written by Buddy Lung
Anyone who is surprised by Jason Giambi having taken steroids is just kidding themselves. Kidding themselves the same way Giambi did at Spring Training this year, claiming his suspicious weight loss was just a coincidence and that he "worked his butt off." No, Giambi using chemicals and drugs to enhance his athletic performance is not the news here. What is the news here is that he admitted to using steroids.
The argument has been made that Giambi hasn't exactly been "open" about his steroid use, denying it to the media repeatedly over the last two years. This testimony he gave to the grand jury was behind closed doors, given with the guarantee of immunity from prosecution and with the threat of prosecution for perjury if he lied. But still! Come on Jason, you are a product of the late 20th/early 21st century: you should know better! This is the WWE generation. The era of paid off Olympic ice skating judges and an entire sports world that makes the Chicago Black Sox scandal look 100 years old (Wait a minute... I guess it really is 100 years old). What am I getting at, you ask? ...Isn't it obvious!? What was he thinking telling the truth? Didn't he remember anything in the last 20 years?
Since I first heard about Giambi's "coming out," I have been haunted by an image. I can't wipe it from my mind. It's that grainy video footage of Bill Clinton's testimony. "No, I did not have sexual intercourse with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." Remember that? The question seemed so clear. Clearer than BALCO "clear" under-the-tongue drops, more direct as a syringe shooting human growth hormones into the Giambi brothers' stomachs before a workout. "Did you have sex with Monica Lewinsky?" Say "no," but... Leave the truth in the air. That swearing to tell "the whole truth and nothing but the truth": Just a technicality. Bill Clinton was president of the country and he knew this, why doesn't Jason? Sometimes lying is necessary. For the good of your future (as President or a player), for the good of Hillary (or your fans), and for the good of the country (the Barry Bonds-hating media). Come on! Couldn't he at least have blamed Barry Bonds? The press hates Bonds. Sheff used that "you hate Bonds so I'll blame him" angle and it worked just fine.
Giambi's mugshot: He's got a face that says "Easy Come, Easy Balco"
Where did our boy Jason Giambi go wrong? What doesn't Giambi understand about what he is and isn't supposed to do? Wasn't Giambi right next to Gary Sheffield during Gary's rehearsing the "I used steroids, but I didn't know they were steroids" story for the Sports Illustrated interview? They were teammates and he should've learned from "Big Gare." In 2004 America, the truth is never what anyone wants to hear. Clinton knew that, Bonds knows that, Sheff knows that. Remember the weapons of mass destruction? Remember it wasn't true? It didn't matter! We didn't care if it was true, as long as the administration told us it was! It's a necessary lie. Like telling your kids "we'll be there in a few minutes" or your wife she doesn't look fat in that new dress. We knew Giambi was using steroids, we just didn't expect him to tell us. This is America, remember!? As for the country and the Presidential administration, remember that President Bush speaks with a Texas accent but was born in Connecticut? Another lie! Another example for you Mr. Giambi. I ask again, sir, what was he thinking?
Major League baseball fans don't want the truth. If they did, they wouldn't be going out to the games in record numbers. The media wants to call this a blemish to the sport or a shock. It's not. We all knew it. And even now that it's out in the open and in our faces, those of us who have been logical through it, know it doesn't matter. In a world where a first baseman makes 18 million dollars in a year, I am not surprised they want to use steroids to get an edge over their competitors. And when the league that employs them never even regulated use of these performance enhancers until last year, what does that tell them? They are paid to win and perform intensely. That's just what these players did. I don't blame them, I don't feel they betrayed me. They did all they can to win for me and for us and for their bosses. Think of it that way. It's not a surprise, it was expected. It's not a blemish on the sport, it's just a showing of the growing intensity of it (let's face it, steroids in the late 70's and 80's is what heralded the arrival of the modern NFL era). I'm not encouraging steroid use, but let's not pretend to be shocked or horrified by it. It's like eating a steak then going to the slaughterhouse and acting terrified that they are killing cows. Don't pretend you didn't know. In fairness, just because we did, doesn't mean this shouldn't go unpunished. The rules were broken, some were caught, and now they should be dealt with. Just don't make this more dramatic than it is. We're adults, we should know better by now.
I know there's also the argument from the media that while adults may not be surprised, it's children that are let down by this. Wrong...
Just think of it: Baseball, like all sports, is not a children's game. If it was, the soda wouldn't cost $5 for a cup. Kids can't afford that. A baseball jersey goes for $190 on average. It would take your average 11 year old two months paper route to pay for that. $150 tickets for the decks in a World Series Game? Not for the kids. The only thing for the kids has been the steroid use... And everyone, even the kids know it. They don't want truth, they want results. And if it mattered so much, then why has it become an issue today, in the year 2004, in a game that is quickly approaching it's bicentennial. Because people never wanted truth... So don't fall into the trap of hating Giambi for not telling the truth before. What do you expect? It's the league, it's the country, it's the world we live in.
If you are shocked by this Giambi taking steroids scandal, understand what you are really feeling. We're not shocked that he took 'em... We're shocked that he actually told the truth.
