genetic potential.  Back in the 1900s one could break a world record in the 100m dash by a half second.  Now, world records are lowered only by the hundredth, maybe a tenth if we are lucky.

Where is the fun in that?  We can no longer go out and see something we haven’t (basically) seen before.  If not for the actual stopwatches, no one would know the speed difference between Usain Bolt or Carl Lewis if not running against each other, because the speed difference that translates to even a huge 1/2 second difference in the 100m is likely not perceivable by the human eye.

And sure, sports have incredible value beyond just the limits of a singular performance, but thats not what is at issue here.  I’m talking about the single physical events: the sprint, the distance of the homer, the throw, the swim. These are objective, relevant and salient without mention of other competitors.

Thus, I would like to make an appeal for the greatness of steroids on the grounds that they allow us to continue to explore the limits of the human body, knowing that our natural genetic potential for athletic feats will one day, if not already, be tapped without them.

Barry Bonds was captivating, as roided out as he was.  So was McGwire. Tell me they weren’t, and I’ll call you a liar.  Bodybuilders are amazing to behold, despite the fact that we know their bodies were artificially aided.  Whether or not you called them cheaters or champions, you, like everyone else, watched in awe.  Right or wrong, clean or dirty, these examples of human physical perfection are what is salient and exciting about sports and training.

Bonds and McGwire were every spectator’s dream: they provided a novel stimulus in a game that has been played for over a century.  No one before hit balls as far as they, nor in as much frequency.  They provided us with info on something important, and never before seen: the potential of athletes with amazing genetics AND super-human, artificially inflated strength, and it was amazing to watch showing us what humans can be if enhanced.

We generally know the limits of human athletes now.  Pitchers can’t throw much harder than 100mph.  Hitters can’t swat a baseball 600 feet.  Sprinters might never run faster than 9.5 in the 100m.

But pitchers on HGH might be able to throw 110 someday.  Sprinters on heavy steroid cycles might run 9 seconds flat.  Clean-up hitters might send balls out of the area code, let alone the ballpark.

I’d be in attendance to watch a sprinter run 25 mph.  And I would enjoy every brief second of it.

The human body likely has a long way to go before we completely tap its hormonally-enhanced potential, so lets let our athletes continue to evolve, for all of us sports fans will be able to enjoy the feats, and  bask in their reflected glory.

Just remember my thesis the next time you watch A-Rod on TV: Sports are an escape for all of us, and the very fact that we are entertained by them is what keeps them alive.  If it is entertaining to watch, and tells us something new about the human condition, then the sport is fulfilling it’s purpose.

So let’s sit back and watch what happens, and thank steroids when it does – after all, it may be something that has never been done in the history of this world.