Before I start getting into “my point” I’m going to ahead and assume we are all on the same page regarding the facts, if not head over to ESPN and read the official report on Cushing.  Now with that out of the way let’s get down to business.

So Cushing kept his Rookie of the Year award after some mindless “re-vote” by AP writers (who might be the most self-absorbed group of people I’ve ever had the pleasure of not meeting).  People keep bringing up the issue of steroids in sports and cheating, when I consider even the juxtaposition of the words to be unfair.

First, in the NFL it is an unwritten rule that some players are on the juice.  With careers as short as they are and job security non existent, can you blame them?  The NFL has created an environment conducive to drug use, plain and simple.  But that’s hardly my reasoning of why I think it’s okay. I’ll pause for your gasp as you run for the moral high ground from which to spit on me.

I’m a realist, I played the sport.  I was at a major college program and my brief stint in some form of professional football was a  fraction of a taste of the life NFL players live.  The constant media bubble, a virtual fishbowl of analysis.  Don’t believe me? Turn on ESPN for an entire day, even as background noise you realize it’s over kill.  The NFL is a behemoth of media, societal, and economic clout, as goes the NFL so goes the nation.  The millions of dollars in advertising and other revenue streams generated by teams pale in comparison to the sports books and NFL Lines you can access 24/7.  It is the Truman Show off sports, players can’t escape and fans can always tune in.

My point is this, the hoopla around the NFL has made it profitable, but it also means players must be faster, stronger, bigger.  It means better runs, longer passes, more amazing catches, and of course bone crushing hits.  While I don’t know who took what or when, I know I don’t care.  And we as fans and a public are fooling ourselves if we think players aren’t juicing, but even worse if we condemn them for doing so.

It’s time to get our heads on straight and wake the hell up.  Welcome to real life (now go ahead and climb down from that mountain top).