By Joseph Castleton
Somehow in my years growing up, I developed a respect for honorable winning. No athletic victory could ever be complete or authentic without the opponent knowing it had been a fair fight. He had to be sure of that. In fact, part of the victory was obtained through thoroughly convincing the rival he had lost fair and square. If any cheating or unfair disadvantage was at all assumed, the victor could not feel satisfaction until these qualms were proven false. If the beaten foe experienced disappointment and humiliation, we welcomed it. But never could there be doubt left in anyone's mind as to who the true winner was, or it just wasn't a win. To win having a disadvantage was even better. And this was called honorable winning. Some call it integrity.
I still remember taking the ball back almost the whole length of the field just to do the play again because of some concern about the legitimacy of it. When playing two-hand-touch football with the neighborhood gang, I would always go back to where my opponent claimed to have touched me 'with both hands' even when I hadn't felt a thing.
I also can not forget how shocked I was at my Brother James' high school regional wrestling tournament when the parents of James' beaten opponent argued their son should be pronounced victor due to the fact that James had a neck injury and their son didn't. I could only rage inside at their lack of integrity. How could they ever accept a title they had not won? Their son couldn't even beat a wrestler with an injured neck and they sought the unearned glory all the same. They were after selfish glory anyway they could get it. A soul never reaches its potential this way.
I've watched and played sports all my life - finding along the way heroes to inspire my personal conquests. Yet now, less ignorant, I've learned the sad truth about many of these role models: they're not. They're not role models of integrity. They're cheating. Very few, it seems, are greats - the ones who never sacrifice a clean victory for selfish glory; the ones who win honorably.
Major League Baseball's spring training has hardly begun this year and the hype of steroid use scandals along with other performance enhancing substances has already reached as high as ever. More athletic stars have been disgraced by the revelation of their substance use, less trust in their natural abilities has spread and more disheartened fans are watching - waiting for inspiration - inspiration that won't truly appear until we see a clean fight.
Doesn't anyone remember the legend of John Henry; the story of a man relying upon nothing but the natural strength of his own physical body to overcome a machine? Do you think we would still be reading this story to children at bedtime if John had used steroids? It would never do to have a footnote at the end of the story stating, 'Later, John was discovered to have used steroids in his famous battle against the machine. His victory has since been invalidated.' No, children would never be read this story. Inspirational, uplifting tales are the ones we shower the young ones with. And inspiration can only come from heroes true to their natural potential.
I'll always remember the timeless words of Eric Little in the film, 'Chariots of Fire.' He said, 'Where does the strength come from to see the race to the end? It comes from within.'
The strength to win can't come from outside substances and still maintain integrity. What we need today is someone who will win against all odds; against every foe. And do this using nothing but the strength within. Then we will have a real hero to look towards. Then we will watch sports again with enthusiasm. Then we will see human potential worth striving for. And this hero will be at a disadvantage to those using steroids, but he'll win all the same. And we'll finally have another story to read to children at bedtime.