9 Comments
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Sean McWilliams's avatar

I came for the insights but stayed for the Al Bundy reference. Love your work, Steve.

Steve Magness's avatar

Ha thanks. I was proud of that one.

View From The Back Of The Pack's avatar

Steve, I feel like you are the cop on the beat. Thanks for your vigilance!

Daniel Grove's avatar

I think the normalcy left the building and is lost to the greater world. I tread similar terrain in my piece Fear and Longevity in Las Vegas

https://substack.com/@thelunagrove/p-176125478

Venkat Reddy's avatar

I wish more people can read this. Sport is the only real thing left in this world.

Gwendolyn Bounds's avatar

First, +1.

Second, with AI I hear from parents of kids who use it to draft their essays: "My kid is good at math but not at writing. ChatGPT is just his calculator. What's the difference?"

Third, in the small southern town where I spent much of my youth, sports is the ticket out of a life of poverty with few options. Making the choice to not participate in the "enhancement" culture if every other kid is doing it becomes a much more fraught decision.

I raise these issues because I'm always searching for the right language to respond to these examples. Perhaps readers here have thoughts.

Regardless, worth reading this for many reasons, including this line: "...the one feeling inadequate because their peak athletic moment came decades ago, back when they scored four touchdowns for Polk High."

Jan Frodeno's avatar

Reading this may be the only thing I have enjoyed about this neatly packaged lie...

Karl Rysted's avatar

I hadn't even heard of this. Sad

Greg Thompson's avatar

Steve, Once again you shine the light on the cockroaches... Enhanced games will be the Mara Lago lips of the sporting world. One more floodgate opening in our world. Thanks for your piece.