Bernie Fratto

Speaking
of
Sports 

by
Bernie 
Fratto

 
The Future Always Arrives - Ahead of Schedule

8/15/2005

At a recent reunion of my old high school football buddies, I ran into ‘Scotty’… (Not his real name). Scotty was a tremendous athlete; a linebacker that went on to play in college and even had a cup of coffee and a sweet roll with the Rams.

‘Scotty’… needs a liver transplant. He doesn’t look good although his spirits are high and his outlook is positive. But the fact remains he is in terrible health.

‘Scotty’… took steroids back in the late ‘70’s. They made him even bigger, stronger, and meaner, and in some way they probably made him better. But, at what cost?

Even if ‘Scotty’ makes it to age 78, the average lifespan for U.S. Males Circa 2005, his life is far from normal. He will never be truly healthy and virile again, and he will certainly never play linebacker again.

Scotty is only 47 years old. When you are a teenager, you think 47 is old. It’s not old. Far from it.

In fact if you’re the parent of an athletic teenager, there are some disturbing numbers you may want to be aware of…

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1 out of 30 High School Seniors have experimented with steroids. This is up 67% from just 10 years ago.

Check this out… The study also revealed that 1out of 50 Eighth-Graders admitted trying steroids at least once!

Interestingly enough, ten years ago 71% of high school students admitted to being fearful of the harmful affects of steroids. Today, that number has fallen to around 50%. What’s going on here?

Much was made of Taylor Hooton in 2003. He was the son of former Major League Baseball Player Burt Hooton, and he committed suicide after suffering what doctors believe was depression related to anabolic steroid withdrawal. A website has been established (www.taylorhooton.org) to fight “widespread ignorance of anabolic steroid abuse.”

I don’t know if I’ll ever see ‘Scotty’ again, but he’s nowhere near the young stud that I remember, thanks to steroids.

So, at this point, if you’re waiting for me to tell you not to take steroids, I’m not going to, that’s not my style.

Just remember, the future always arrives ahead of schedule. Is it worth it?

The future is now… Just ask ‘Scotty.”

(c) 2005 Novi Information Network
www.novi.org

___________________________________
Bernie Fratto
is a freelance writer, radio personality, and motivational speaker.  His passion for sports comes in part from his experience as a former Cincinnati Red farm- hand.  "Behind every sports story lies the hearts and minds of real human beings" said Fratto.  "These athletic endeavors often serve as a metaphor for the game we call life."

Bernie is also on the broadcast team at Live 97.1FM talk-radio, and is a frequent co-host on the popular "Parker & The Man Show," a nightly sportstalk show which airs Monday-Friday from 7-11pm.