Canon Firing Line
Changing On The Fly
By Ellis G. Cannon
PSR Publisher

We're in the middle of a less-than-subtle shift in how society is absorbing the continuing issues of steroids in sports.

That's usually the case when a shift occurs - things change in a less than dramatic manner. Then one day we wake up and wonder what happened.

Well, it's happening right before your eyes on steroids.

Regardless of how you view steroids - and there is more of a range than most people like to acknowledge - it's changing how we view, and what we expect, of sports.

It begins with the language we use as we struggle to get our brain around how to treat them. It used to be simply STEROIDS. We all knew what the word meant.

It's used less today, and often in code.

First came the alphabet soup of terminology nobody understands. It still may be cheating and harmful, but HGH sounds a lot different than the more draconian STEROIDS.

And even the alphabet is yielding to new terminology. Now, we've settled on PERFORMANCE ENHANCING drugs or supplements. Don't tell me that's not a lot softer than STEROIDS.

Why?

Because we want to. Sure, there are probably words and phrases out there more specific and helpful than the generic STEROIDS. But our culture, while battling how to find a way to reject dope but also live through those that play, needs to find a way to do so with some degree of harmony.

So we change the words.

There are folks on both extremes of the steroids argument - one that could care less who uses what in the name of finding their own selfishly defined entertainment, and another than finds taking too many deep breaths anywhere near an air conditioner to be "performance enhancing."

Most people are in the middle. As a fan, that means finding a way to accept what their judgment tells them, but still maintain their passion. It's called rationalizing.

How else do you tell your kids steroids are bad yet show them how to root for those you believe are breaking the rules?

You change the rules, the language. Or permit it to be done for you. Which allows you to become more selective in how your treat the subject.

For instance, to many people years ago, Barry Bonds was vilified almost as if he were the only player to even possibly use steroids. Now a middling pitcher can acknowledge he bought lots of HGH on the advice of his doctor and nobody blinks. It's a non-story.

Why? Because we're processing the entire subject differently as every day goes on.

Now, if we get truly upset, it's because of the lying, ala Marian Jones. That's more offensive to us than the actual use in many cases.

But who's doing the real lying?

Ellis Cannon's SportsLine Pittsburgh" airs weeknights, 6-8 p.m., on FM NewsTalk 104.7. Ellis is also a regular contributor on the "#1 Cochran Sports Showdown" aired Sundays at 11:35 on KDKA-TV.